| Pages in topic: [1 2 3] > | Always late payments - I don't understand it! Thread poster: Annett Hieber
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Dear All,
I am sorry to bother you, but I have to get this out of my system!
I always deliver my work punctually, after having performed my personal quality check even in cases of very tight deadlines from the beginning. I often work late nights, because clients do apparently know nothing about time management, i.d. schedule the time that is required for the translation. So, you work under high time pressure again , put everything else out of your mind and work and wor... See more Dear All,
I am sorry to bother you, but I have to get this out of my system!
I always deliver my work punctually, after having performed my personal quality check even in cases of very tight deadlines from the beginning. I often work late nights, because clients do apparently know nothing about time management, i.d. schedule the time that is required for the translation. So, you work under high time pressure again , put everything else out of your mind and work and work and work, so the customer is satisfied and can meet his/her own deadline (e.g. the delivery of a machine etc.).
You are happy that you were able once more to meet your customer's requirements, to support him/her in his/her own work, and even succeeded in providing a good quality as usual. There is no complaint from the customer, so you think everything is all right, you write your invoice and wait.
I have my own conditions of payment, however, as you know most customers won't pay earlier than 30 days. Okay, you mentally take this into account and wait. You believe after putting so much effort into a project the customer will appreciate that by paying on time, i.e. not according to the payment conditions I state on my invoices, but at least after 30 days.
Then, what happens? There is no payment. You wait, you think about whether you should remind your customer of the payment, but you do not want to put him/her off, so you wait a little bit longer. Okay, you know they will pay you in the end.
But sometimes I think what is my work worth? Isn't a translator allowed to expect his/her payment on time without going after it every time? It's tiring and - in my opinion - a devaluation of the work I did.
Do you think along the same lines here? Or is it different for you? Does anyone know some nice, sharp and short lines for a good reminder letter?
Please let me know - and enjoy your evening!
Annett
P.S. I forgot to mention that there are also some rare customers who always pay on time! But they are only a small number, unfortunately. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Ralf Lemster 
Germany
Local time: 20:51
English to German
+ ...
Hi Anett,
Our invoices are due and payable upon receipt (bear in mind that we work for direct clients only). If no payment has been received 21-25 days after the invoice date (depending on weekends etc.), I use the following template text:
Reference: Invoice R090xxx
Dear [name],
According to our records, the following invoice is still pending:
(Invoice number) (Date) (Amount)
Would you please acknowledge receipt of the invoice, indicating when payment has been (or will be) made.
Thanks in advance.
Kind regards,
HTH, Ralf
| | | | | Reminder letter | Jul 9, 2009 |
Annett Hieber wrote:
Dear All,
I am sorry to bother you, but I have to get this out of my system!
have my own conditions of payment, however, as you know most customers won't pay earlier than 30 days.[/quote]
This is a problem and it is not the way it should be, if you ask me. I usually have to pay for services or products as soon as I get them. What is the difference here and why should "they" be able to wait 30 days? It also makes me think the company may not be very serious, since they obviously have liquidity problems (otherwise, they would pay upon receipt like everyone else does).
Annett Hieber wrote:
Then, what happens? There is no payment. You wait .]
Does anyone know some nice, sharp and short lines for a good reminder letter?[/quote]
Dear Customer,
Pay the money you owe me within the next 10 (ten) days or I will--unfortunately--be forced to forward the matter to my attorney for collection (he charges a lot more than I and never waits as long as I do for payment).
Yours truly,
Translator
EDIT: Haha, Ralf beat me to it! But yeah, he is right (and his company does it right too).
[Edited at 2009-07-09 16:47 GMT]
| | | | | I have the same problem | Jul 9, 2009 |
Dear Anet,
I have the same problem with an agency to which I did a translation on April! They assured to pay in 45 days, but days are passing and passing...
55 days after I wrote something like this:
"Dear XXX,
In reviewing my accounts, I have realized that payment of invoice no X of 04-13-09 has not been paid yet. Please assure that it is not due to a mistake.
Best regards, blah, blah, blah.
I´m still waiting...
... See more Dear Anet,
I have the same problem with an agency to which I did a translation on April! They assured to pay in 45 days, but days are passing and passing...
55 days after I wrote something like this:
"Dear XXX,
In reviewing my accounts, I have realized that payment of invoice no X of 04-13-09 has not been paid yet. Please assure that it is not due to a mistake.
Best regards, blah, blah, blah.
I´m still waiting...
Unfortunately, there´re customers like these everywhere.
Next time, they will have to look for other than me.
Come on!
Greetings,
Gemma ▲ Collapse
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Salima Post
United States
Local time: 14:51
English to French
| Gently reminder or Friendly reminder for late payment | Jul 9, 2009 |
It is always a pain to have to remind our clients that it is time to settle their accounts with us. Here is my first reminder template
To whom it may concern,
I write to inform you that I have not yet received payment of invoice XXX for the amount of XXX due on XXXX. I have enclosed a full statement of your account as of today.
I am sure you must have mistakenly overlooked this but could I ask that you give it your prompt attention now.
If p... See more It is always a pain to have to remind our clients that it is time to settle their accounts with us. Here is my first reminder template
To whom it may concern,
I write to inform you that I have not yet received payment of invoice XXX for the amount of XXX due on XXXX. I have enclosed a full statement of your account as of today.
I am sure you must have mistakenly overlooked this but could I ask that you give it your prompt attention now.
If payment has already been sent, please disregard this letter. If you have any queries about your account, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Best regards,
XXXXX
Then, I have a more "persuasive" reminder.
As of today, we have not received any payment from you. This is a final attempt to collect the debt. Our office has attempted to settle this account on several occasions via emails and phone calls. Sadly, there has been no resolve. The remaining balance due for this account is XXXX USD plus 15% late fees which is a total of XXXX USD and will increase by 15% for each reminder sent afterwards.
If this matter is not satisfied within 5 days from receipt of this notice, our office has no alternative other than to turn this account over for legal action with XXXXX. In the event legal action is taken, the costs (XXX %) associated with such will be added to the account balance. To avoid legal actions, mail the total account balance of XXXX USD today.
Best Regards,
XXXXX
Hope this will help. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Franco Cappelletti (X)
Local time: 20:51
English to German
+ ...
| Organisational issues | Jul 9, 2009 |
A 15% add-on for each reminder? Gosh, if that's not frightening, what else?
In Germany, statutory default interest applies, and I would not dream of charging more than, say, EUR 20 per reminder before threatening execution or resorting to other remedies.
I also state 30 days as time for payment, and almost all my clients adhere to it. There are exceptions with larger organisations, where an invoice has to be processed by various department, requires several signatures e... See more A 15% add-on for each reminder? Gosh, if that's not frightening, what else?
In Germany, statutory default interest applies, and I would not dream of charging more than, say, EUR 20 per reminder before threatening execution or resorting to other remedies.
I also state 30 days as time for payment, and almost all my clients adhere to it. There are exceptions with larger organisations, where an invoice has to be processed by various department, requires several signatures etc.
Invoices will be paid (sooner or later); if you are anxious about your liquidity, you might try to convince your client to give you direct debit authority, i.e., you collect the invoice amount directly from the client's account instead of waiting for the client to remit it. I for one wouldn't do that, because it is still highly unusual in our profession and might convey a somewhat irritating notion.
Knowing most of my clients (only direct clients, mostly law firms and banks) very well, my first reminder (which will almost always also be the last) reads as follows:
"Dear XXX,
As of today, payment on my invoice no. xxx dated xxx has not been made. Would you be so kind as to look into the matter to clarify?
Kind regards,"
And that's it. After that notice, payment is usually made within a couple of days.
[Edited at 2009-07-09 17:41 GMT]
[Edited at 2009-07-09 20:01 GMT]
[Edited at 2009-07-09 20:02 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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Hi Morgan,
Your contribution sounds me more convincing than mine.
I´ll use them, I promise.
Many thanks,
Gemma
[Editado a las 2009-07-09 17:35 GMT]
| | | | conejo
United States
Local time: 13:51
Japanese to English
+ ...
| It really depends. | Jul 9, 2009 |
I have some clients who are supposed to pay in 30 days, but usually pay in 30-40 days. I always have the payment by 40 days. So, I keep the net 30 on the invoice, but I just consider that I won't get paid til 40 days. I consider them a 'net 40' customer. So it depends. For these customers, if it's Day 41 and I still have not been paid, it's outside the realm of what they normally do, so I send them an email asking about when the invoice will be paid.
Others, I wait 3 or 4 days past ... See more I have some clients who are supposed to pay in 30 days, but usually pay in 30-40 days. I always have the payment by 40 days. So, I keep the net 30 on the invoice, but I just consider that I won't get paid til 40 days. I consider them a 'net 40' customer. So it depends. For these customers, if it's Day 41 and I still have not been paid, it's outside the realm of what they normally do, so I send them an email asking about when the invoice will be paid.
Others, I wait 3 or 4 days past when it was due before I send an email.
I do have less patience with customers whose payment timeframe (normal one) is already 45-60 days... if they are 1 day late I will email them. ▲ Collapse
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| Prompt payment | Jul 9, 2009 |
Just reading through what has been commented on this forum and I was put in mind of the practices in a different industry with which I am more closely acquainted than I would actually like to be: the pig industry!
Here, the standard payment terms both for feed and for pigs (this is Spain I'm talking about btw) is 30 days, although we too are suffering lengthening of terms of late. But there is also a common practice which is to offer a discount for "prompt payment", normally startin... See more Just reading through what has been commented on this forum and I was put in mind of the practices in a different industry with which I am more closely acquainted than I would actually like to be: the pig industry!
Here, the standard payment terms both for feed and for pigs (this is Spain I'm talking about btw) is 30 days, although we too are suffering lengthening of terms of late. But there is also a common practice which is to offer a discount for "prompt payment", normally starting at 2%, and increasing according to volume/frequency of purchase for good customers.
So why not, instead of adding a surcharge for late payment (which strikes me as unlikely to be viable anyway), quote a higher price on your invoice, then include a prompt payment discount to bring the price down to the one agreed with your client for the work, but only applicable if the client pays within the agreed period. If the client pays on time, they can't complain that you are not keeping your side of the bargain - delivering the project on time and charging the agreed amount. If the payment doesn't come in on time, then the client has forced the breaking of the agreement.... Of course I would suggest more than a 2% variation.
Would this be viable do you think? I had actually already thought about this in the context of the language school I run for the few business customers we have - all my individual customers pay up religiously every month, but a couple of the businesses give us a real runaround in order to get paid, and of course the state administration customers pay various centuries later than anyone else....
Cheers
Noni ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Position in the queue | Jul 9, 2009 |
I don't usually make a point of telling this to my clients, but often I prioritize them based on their payment practices. Nearly everyone pays within 30 days of invoicing, but if I am offered two projects at similar rates and I know that one client pays within a few days of invoicing and the other waits the full 30 days, then I will generally prefer the former in my scheduling where possible. Quick payers generally also get better rates or are the last to be hit with a round of rate hikes.
| | | | sarandor
United States
Local time: 14:51
English to Russian
+ ...
| I know how you feel all too well | Jul 9, 2009 |
We've been doing a major remodeling work on our house this summer and hired a couple of contractors to do the job. This is how you pay them: first, you pay 50% upfront, then 25% at the start of the project, and the final 25% - at the project's completion. If a homeowner does not pay, a contractor can put what is called a 'mechanic's lien' on the property, which won't be removed until the bill is paid. Isn't that nice! I wish our industry operated this way.
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Annett Hieber wrote:
I often work late nights, because clients do apparently know nothing about time management, i.d. schedule the time that is required for the translation. So, you work under high time pressure again , put everything else out of your mind and work and work and work, so the customer is satisfied and can meet his/her own deadline (e.g. the delivery of a machine etc.).
I do not think this attitude is healthy. Why take orders when one is left with hardly enough time to sleep? None of the customers will come and comfort or heal you later when you need it. And if these customers are only agencies, little do they care!
You can choose between working and sleeping late at night, between agreeing with a poor time manager ruining your schedule, too, and working with well organised people, and between stressing out and dreading deadlines, on the one hand, and keeping quality and relationships under control, on the other hand.
[Bearbeitet am 2009-07-09 18:57 GMT]
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Kevin Lossner wrote:
I don't usually make a point of telling this to my clients, but often I prioritize them based on their payment practices. Nearly everyone pays within 30 days of invoicing, but if I am offered two projects at similar rates and I know that one client pays within a few days of invoicing and the other waits the full 30 days, then I will generally prefer the former in my scheduling where possible. Quick payers generally also get better rates or are the last to be hit with a round of rate hikes.
| | | | Williamson
United Kingdom
Local time: 19:51
Flemish to English
+ ...
Galia Williams wrote:
We've been doing a major remodeling work on our house this summer and hired a couple of contractors to do the job. This is how you pay them: first, you pay 50% upfront, then 25% at the start of the project, and the final 25% - at the project's completion. If a homeowner does not pay, a contractor can put what is called a 'mechanic's lien' on the property, which won't be removed until the bill is paid. Isn't that nice! I wish our industry operated this way.
You could add an encrypted password to your translation and limit the rights of the customer only to reading the translation and making his/her remarks. Perfectly possible in Word 2007.
When payment arrives by paypal, you send the encrypted password.
You'll be surprised how much the speed of payment increases. From 40 days to an angry telephone-call and immediate payment.
[Bijgewerkt op 2009-07-09 19:33 GMT]
| | | | | Why do you guys insist... | Jul 9, 2009 |
...in being paid on time?
After all, in modern times, money is just an illusion! (Or that is what I am trying to convey to my creditors and suppliers.)
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