WebPlus X6: Advice on client invoicing

[meanman]

Hi well i have built a few websites now and i have never had a problem until now with customers paying, i dont charge anything upfront, when the clients site is finished and they are happy i make the site live if it is on our hosting then i send an invoice, this has worked until now, now i have a client whose website was made live last week and still no payment, the client is happy with his site, i sent a reminder from paypal three days ago and i got an email from the client saying can i invoice his partner as he was going to pay so i did , still no payment,
Now i am thinking i should take the website down until payment is received but i dont want to do this as it is a last resort, in future i wont be so trusting i will only make the site live after payment, what would you do in my position.

[Bob Keen]

Originally Posted by meanman Hi well i have built a few websites now and i have never had a problem until now with customers paying, i dont charge anything upfront, when the clients site is finished and they are happy i make the site live if it is on our hosting then i send an invoice, this has worked until now, now i have a client whose website was made live last week and still no payment, the client is happy with his site, i sent a reminder from paypal three days ago and i got an email from the client saying can i invoice his partner as he was going to pay so i did , still no payment, Now i am thinking i should take the website down until payment is received but i dont want to do this as it is a last resort, in future i wont be so trusting i will only make the site live after payment, what would you do in my position.

Many businesses regard it as a standard to have 28 days to pay an invoice. They may be assuming that they have this time within which to make the payment.

[meanman]

Originally Posted by Bob Keen Many businesses regard it as a standard to have 28 days to pay an invoice. They may be assuming that they have this time within which to make the payment.

I didn't realize that, although we do tell our clients there site will go live after payment but i always make it live when there ready.

[Tom.]

Originally Posted by meanman Hi well i have built a few websites now and i have never had a problem until now with customers paying, i dont charge anything upfront, when the clients site is finished and they are happy i make the site live if it is on our hosting then i send an invoice, this has worked until now, now i have a client whose website was made live last week and still no payment, the client is happy with his site, i sent a reminder from paypal three days ago and i got an email from the client saying can i invoice his partner as he was going to pay so i did , still no payment, Now i am thinking i should take the website down until payment is received but i dont want to do this as it is a last resort, in future i wont be so trusting i will only make the site live after payment, what would you do in my position.

I've been known to wait 60 days for payment, one small maintenance invoice was sent in March and I received payment at the end of June . It doesn't sound from your description as if you've been waiting too long, but T&C's should stipulate the payment terms before work begins.

One thing that worked for me with a claim against Dell was to submit a small claim court form (N1 Claim Form), fill it out along with the court fee plus the amount you're claiming and send them a copy (don't submit to the court). It might just shift them!

I'd give them a chance to pay first. In future, I'd recommend you obtain a deposit before any work is started.

[Mick]

Originally Posted by meanman Hi well i have built a few websites now and i have never had a problem until now with customers paying, i dont charge anything upfront, when the clients site is finished and they are happy i make the site live if it is on our hosting then i send an invoice, this has worked until now, now i have a client whose website was made live last week and still no payment, the client is happy with his site, i sent a reminder from paypal three days ago and i got an email from the client saying can i invoice his partner as he was going to pay so i did , still no payment, Now i am thinking i should take the website down until payment is received but i dont want to do this as it is a last resort, in future i wont be so trusting i will only make the site live after payment, what would you do in my position.

Create your own set of TOC's and stipulate payment on site completion and that the site becomes live after payment, you wouldn't have to wait for your money then

[meanman]

All great advice, i dont want to come across as money grabbing, i guess because we rely on honesty due to no deposit i am walking a thin line, i will change my terms , do you think not making the sites live until payment or payment within 28 days of the site being made live is best.

[Mick]

Originally Posted by meanman All great advice, i dont want to come across as money grabbing, i guess because we rely on honesty due to no deposit i am walking a thin line, i will change my terms , do you think not making the sites live until payment or payment within 28 days of the site being made live is best.

I'd say that was entirely your call meanman and a catch 22 question, maybe even start to think about a small deposit £50 to get the ball rolling

[meanman]

Originally Posted by Mick I'd say that was entirely your call meanman and a catch 22 question, maybe even start to think about a small deposit £50 to get the ball rolling

I have considered that but a lot of the clients i get is because they searched for no deposit website design, i guess i have some thinking to do

[pj1000]

40-50% upfront then the rest before they receive the files, you cant go into shop and tell them i`ll sort you out later can you? unless you have credit setup with them

If the want to hire you they will pay a deposit, if they dont want to pay just walk away

[Naz]

Take a 30%-50% deposit at the start, build on your test domain, use robots.txt to reprevent the site poppin up in search results. When complete they pay th ebalance and you move to the live site.

[mcclen]

Hi MM,

I ask 30% deposit to start then PIF before the site goes live.

I have a clause in my invoice that states payment of a deposit is confirmation that the client has read, understood & accepted my T&C's sent with the invoice.

Hosting invoices are due in advance & if over 15 days late the site may be disconnnected & I charge $50 to restablish it. I always send a reminder first of course.

New site hosting I send once the site is live & they have 15 days from the invoice to pay.

I have had to chase a few late payments, usually for small amounts I think people just overlook, but most people pay on time.

[meanman]

Originally Posted by mcclen Hi MM, I ask 30% deposit to start then PIF before the site goes live. I have a clause in my invoice that states payment of a deposit is confirmation that the client has read, understood & accepted my T&C's sent with the invoice. Hosting invoices are due in advance & if over 15 days late the site may be disconnnected & I charge $50 to restablish it. I always send a reminder first of course. New site hosting I send once the site is live & they have 15 days from the invoice to pay. I have had to chase a few late payments, usually for small amounts I think people just overlook, but most people pay on time.

This sounds good, i am chasing nearly £500

[mcclen]

Originally Posted by meanman This sounds good, i am chasing nearly £500

Ouch!

Don't let that happen again.

That's how you get some really tight T&C's after a few experiences where you live & learn.

I still tweak my T&C's from time to time when I see a potential issue.

I always include a cancellation policy & also a forfeiture of contract clause, it stops people dragging out the time they take to get all their site content to you.

[meanman]

Originally Posted by mcclen Ouch! Don't let that happen again. That's how you get some really tight T&C's after a few experiences where you live & learn. I still tweak my T&C's from time to time when I see a potential issue. I always include a cancellation policy & also a forfeiture of contract clause, it stops people dragging out the time they take to get all their site content to you.

Dont get me started on time it takes clients i have been working on one site for over three months granted it is a 22 page site but it is dragging on and on.

[TAE]

Originally Posted by meanman Dont get me started on time it takes clients i have been working on one site for over three months granted it is a 22 page site but it is dragging on and on.

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I've been working on one site (about 10 pages) for over a year!... it is nearly ready now, but it is such a small fee that I am in no rush to finish it until they are ready - I have better paid ones to do!

I really should draw up some Terms and conditions, etc. though...


Anyway, I always say 40% deposit (but round it down to the nearest easy number), but usually don't take a deposit. There is someone I set EBAy up for whom I'm chasing about €100 from though due to not getting money upfront.

Also, I always say payment due prior to site going live, but, again, it rarely happens that way (but since I do host nearly all sites myself, I, like you, have the option to suspend the account until they pay.

How long have you been waiting? I'd give them 28 days - I think I actually specify 40 days on my invoices - and then tell them you are suspending their site until payment.

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[mcclen]

Originally Posted by meanman Dont get me started on time it takes clients i have been working on one site for over three months granted it is a 22 page site but it is dragging on and on.

I know, some clients are soooo sloooowww!

I give them an expected start date on their invoice & advise I need all content by then or the start will be delayed at my disgression.

My T&C's state they if a client fails to deliver web content within 4 months of the advised start date, then that can be considered forfeiture of contract & I can cancel the job & retain part or all of the deposit depending on how much work has already been done.

That clause was developed over time due to the same experiences you have had/are having.

It isn't often you ever need to enforce the T&C's but it's good to know you have them there to back you up if the need arises.

[michaelarkwright]

I take a 25% deposit before doing anything, put the website on a testsite for approval, once the website is approved it goes live on their domain name. I then invoice but it is stipulated on the invoice that the balance is due within 7 days of the website going live. So far touch wood I haven't had any problems. Only thing I'm struggling with at the moment is getting info off people to finish their websites!

[TAE]

Originally Posted by mcclen I give them an expected start date on their invoice & advise I need all content by then or the start will be delayed at my disgression. My T&C's state they if a client fails to deliver web content within 4 months of the advised start date, then that can be considered forfeiture of contract & I can cancel the job & retain part or all of the deposit depending on how much work has already been done.

They are very good ideas of things to include in my (future) T&Cs ... it saves you from having to chase after clients for content for too long!

Originally Posted by michaelarkwright Only thing I'm struggling with at the moment is getting info off people to finish their websites!

Yup, so are we all!

[Phil_S13]

I have just done my T & Cs now that I am getting some private clients coming in. I do a fixed fee 'set page' option for sole traders and small business and reserve the right to go after money in stages if they are dragging their feet. My problem is people agreeing to proceed with a site and then not giving me any content whatsoever, or taking ages to follow-up.

My invoices now stipulate payment terms as a couple of people were slow paying. I also provide web hosting and it is so frustrating having to hassle people for £25 for a year's hosting.

A charity I did work for has got in to serious trouble and they still owe me a couple of hunderd pounds, so I will now be monitoring significant late payments more closely.

[mcclen]

Hi,

There was a thread a while back just about how to get clients to produce content - so you guys are not alone with that problem.

I have found that clients are really fired up in the first week of contacting you about a site, so try to push them then for as much content as you can. I often tell them to send me a point form list of info about their business & I write the content from that if they prefer, as a lot of people aren't comfortable writing in a way that promotes themselves I've found.

Another lesson I have learnt from experience concerns multiple job discounts. A client may want 2 websites or they want me to create a logo, a busines card & a website etc.

I offer a discount for multiple jobs, but I charge full price for the first one, then give the reduction off the 2nd/3rd jobs & to get the discount the jobs have to all be completed within 6 months.