Independent contractors have to be creative and persistent in order to resolve payment problems with clients. In this column, a reader shares how she found the “Achilles heel” of a reluctant payer.
In early January, I received an inquiry from a U.S. law firm asking me if I was willing to work on a very large rush translation from German (an estate matter). At the request of the firm, I sent a contract in which I stipulated that payment was due within four weeks. This contract was approved by the client.
Six weeks after completing the translation, I e-mailed the law firm and asked about payment. No reply. I called and left messages—no reply. Then, in mid-March, I received a call from the attorney’s secretary. She told me that they were waiting for funds to be released. She assured me that I would get paid half of the money the following week and the rest the week after. She also asked if I would be kind enough to do another very small translation. I agreed.
No check arrived the following week or the week after. I e-mailed and called again and either got no answer or a very brief “We are still waiting for our client to pay us.”
In early May, I sent another e-mail to the delinquent attorney in which I simply stated that I would bring the matter to the attention of my state’s Bar Association by Monday. On Monday, I received a lengthy reply with a long-winded explanation (allegedly, he had been unable to sell the estate’s stocks to free up some funds, etc.) and, indeed, that Wednesday a FedEx envelope arrived with a check for the amount that was owed! —GR
Congratulations on resolving this matter so successfully. Following up on overdue payments can be very frustrating and time-consuming. The best way to ensure success in collecting overdue accounts receivable is to be prepared, which means keeping complete and accurate records. The key to this is to track your invoices in a software or paper system. Make a note of when an invoice is due, and decide in advance when you will carry out the following two collection steps:
Reprinted from The ATA Chronicle: August 2009, p 32