Freelance, But Not Helpless: Deal With Non-Paying Clients

FREELANCE, BUT NOT HELPLESS: DEAL WITH NON-PAYING CLIENTS

SOME CLIENTS EITHER PAY YOU LATE OR WON’T PAY YOU AT ALL…

BEFORE ASSUMING YOUR CLIENT IS NOT GOING TO PAY, THINK ABOUT POSSIBLE LEGITIMATE REASONS FOR THE DELAY

LEGITIMATE REASON #1UNHAPPY CLIENT

The client was unhappy with the

translation that you provided

SOLUTION

Put further work into the translation

Offer a reduced fee for the work

Negotiate the next steps:

Some clients may forget

to pay their bills

LEGITIMATE REASON #2FORGETFUL CLIENT…

You may still wish to work with him on

future jobs, so think about that when

deciding on the tone you intend to take.

SOLUTION

TAKE THESE

OK, HE ISN'T GOING TO PAY

5STEPS

FOLLOWYOUR USUAL PROCESSES

FOR CHASING PAYMENT

#1

In some countries, you can charge

interest to the client after a certain

period of non-payment has elapsed.

CHARGE INTEREST

#2

LEGALADVICESERVICES

Many countries also offer legal advice

services to individuals and small

businesses that are having trouble with

non-paying clients.

#3

TEMPLATELETTERS

You may find template letters that you can

send to the non-payer in order to warn them of

the legal consequences of non-payment.

#4

PURSUELEGALACTION

This can be a time-consuming and costly

process, so consider it carefully. Is it worth the

time it will take you to follow the legal process?

#5

ALTERNATIVE APPROACH

USING

SOCIAL

MEDIA

Signe Rixen, Professional translator

It can at times prove very efficient to post a note

on their LinkedIn profile or profile in other social

media. Companies are usually not very keen on

having publicity suggesting that they are bad

payers or not serious.

TIPS TO AVOID NON-PAYING CLIENTS IN THE FIRST PLACE

Ask for an upfront paymentfor all new clients.

Ensure that you have a signed agreement in place

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