Poll: Which of the following wreaks the most havoc on your monthly finances? Лице кое објавува дискусија: ProZ.com Staff
|
|---|
This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Which of the following wreaks the most havoc on your monthly finances?".
This poll was originally submitted by Alan Corbo, CT. View the poll results »
| | | | Claire Cox
Обединето Кралство
Local time: 01:51
француски на англиски
+ ...
| Definitely different payment terms | Apr 21, 2013 |
I have a wide range of clients, most paying the end of the month following receipt of my monthly invoice, which is fine. Others pay within days of receipt (even better!), but some, despite "agreeing" to my terms of 30 days from date of invoice, eke it out and only pay at best two weeks after the due date, so 45 days. Most of the time this works out fine, but I did have a spell last year when I'd done a lot of the work for the agency most often guilty of this delaying tactic AND a major French di... See more I have a wide range of clients, most paying the end of the month following receipt of my monthly invoice, which is fine. Others pay within days of receipt (even better!), but some, despite "agreeing" to my terms of 30 days from date of invoice, eke it out and only pay at best two weeks after the due date, so 45 days. Most of the time this works out fine, but I did have a spell last year when I'd done a lot of the work for the agency most often guilty of this delaying tactic AND a major French direct client, which normally pays 30 days from invoice, was obviously having cashflow problems as it took several months to pay invoices, despite enquiries and reminder letters: inevitably this led to cashflow problems at my end. You can easily see why small businesses and freelancers just starting out can't afford to keep going through no fault of their own when this kind of thing happens. Fortunately I usually have a buffer for just sort of eventuality, but it is extremely frustrating.
I suppose it is precisely why it's good to have a wide range of clients and also why some lower rates (within reason) can be acceptable if you know that invoices are always going to be paid promptly.
[Edited at 2013-04-21 09:06 GMT]
[Edited at 2013-04-21 09:08 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Sonia Hill
Обединето Кралство
Local time: 01:51
италијански на англиски
| Late payments | Apr 21, 2013 |
I answered "other", as I don't mind different payment terms as long as people pay on time. In my case the biggest problem is definitely late payments. I have a few lovely clients who pay like clockwork every month, but I also have some who always pay late (they also happen to be the ones with quite long payment terms to start with) and seem to be getting slower and slower. I am trying to weed out the late payers now as it has caused me some big problems - unfortunately my bills won't wait to be ... See more I answered "other", as I don't mind different payment terms as long as people pay on time. In my case the biggest problem is definitely late payments. I have a few lovely clients who pay like clockwork every month, but I also have some who always pay late (they also happen to be the ones with quite long payment terms to start with) and seem to be getting slower and slower. I am trying to weed out the late payers now as it has caused me some big problems - unfortunately my bills won't wait to be paid! ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Late payers in sync | Apr 21, 2013 |
Sometimes 3-4 of my clients don't get together, because they live in different countries or continents and have never heard of each other, but they all seem to "have agreed" to pay me late. There seems to be some universal system to make them delay in sync.
| | |
|
|
|
| feast and famine | Apr 21, 2013 |
combined with different payment terms. Having a nice sum coming your way but it's another month!
and having to send reminders. Sigh.
| | | | Rebecca Garber 
Local time: 20:51
Член (2005)
германски на англиски
+ ...
| Feast, famine, and accounting departments | Apr 21, 2013 |
In two separate cases involving different agencies in different countries, the accounting department decided that my payment should be delayed. In both cases, these were firms that I had worked with for years.
In the first case, the accounting department took exception to the look of my invoice, despite having paid it before, and decided that it was not valid. That required intervention by the PM.
In the second, the accounting department decided that I had not filed the requisite fo... See more In two separate cases involving different agencies in different countries, the accounting department decided that my payment should be delayed. In both cases, these were firms that I had worked with for years.
In the first case, the accounting department took exception to the look of my invoice, despite having paid it before, and decided that it was not valid. That required intervention by the PM.
In the second, the accounting department decided that I had not filed the requisite forms, despite having paid me before, and despite my having sent the forms in the past. This also required intervention by PM.
What was truly irritating was that, like José's cases, each was the agency for which I had done an enormous amount of work that month, so the delay was actually economically painful instead of just a minor irritant. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Allison Wright (X)
Португалија
Local time: 01:51
| Thanks for the reminder | Apr 21, 2013 |
I keep track of who owes me what and when, but late payments do upset the apple cart occasionally. Most of my clients are really super; 30 days right on time, every time. One even pays me a little early occasionally.
Thank you to the pollster for reminding me about my only 45-day client, who needs encouragement to cough up.
| | | | Mario Chavez (X)
Local time: 20:51
англиски на шпански
+ ...
| Feast & Famine | Apr 21, 2013 |
Well, I don't usually feast, except for a Reuben's sandwich with pastrami once or twice a year. Famine? Not a chance: I keep 3 lb cans of mixed nuts handy at all times.
| | |
|
|
|
| Transaction Fees | Apr 21, 2013 |
I do high-volume translations, mostly books, and the large fees I charge are really hit hard by PayPal fees when I'm being paid by an individual or agency from Europe.
| | | | Paul Dixon
Бразил
Local time: 21:51
португалски на англиски
+ ...
Во сеќавање на | Excessive taxes | Apr 21, 2013 |
This is the big problem in Brazil. We have hundreds of different taxes that are tearing the economy to shreds. The taxes in Brazil are the highest in the world, and billions go to the World Cup we neither want nor need.
| | | | Triston Goodwin
Соединети Американски Држави
Local time: 18:51
шпански на англиски
+ ...
| Feast and famine | Apr 22, 2013 |
That and one of my biggest clients went from 30 days to 45 days, and I'm still trying to adjust.
My newest evil scheme is to be able to feast more often.. buahaha..
| | | | Muriel Vasconcellos (X)
Соединети Американски Држави
Local time: 17:51
шпански на англиски
+ ...
My biggest problem really long jobs because there's a stretch where there's no money coming in. I don't condider this feast or famine, because I'm working at my regular pace all along, but there's no money to collect.
| | |
|
|
|
Jennifer Forbes
Local time: 01:51
француски на англиски
+ ...
Во сеќавање на | Feast or famine | Apr 22, 2013 |
Feast or famine is the worst problem for me, in the sense that it's so frustrating to have to turn down work because of impossibly tight deadlines, especially when two or more "ultra-urgent" offers arrive simultaneously after a period of drought.
| | | |
different paying terms + long payment terms. As lon as I get paid within 30 days from the invoice I am ok. Otherwise I have to use my time for something that will be paid very late.
| | | | To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator: You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request » Poll: Which of the following wreaks the most havoc on your monthly finances? | Wordfast Pro | Translation Memory Software for Any Platform
Exclusive discount for ProZ.com users!
Save over 13% when purchasing Wordfast Pro through ProZ.com. Wordfast is the world's #1 provider of platform-independent Translation Memory software. Consistently ranked the most user-friendly and highest value
Buy now! » |
| | LinguaCore | AI Translation at Your Fingertips
The underlying LLM technology of LinguaCore offers AI translations of unprecedented quality. Quick and simple. Add a human linguistic review at the end for expert-level quality at a fraction of the cost and time.
More info » |
|
| | | | X Sign in to your ProZ.com account... | | | | | |
Login to reply/comment 
