So what should you do to get paid on time?<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
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How to get paid as a freelancer:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Now let\u2019s break each best practice down for how to get paid as a freelancer so you can start getting paid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The first thing you should do to get paid on time might surprise you. No, it\u2019s not a secret. But it is something that separates frazzled freelancers from those rocking their cash flow. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Ready? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Here it is:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Get organized. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Track your outstanding payments so you can see all of your projects\u2019 payment statuses in one place. You\u2019ll know when you\u2019re supposed to be getting paid, how much and by whom. (And who\u2019s overdue.) These are the key pieces of information you need to know if you\u2019re getting paid on time and have enough income coming in to maintain a positive cash flow. You\u2019ll also know who to send reminders to for upcoming payments and who to follow up with for late invoices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The best way to start tracking your payments is by using a platform like HoneyBook. As a client management and online payment software, HoneyBook tracks all of your projects and payment details in one place, including: <\/p>\n\n\n\n HoneyBook sends automated payment reminders<\/a> on your behalf and allows clients to pay from any device, wherever they are. The payment status is updated in the system for you, so that you don\u2019t need to dig through your emails and texts to figure out if you\u2019ve been paid yet. And since you can access HoneyBook from anywhere (including on the go with the HoneyBook app), you can stay on top of your payments and feel good about your finances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you decide not to use an online payment software, then at a bare minimum, pick one place where you can track your projects\u2019 payments in one place. A simple spreadsheet could look like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Want this template?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Get the Payment Tracker here.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n You\u2019ll need to make sure you consistently review and update the doc. Set a dedicated time for billing each week or make updates to your doc in real time, including updating with any payments you\u2019ve received and any new clients\/projects you need to add in. Also make it a best practice to note any payments that are coming up soon or are overdue, and send out reminders. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The best way to get paid is fast\u2014for both you and your client. You, of course, want to get paid on time and your client wants the payment process to be as painless as possible. So how to get paid as a freelancer as fast as possible? Accept online payments. If you\u2019re following our first best practice of tracking your projects and payments with an online payment software like HoneyBook, then letting your clients pay online couldn\u2019t be easier. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s how it works (all within HoneyBook!):<\/p>\n\n\n\n Want to learn how to send an invoice<\/a>? Check out our 7 steps to guarantee your next payday. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Business management platforms like HoneyBook have all the same invoicing<\/a> and payment capabilities as software like QuickBooks. But because HoneyBook is more than an accounting software, it has even more perks. You can manage all client communications in one place, automate repetitive tasks and get paid (with read-receipts that allow you to see when your client has viewed your invoice)\u2014all while keeping it personal and on-brand. (No separate invoicing tool needed!). <\/p>\n\n\n\n Pros<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Cons<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Fees<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n A quick note on fees<\/em>\u2014All online payment processors take fees in order to cover the risk of processing a payment. The industry standard is right around 3.5%, which according to many experienced business owners, any normal business would jump at the chance to have such little transaction overhead.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n HoneyBook charges the following rates per transaction:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Note: All features, including invoicing and payments, are included in your HoneyBook monthly subscription. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While online payments through HoneyBook are hands down the best way to get paid as a modern freelancer, there are a couple of other options for how to get paid as a freelancer that are available to you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n To accept online payments with PayPal<\/a>, all you need is a PayPal account, and you can create and send invoices. While you don\u2019t need to pay for other software to use it, keep in mind that your payments are only captured in PayPal. This becomes another place where your business data lives. Why\u2019s that such a bad thing? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Imagine you\u2019re getting dressed. You put on a shirt, but to get your pants, you have to go downstairs to the kitchen, where you keep your trousers next to the cereal bowls. And to find your socks, you go to the garage. Then finally to the backyard to collect your jacket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Having your business information live in multiple systems is kind of like that. And if you\u2019re trying to scale, be more efficient and\u2014oh, you know, try not to lose your mind\u2014having everything in one place, like in a business management platform like HoneyBook, makes it so much easier to do. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Pros<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Cons<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Fees<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n PayPal charges the following rate per transaction:<\/p>\n\n\n\n With QuickBooks<\/a>, you can send invoices and get paid online. In order to use QuickBooks payments, you will need to pay for a monthly QuickBooks subscription. And, as with PayPal, QuickBooks becomes one more place where your business data lives and needs to be managed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pros<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Cons<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Fees<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n QuickBooks charges the following rates per transaction:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Venmo is great for paying your friend back for the pizza you split last night. But for getting paid as a freelancer? It\u2019s actually not allowed. You might know lots of freelancers who request and accept payments this way, but Venmo\u2019s website<\/a> makes it pretty clear that it\u2019s against the rules:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cVenmo may not otherwise be used to receive business, commercial or merchant transactions, meaning you CANNOT use Venmo to accept payment from (or send payment to) another user for a good or service.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n So what happens if you get paid through Venmo? They say, \u201cIf you accept a Venmo payment from someone for a good or service and we later review the payment, we may reverse the payment, meaning you could lose both the payment and the item sold. This review process may not occur until after you attempt to transfer the funds out of Venmo.\u201d Not only would you lose the money, you\u2019d also lose the time you spent putting into the project (yikes).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cons<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n To get paid by check, you don\u2019t need much more than your client signing a piece of paper. But ask any entrepreneur and they\u2019ll tell you: getting paid by check isn\u2019t always so easy. Waiting for checks in the mail is a cashflow killer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pros<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Cons <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Fees<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n While there are technically no fees associated with getting paid by check, remember that your time is valuable, and there\u2019s an opportunity cost to not getting paid promptly, like potentially not being able to pay your bills on time or having to delay buying a new piece of equipment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Michael Lopez<\/a>, a freelance copywriter, finished a freelancing job, provided his client with the deliverables and was surprised when they didn\u2019t pay him because they didn\u2019t think they would use what he provided. One thing he wishes he had done better? Protect himself from these exact situations. \u201cA contract was something that I knew I needed, but I hadn\u2019t been able to put one together,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Protect your business (and bank account) from the risk of not getting paid with a contract. (Don\u2019t know where to start with contracts? Search for templates online or invest in a system that provides online contract templates<\/a> for you.) This should be signed by your client before any work begins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not only does having a contract help protect you if you need to seek legal help or escalate to small claims court, it also sets expectations on the work you\u2019re doing, the deliverables you\u2019re providing, when you\u2019re delivering them and for how much. Getting this alignment from your client at the outset increases your chances of delivering work to a happy client who will pay you.<\/p>\n\n\n [CTA_A title=”Protect your business “] Use our lawyer-written, lawyer-approved contract templates<\/a> created specifically for your industry to get peace of mind, save time drafting from scratch and always look professional. START FREE TRIAL<\/a> [\/CTA_A]<\/p>\n\n\n\n Collecting money upfront in the form of a non-refundable deposit before you start any work is the gold standard for how to get paid as a freelancer. How much of a deposit? It depends. A good rule of thumb is to require 33% of the project total for larger projects and 50% for smaller projects. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, if asking for money makes you feel squeamish, first, stop and remember the invaluable skill set you\u2019re bringing to the table. And second, don\u2019t ask. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI have found that the best way is to not even ask at all,\u201d says Wes McDowell<\/a>, a freelance web strategist. \u201cWhenever I have an initial consultation with a new client, I simply tell them what the next steps are if they would like to proceed: \u2018If you want to get going with the project, just let me know, and I will email you my standard agreement, and an invoice for 50% of the project cost as a deposit. Once those are taken care of, we can schedule the kickoff meeting.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n After the deposit, you have a couple of options for how to ask for the balance to be paid for flat-fee projects, including 1) in installments based on dates you assign (e.g., 25% due one month before the project completion, 25% due at project completion) or 2) in installments based on project milestones you decide (e.g., 25% due after phase 1, 25% due after phase 2). <\/p>\n\n\n\n For engagements where you\u2019re billing hourly, bill for your hours every 2 weeks until the end of the project. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Another option for how to get paid as a freelancer, though hotly debated, is to request 100% payment upfront, especially from new clients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhile it feels very fair and justified to you to ask for 100% up front,\u201d says Wes McDowell,<\/a> \u201cyour client will likely not feel the same.\u201d Whereas Austin L. Church, writer and freelance coach, says<\/a>, \u201cMore often than not, the client will agree to pay 100% up front.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n When clients push back, he stands his ground because he discovered that \u201cbeing firm, being a little grumpy about boundaries, will help to train your clients to respect you. Stand your ground with money stuff, and they will push back less on EVERYTHING.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n So if you want to make the ask, try rephrasing it. Instead of asking for 100% up-front, you could say, \u201cWe charge for time up front. Our minimum engagement is $3,000.\u201d They\u2019re still paying 100% up-front, but it sounds less demanding, increasing your chances of getting booked. Sometimes softer language is all it takes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Whether you ask for a deposit or 100% payment up-front, whatever you do, don\u2019t bill for payment after<\/em> you\u2019ve completed the work. Since so many freelancers require a deposit as part of their booking process, most clients accept this as common practice. So it\u2019s almost a no-brainer just to ask for one. But time and again, we see freelancers make the mistake of waiting for payment after they\u2019ve completed the work. This might be the norm in some industries, but it\u2019s not the best idea for skilled freelancers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For starters, requiring a deposit helps guarantee your clients\u2019 investment in the project. Without that client buy-in, you risk dealing with less serious clients who may be unresponsive or less likely to see the project to completion. You\u2019re also at a much greater risk of wasting time and money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s say you\u2019ve been working for weeks or months on a project. If the client decides to pull the plug without paying you halfway through, there are no guarantees you\u2019ll see a dime. And if you hired any subcontractors to help you (for example, if you\u2019re a web designer and you hire a copywriter to write the site content), you\u2019ll be on the hook for paying them, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It takes clients time to process payments (which is why we always recommend allowing them to pay online for a seamless experience), so another way to speed things up is by shortening your payment terms. Stick to a \u201cdue upon receipt\u201d or \u201cnet 7 days\u201d on your invoices to make your payment due date right away or seven days after you send the invoice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Along the same lines, always make sure to send invoices promptly. Sending invoices willy-nilly may make clients think you\u2019re not in a rush to get paid. Sending them promptly on the dates you outlined at the beginning of the project conveys your professionalism. Jon Younger<\/a>, the founder of the Agile Talent Collaborative<\/a>, a nonprofit research organization, says invoicing often is \u201ca signal that you consider your time valuable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even the best clients may need a nudge to pay on time. Invoicing tools and business management platforms like HoneyBook can send automated reminders a couple of days before a payment is due and\/or after it\u2019s late. You save time not chasing after payments and don\u2019t have to worry about annoying clients with constant reminders (just blame your software if you get any funny comments!) <\/p>\n\n\n\n To recap how to get paid as a freelancer:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Follow these best practices for how to get paid as a freelancer and start minimizing stress and taking more financial control. Not only will you be able to better predict cash flow to prepare for slower seasons, you can make informed business decisions, like understanding when it\u2019s a good time financially to hire help or buy new equipment. And you\u2019ll be saving up to $6,000 a year, the amount the average unpaid freelance worker loses annually<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Learn more and grow your business with HoneyBook’s all-in-one client management software for small businesses. <\/a><\/em>Manage projects, book clients, send an <\/i>online invoice<\/i><\/a> and get paid through our <\/i>online payment software<\/i><\/a>. Now peace of mind comes with just one login.<\/i><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Use these best practices and payment methods for how to get paid as a freelancer and start getting paid in full and on time, every time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":225,"featured_media":77038,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23268","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-best-practices"],"acf":[],"featured_image_urls_v2":{"full":["https:\/\/hbb.dev.reliablepenguin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/shutterstock_1614158701-1.jpg",2048,1365,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/hbb.dev.reliablepenguin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/shutterstock_1614158701-1-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/hbb.dev.reliablepenguin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/shutterstock_1614158701-1-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/hbb.dev.reliablepenguin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/shutterstock_1614158701-1-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/hbb.dev.reliablepenguin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/shutterstock_1614158701-1-1024x683.jpg",1024,683,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/hbb.dev.reliablepenguin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/shutterstock_1614158701-1-1536x1024.jpg",1536,1024,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/hbb.dev.reliablepenguin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/shutterstock_1614158701-1.jpg",2048,1365,false]},"post_excerpt_stackable_v2":"\n
Track your outstanding payments<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Accept online payments <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Other payment options<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
PayPal<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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QuickBooks <\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Venmo <\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Checks<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Use a contract <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nRequire a deposit up-front<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Shorten your payment terms<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nSend reminders<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nHow to get paid as a freelancer\u2014on time, every time<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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