You should always get paid on time

This is a problem that comes up for most small service-based business owners.

And the bigger your business, the more problems it will cause.

Late or non-payers can mean you struggle to pay your staff or invest in your business.

Adding stress onto you and taking time away from what you should really be doing which is growing your business.

The answer is to always ask for payment upfront or put clients on a service like Go Cardless.

Now, I know from our members that this isn’t always possible. Sometimes you have to work with the payment systems of your clients, especially if they are larger businesses.

But you should never be paid late.

The good news is that the answer to always being paid on time lies with you.

Here’s how you do it:

• Set out clear terms and conditions and make sure your clients understand these at the start

• Have clear boundaries about payment terms

• If you have to work to a client’s terms, such as a large corporation, then get yourself on their payment system and send an invoice BEFORE you deliver

•Check your client has everything they need to pay you

•Put everyone you can onto an autopayment system like a standing order or Go Cardless

•Never let a client pay late. Stop work immediately and arrange payment terms when needed.

Getting paid for our work is essential and as a business owner, you need to make sure no one pays you late ever again.