Getting paid as a freelancer can often turn into an ordeal, but there are several ways you can make it easier for yourself. Here are some tips to ensure a steady flow of cash into your freelancing business.

1. Invoice Promptly

The later you send an invoice, the later you are going to get paid. So make sure that you get your invoices out in a timely fashion. If producing invoices is a hassle, then get yourself some invoicing software that makes it easy. I personally recommend FreeAgent.

2. Ask for money up front

Ask for a deposit before you start work. This can be anything from 20% up to the full amount. Don’t think the client will give you anything up front? There’s no harm asking. I insist on a project deposit from clients that I haven’t worked with before to minimise my risk.

3. Use payment milestones

If you are working on a project that’s going to run for at least a few weeks, then consider having intermittent payment milestones. Schedule an invoice every week, or every fortnight.

4. Shorten your payment terms

30 days is an awful long time to wait to be paid if you have previously spent weeks, or even months, on a project. Shorten your payment terms to 14 days, or less.

5. Automatically follow up

If an invoice has passed its due date, then follow up with a friendly reminder e-mail. Most invoicing software will have this feature in built saving you the time of following up yourself. Be friendly, but persistent.

6. Charge late payers

At least in the UK, you are legally entitled to charge interest and an optional fee for late payments. Add a note to all of your invoices to say that you have the right to charge for late payments. Send a new invoice with your late payment charge after a defined period — say, 14 days after the due date.

With all of the tips, it makes sense to get invoicing terms defined in your client contract before you start working. This will protect you legally from any payment problems.

Were these tips useful? Let me know in the comments below!

Want to get freelancing tips from me? (no more than 1 e-mail a week, I promise!)

Photo credit: “Cash flow” by Jayson Ignacio via Flickr