In my last post, When Clients Don’t Pay: How to Collect Without Involving the Mafia, I shared some experiences and talked about steps you can take before you even start to get worried about not getting paid.

This post focuses on what to do after you’ve taken all those steps and remain empty-pocketed.

We talked about maintaining a business relationship, whether or not you plan to work with this client again. A good way to do this to keep things on a business level. Once you make it all personal and emotional, it’s almost impossible to recover. You may feel like strangling the object of your invoice woe, but save it for your daydreams.

You can still get what your entitled to without drama or… screaming. Trust me on this one, I’ve been both the screamer and the screamee; you lose even when you “win.”

So the first step in our collection process is a simple, friendly reminder. A short e-mail will suffice, like this:

I just wanted to see how things are going with those new web graphics. If you need some help implementing them, just let me know.

Did you have any questions on the invoice I sent last week? If so, I’m happy to answer them.

At this point you aren’t out to hassle anyone or demand anything. You’re just trying to get the communication going. Most of the time when I do this I get one of four responses:

1. I never got it.
2. Oops - I have it but forgot to send it to accounting.
3. You didn’t get a check yet? I’m so sorry, let me look into that.
4. I have it and I’ll pay you as soon as I can.

If they never got it, simply send it again – but follow up right away to make sure they did. For #2 and #3, set a reminder to check in a week later with another friendly inquiry. If you get a #4, that’s still a good thing. It says that they are communicating to you an intention to pay. At least they’re not disputing the bill. That’s a whole post in itself.

Are they lying? Maybe, but you can’t assume so and the good news is that you have them talking. They didn’t say they wouldn’t pay, so chill out a bit.

So when do we get to start harassing them for the money? How about never?

That’s right. Never work the harassment angle. There are laws against that sort of thing and it won’t make it easier to get paid. The things is, you’ve got a logical system of figuring your chances of getting a check, which involves answering some basic questions:

1. Are they communicating with you?
2. Do they have the bill?
3. Do they intend to pay?
4. Do they have the money to pay?

The only two that you have any control over are #2 and #3. If they don’t have the bill, send it (or send it again). If they intend to pay but haven’t you can ask again at a later date.

You can’t control whether or not they communicate with you or the balance in their checking account. Do you have to give up? Of course not, but you didn’t expect I would tell you to give up anyway, did you?

If a client owes you money but isn’t communicating with you, the first thing you need to do is make sure you’ve tried all methods of reaching them. Sending another e-mail after they didn’t answer the first three is, well… kinda stupid. Did you try calling them? Did you leave a voicemail? Did you snail mail them a copy of the invoice? Did you send it with a return receipt?

What you need to find out is if they are receiving you. Servers go down, businesses move, family crises come up, mailrooms lose mail, and all of these things can happen without someone keeping you in the loop. So before you assume they’re ignoring you, try every method until you get a response (a return receipt might be considered a response). You’re just searching for a pulse here.

If you get a pulse, great. Now you can work from those possible action steps we talked about earlier.

If you don’t get a pulse, you can still dig deeper to contact your client. If it’s a medium to large-sized business, it’s a little easier. Are they a member of the Better Business Bureau? How about their local Chamber of Commerce? Do they have a web site or blog? Find out if they’re even still in business. If they aren’t, you may be out of luck, or it’s possible there’s someone new handling the company’s debts. It’s research, it’s detective work, but how badly do you want that money?

How about the client who intends to pay but doesn’t have the money? Before you get a hornet in your crotch, go back to that relationship thing we talked about. Ask yourself some tough questions about the situation.

Have I enjoyed working with this client? Do I want to work with this client again? Is this a chronic issue or a one-time problem?

As I write this, I’m in this very situation with a good client. Last year we did a lot of business together and he either paid early or at least on time. I recently completed a project for him and it’s becoming obvious that he simply doesn’t have the money to pay the invoice, which is about 30 days past due. He intends to pay me and we are communicating.

I recently offered to break the invoice into payments which should make it easier for him. Ideally I would have a nice influx of cash all at once, because I’ve got my own bills to pay. I have some choices.*

I can get nasty and demand that he start paying immediately. Should I care how he gets my money? Just friggin’ get it, man! 

It might feel good to let off some steam, but that probably won’t get me any farther ahead. Likely, we’ll never do business again, even after he pays me.

What I will do is be a little patient with him. This doesn’t mean he can walk all over me; we do need to agree on a manageable payment schedule. I’m fair, but I’m firm about this.

Also, I’m not going to begin any new projects with him until this invoice is paid (I hope that’s obvious, but I felt I should mention it). For future projects, we’ll have to work out a deposit or escrow system to avoid this happening again. Not only will I be certain I’m going to get paid, I’ll feel more relaxed working the gig.

This begs the question, what if I don’t want to work with this client ever again?

Fair enough. Even if you don’t intend to do any future work with that client, you need to stick to a businesslike bearing. Wearing your disgruntled emotions on your sleeve is not going to get you what you want anyway. Besides, who knows what connections this client has? If they tell their network how much you sound like a snorting bull on the phone, it could come back to haunt you.

My intention here is to show you new ways to think about your situation. Be honest, don’t you care a little bit more about getting paid when your own business is slow? Try not to let your own financial worries interfere with the good relationships you’ve worked hard to cultivate.

Maybe you’ve gone through every thought process and action step I’ve outlined here and you’re still not getting paid. What now, Mr. Smarty Pants Client Compassion Guy?

There are actions you can take. In my next post, I’ll talk about where to go from here. I’ll talk to some freelancers who have dealt with this situation, and I’d love to get a handful of experiences from our readers. Please consider this question for your response:

Have you used a collection agency or attorney to get a client to pay? If so, what was your experience?

Post your comments below, or e-mail me at david@sparkyfirepants.com. Please leave out the names of any clients you’ve had issues with!

*As I post this, the client I wrote about in the example has paid. For the record, I didn’t have to break any limbs or call a federal agency.

David Billings is an illustrator, animator, and writer. He currently runs two businesses from his home studio near beautiful Mount Hood, Oregon.

Sparky Firepants Images is focused on building kids’ brains to ginormous sizes while they have a crazy time. David creates fantastic, colorful images that complement books and educational media for preschool and elementary-level kids. A unique perspective on children’s publishing and the business of illustration can be found on his blog.

He also uses his technical expertise in creating corporate graphics and presentations to consult with and assist presenters of all types, keeping their audiences rapt with attention. Prepared Graphics focuses on helping individuals and small business owners with great content who don’t want to mess around with that PowerPoint stuff.

David lives with his wife and children on an alpaca farm. No, they don’t really smell that bad.