Getting Paid in Three Easy Steps
It’s essential that you have some set terms for payment for your services. I remember reading a “how-to” photography book years ago wherein the author said to simply offer terms of Net 30 days to your customers. I tried it—it was a disaster. I found that terms of Net 30 often translated into Net 90 or even Net 120 in the minds of my commercial clients (read advertising agencies). Nowadays I’m not afraid to present my terms up front and insist that clients stick to them. I also try to make it as easy as possible for clients to spend money with me.
1. Put in in writing, and do it in the beginning.
First, I provide a price quote before booking any job. Having a written quote provides a clear description of what you’re planning to provide, and at what price. If there’s a discrepancy between your perception of the project and that of your client the written quote will quickly bring the disparity to light. It’s not uncommon for me to revise a quote two or three times before the description and price are agreeable to all parties.
If there’s any quibbling about price, I offer to reduce my services—not the price for my services. Perhaps the client doesn’t really need as many shots as they first thought, or maybe they’ll opt to do their own prop search and styling. Nonetheless, my price is my price and I never negotiate price.
2. Make payment and usage terms clear.
Second, I set forth the payment and usage terms in my quotation. My quotation contains a clause that states, “usage granted only upon payment in full.” My final quotation is called a Proposal Contract, and is emailed as a .PDF file with the request that the client return the form with their signature of acceptance. This signed Proposal Contract becomes a contract for services that binds both parties.
For a new client I always require a 50% down payment to book the shoot, with the balance due upon receipt of the finished project. If they balk, I ask them to explain their hesitation. Frankly, there’s no legitimate reason for a client to refuse a down payment unless they don’t have the resources to pay you for the project. In any event, without 50% down I don’t accept the job. For regular clients I don’t require a down payment, but do invoice with the terms “Due upon Receipt.”
Granted, many clients will pay you in 30 days even if your invoice terms require payment upon receipt. However, I’ve found that I do get the attention of the accounts payable department by invoicing in this way. Also, my subsequent statements reflect the invoice as “past due” if unpaid during the previous month.
Lest any of you think that this strategy is pure nonsense, let me tell you of an experience with a new client this past month. The client will remain un-named, however if you use a PC you’re undoubtedly using their operating system. This client is a major player in the business world to say the least, however when one of their departments contacted me to shoot a project I proceeded with an explanation of my terms as I’ve already explained. There was no kicking and screaming, they simply mailed me a check for the entire invoice amount within two days of having received my photographs. Enough said.
3. Find out who pays the bill, and how.
The third step in my formula is to ask for the name and direct telephone number of the person responsible for accounts payable within my client’s company. Once my client has accepted and signed my Proposal Contract I contact their accounts payable person and inform them that I’ll be doing business with them as a new vendor and explain my terms of service. I then email or fax my W-9 form to them along with any other new vendor forms they may require.
Having the payment channel in place prior to shooting and billing the job will make getting paid a breeze. You may find that a company prefers to only pay vendors on a monthly basis, in which case you’ll know when you need to have your invoice submitted in order to make the next payment cycle.
Another great tool in getting paid is being able to accept online payments. If you’ve already got a merchant account with your bank, you can likely add an online module to your website that will allow you to accept credit card payments. If not, may I suggest that you set up a business account with PayPal. I use PayPal for all of my online transactions. Accepting online payments is an easy way to get a down payment from a new client given the fact that most companies use corporate credit cards.
Being up front with your service and payment terms will help avoid the unpleasantness of trying to collect from a client on a past due invoice. It’s been my experience that clients who take issue with your payment terms will always be difficult to collect from, and likely won’t use you again anyway. Avoid bad clients by weeding them out in the beginning.
All the best,
Alan Blakely, Director
The Association of Independent Architectural Photographers
©2008 AIAP
