So sad that people change once they receive the services. I'm happy to hear that you have a more reliable client base now, and that you know exactly what you are going to do. Hope it all works out for you.

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Janet
JG Assistance

not sure how it works where you are, but here in virginia you can go to the county courthouse, pay $25 and issue a "warrant of debt" against someone. you may want to looking into that especially if you have a signed agreement and work that you can show as proof. just a thought.

good luck!

On the rare cases I do not get paid, I use a collection agency. It is too time consuming to deal with collections myself. The anger I feel over ignored invoices takes up energy that I need to focus on well-paying clients. The agency keeps half, but it beats feeling the rage of being ignored, and half is better than none!

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Virtual Bankruptcy Paralegal
www.bkprep4u.com

Also, even if you take a client to small claims court and win, you still need to collect on the judgment. The court does not do this for you. It would be up to you to garnish bank accts, etc in order to collect. You may need to investigate his assets in order to attach them and get your money. Again, this is why I use a collection agency, who has the time for this stuff!

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Virtual Bankruptcy Paralegal
www.bkprep4u.com

Originally Posted by katekindred

On the rare cases I do not get paid, I use a collection agency. It is too time consuming to deal with collections myself. The anger I feel over ignored invoices takes up energy that I need to focus on well-paying clients. The agency keeps half, but it beats feeling the rage of being ignored, and half is better than none!

This topic has given me much food for thought. I just regret that I am having to learn this from someone else's misfortune. I will now be adding to my to-do list:

1. Address late payment issues in my terms and policies
2. No matter how tempting, do NOT start work without a signed contract
3. Make sure appropriate payments are made up front

I think katekindred makes a valid point by using a collections agency if you can't get it resolved on your own. I trust that most clients will want to work it out amicably but sadly I imagine there will be a small minority who may not always have the best intentions. My concern would be that if I just walked away and chalked it up to a bad experience, that same client may just move on to the next VA and do the very same thing. I guess I would want to know that they take our business and services seriously and that if they don't pay, there are consequences.

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Linda
Clockwise Virtual Assistance

If I may add to that list, because it is always good to be safer than sorry. I collect a TIN/SSN on my contracts incase I have to report back to credit companies.

Good Luck!

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Christine Thomas -"It's that Simple"
Assistants Made Simple

I am glad I found this thread as it applies to a situation I am in now. I just found out a client we took on in October for a 3-month trial was sent an old contract and it did not have any late fee penalties in it! (I am kicking myself!) So I am updating them and resending them since I forgot we took her on as a trial and her trial ended in January. She has been late in paying a few times.

I can't seem to find anything on guidelines for late fees on the forum unless I searched for the wrong terms, any recommendations on what is the norm before I make my own up? Is there a right way or wrong way?

Christine, I missed your post when I typed my first one. So you collect a social security number, what is TIN? Don't clients balk at having to provide a SSN?

Originally Posted by RobnT08

So you collect a social security number, what is TIN? Don't clients balk at having to provide a SSN?

After your name, address, city, state, zip, and phone, the next thing a credit card app asks for is social security number. I include it on my client intake form and any other forms where it might be helpful to have.

The IRS issues employer identification numbers (EIN) to business owners who need the number if they are going to hire employees; form a partnership, corporation, etc. I would request this number if the contact person is an authorized signator of a company. These individuals are authorized by the company to commit the company for services rendered to a vendor.

I think a TIN is something similar.

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A L Camien
Manager Member

Originally Posted by ChristinaVOS

after that time I charge a late fee DAILY. ~C

I think this is a great idea.

However, if I took a client to small claims court in my state, I would lose late fees charged daily because the judge would tell me I am charging too much according to my state's usury laws.

Those kinds of things need to be considered.

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A L Camien
Manager Member