I recently wondered how I would ever end a relationship with a client. I am curious to know if you have ever ended a working relationship with a client. If so, what are your recommendations?

I had to end a client relationship back in 2010. I was working for a caterer and he would never provide me with work according to the contract we signed. He also haggled me for price. In hind sight i never should have signed a contract with him in the first place. He would always give me a hard time when i spoke up and eventually work came few and far between. In my contract it states that either party can end the relationship but that it must be in writing and the remaing invoice paid (work completed or not). I eventually, after attempting to contact him and he ignored my emails, calls, texts, etc, sent him a discontinuence letter with my reasons and let him know by what date he should pay me the rest of my invoice. Unfortunatly i still have not received a payment.

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Alisa A. Beatty ~Assistance You Can Count On~ www.virtual-jane.com

Like Alisa, I have had a few similar situations, however, I never ended without receiving money because I take a deposit. I am not sure if you take deposits but that would be the crux of any termination of a client relationship. A contract and a deposit. There is no other leg to stand on.

When problems come about with a client I started billing for time unused because my contract states that X amount of hours needs to be used in X amount of time and unused time is not rolled over to the next month. That got my former client's attention when he didn't send work as the contract stated.

At first, I am lenient and I send emails explaining the policy and that I plan to finish the work by X time which is usually another week. (By now they have gone over the time I have allotted.) But I always ask first if there is something wrong or extenuating circumstances and I try to work with them.

If nothing changes, I send a bill for unused time and give 30 days notice in writing, as my contract states.

I am not sure if you have yourself covered in your contracts but if you don't have any of these measures in place you can send an addendum to the contract. You can ask for a deposit, if you don't already and plan to continue working with your client. If you have a deposit, then deduct the time you have used. Give 30 days notice and explain you will work X amount of time to finish out the contract. Explain the deposit is not refundable.

Most terminations of client relationships are a common pattern of behavior (late payment, slow to pay, no communication, complaints, bargaining down rates, etc.) but the important thing is to know those red flags before you sign the contract to avoid problems later on.


Janine

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I also had to terminate a client in 2009. She was just really flaky. She would want something done, but then would forget to send me what I needed to do the work. She had some real unrealistic expectations (like a faxed copy of a PDF (not even anything I could have extracted from) of an excel spreadsheet with 400 names on it to be retyped in an hour). I got her over a hump, because she had a deadline, totally in the interest of goodwill. But, after having tried previously to discuss these types of things with her, I still told her in the email that I didn't think we were a good fit after all, but I would be happy to help her find another VA who might be a better fit for her needs.

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Pam Blackman - The Process Coach
Get more done in less time by streamlining!

I lost a bookkeeping client that wanted me to 'fudge' their books and include personal expenses in their business write-offs. I had worked with this person for over a year and a half so the request really surprised me! I told them I WON'T do unethical things and they found someone else to do their books that would do so. Therefore, they terminated ME, rather than the other way around.

I have told two clients that our working styles didn't seem to match since they either blew off deadlines or didn't get me the information I needed to do their work.

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Lily Chambers, The Virtual Office Goddess, LLC
Author "How to Do Your Own Small Business Bookkeeping"

I too had to terminate a client. Actually two but the first was more mutual since their work load slowed because of some restructuring. It was surprising not difficult since this client was sucking me dry. Not in terms of money but time. They would add on projects like they were my only client and would call relentlessly during Sunday as they would get caught up with the week. My husband called them the crazy people when they popped up on the called ID and loved listening to their messages.

I set the ground rules, they did not follow, hence they were fired. Funny thing is they called the other day because their new person was not working out and "they want me back". Needless to say I am avoiding that phone call.

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Lee Drozak
My Office Assistant