What to Do When Your Client Won’t Pay

  1. Take the high road 01:04
    • We talked about this in Episode 254.
    • Sometimes it is just easier to take the high road and do whatever you need to do to end the relationship in the best way.
    • If your client won’t pay a hosting bill for example, you can help them set up a new account under their own name and migrate the website for them. Then, the hosting isn’t in your hands.
    • It’s not worth the emotional stress of dealing with this type of client.
    • Of course, it also depends on the amount that you’re dealing with. A $50 fee vs. a $5,000 fee is a big difference.
    • This route would be for more of the lower cost projects, or situations that are causing you so much stress that you just want out.
  2. Pursue legal action 02:19
    • If you have completed a lot of work for a client and then can’t get paid, or the client ends the project and refuses to pay, etc, then you might have to pursue legal action.
    • Think a lot about this before you go through with it because it could make your situation much more stressful.
    • We recommend this as the absolute last resort. Remember that lawsuits are time consuming and expensive.
  3. You never know what is happening in someone’s life 05:49
    • The immediate reaction when a client won’t pay is that they are trying to screw you. That’s not always the case.
    • If it is a new client and they aren’t paying, you might handle it differently than say a longstanding client who is getting behind on payments.

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