Invoice due by customer.

[llegent]

Hi everyone. I am having this situation and need some help.

I started doing some works for a customer, it was one of these jobs that had to be done for their daily routine to operate smoothly. However, they keep having an issue with my service charges and they kept comparing my service to others.

Eventually they discontinued but they agreed to pay what the amount due to me. Nevertheless, since then I have heard nothing from them! They moved hosting from me, and got a temporary site/page.

Unfortunate for me, I didn't get them to sign on any service contract according to my terms and conditions either.

So what do I do? Do I just say "nevermind, its just another lesson" and count it as my losses ?

[Melos]

I'm afraid that if you didn't have an actual contract with the person, there is not much you can do about collecting the money owed to you.  If you have anything proving that he was supposed to pay - such as emails between you two discussing price or something like that - and its a large sum of money, I suppose you should consult a lawyer.

[taiarain]

Do you have an e-mail from them agreeing to pay? If not, you may be out of luck. You can try invoicing and calling, but you may not get very far.

Taia

[llegent]

Thanks guys for your kind advises. I spoke to my accounting firm to seek for advise before asking some legal advise. Apparently, my accountant has some knowledge on this issue. And well, I think I 'll have it as "another lesson to learn"  as there is no concrete evidence to proof it that the client has legal obligation to pay me for the amount due, mainly I do not have a "black and white" agreement being signed!

Fortunately, it was not a big sum, just a couple of hundreds. I am learning from this episode, and start to draft out some basic contract for future use.

[taiarain]

Definitely draft out a basic contract. That is important for anyone doing service work.

You could try sending a monthly late statement, including nominal late fees ($5/mo). After a few months draft a letter advising the client that they may either settle with you for 2/3 of the original amount billed in 30 days or you will be turning the account over to a collection agency.

Not sure if it will work, but it may be worth a try.

Taia

[taiarain]

Llegent, did anything good ever come of this?

Taia

[llegent]

So far there has been no real luck in this. But I take it as a lesson for my future planning. Well, I think time chould be better spend on other areas rather than having myself bog down on this particular customer.

I am working on other sites and develop them up as soon. Projects are gettin gpiled up andsome delays recently. I got to work harder!

[taiarain]

Well, I'm glad that things in general are going better even if you did end up getting hosed by this customer.

Taia

[Melos]

I think that is a hard thing in online business.  For those in a service business online, do you actually mail a contract to the client and require them to mail it back to you with a signature before you begin worK?

[fishoutofwater]

Hrm. If you have proof they agreed to pay, you can create an invoice and threaten to take action if they don't pay. Sometimes that in itself results in compensation.