[thelist] Business/Payment Question........

[aardvark]

> From: Erik Mattheis <gozz at gozz.com>
> 
> I thought about writing "in the context of this post" but didn't ...
> agreed, giving a discounted rate can build client rapport - BUT if
> anything, a more appropriate response to a client needing immediate
> updates would be a surcharge, not a discounted rate ... the more so if
> the client is slow in paying. I mark my development updates payable

agreed, depending on the client... generally, we have a process in 
place for those anyway, if they need them in less than 24 hours, it 
gets jacked up, but that can be part of the deal anyway...

> upon receipt and won't send a reminder for one month ... but it seems
> that this is an ongoing problem for Sandy - it doesn't seem that the
> client values her/his work - taking down the site would be a poignant
> motivation for the client to give some needed respect.

if the client is truly a non-payer, yes, but i got the gist that the 
client just pays on 30-60 day terms... that's not a non-payer if 
that's the case, just a slow payer...

a non-payer requires a different approach...

> I guess my main point is that largely, people treat you as you you
> expect them to. And not taking decisive action in response to non
> payment sends the signal that it's ok to be lax in cutting the check.

again, not disagreeing on non-payers... i was only talking about 
those on 30-60 day terms...

> Well, it seems like we're on the same page ... clients are different
> ... the client Sandy speaks of is troublesome ... I was just
> encouraging her (him?) (are you a her or him?) (does it matter?) (am I
> being to sensitive to feminists who object to the use of "him" when
> referring to someone of an indeterminate sex?) (should I just use
> "they" instead as is suggested by some influential linguists?) ... to

"it"  ...?

> take down the site if the non payment was unbearable. The goal of the
> post is to find suggestions for ways to get paid ... and accepting
> partial payment is really selling yourself short ... the ability to
> take down the site is some powerful ammo that should be used when
> appropriate. And if this issue is important enough to post here, I say
> do it.

yeah, for non-payers, it's integral...  but i'm still trying to look at 
this as nothing more than a client has 30-60 day terms and she 
wanted the money now... if that *all* it is, pre-payment is worth a 
look...

all this talk about holding *every* change hostage is unsettling 
given my scenario... given total non-payment as a scenario, it's a 
no-brainer...

> No, wasn't a response to your post, but the thread ... great if you
> offer a discount on prepayment, but myself, as an independent, the
> flow isn't great enough to make having less money this month better
> than more money next month. I think I remember that Sandy is
> independent or a hus/wife team.

pre-payment can have benefits...  if the client gets into the habit of 
paying every month, it sits in your account collecting interest 30-60 
days sooner... they get used to paying, they get used to having 
you on call as a resource, conversations about billing can become 
less frequent, administrative time can be reduced...

but you need the right client and right billing arrangement...

[...]
> buy the "investors credit card" thing - sent him an email earlier
> today suggesting he buy a money order with the card. If I delete the
> files what will I be out?

the files...

i dunno, i have a thing against deleting anything... for instance, 
charge again for the time to build them, but just use the same files, 
thereby allowing you to use the time to do real work...

or put them in "archive" and pull them for a fee...