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Can a Freelancer Charge Late Fees for Late Payments?

One of our members, Dawn Reiss, asks:

 

I turned a story in March and thought it was going to run in April. I was then told the artical was going to be published in May. After sending my story in, in March and my invoice on April 3 I called multiple times - I finally received confirmation that yes that had received my story and my invoice.
The magazine was published beginning of May. I was supposed to be paid on May 10th.  I still haven’t received payment so I contacted the editor director who told me on May 25: "just wanted to let you know that I met with accounting today, and it looks like they’re about a month behind in freelance payment. Sorry for the delay on this, but I asked them to get to my freelancers as soon as possible."
When I first started free-lancing someone suggested that I put the clause at the bottom of my invoice:
Terms: Payment is due in full 30 days after official print date of article. Payments made after that date are subject to a 20% late fee plus an annual interest rate of 20%.
 
I’m curious what other free-lancers have done.

 

Dawn,

I've never been successful adding late charges to my invoices for newspaper and magazine clients. I think the only time you might recover a late fee is if you had to eventually take the publication to court. Sounds like this publication is in trouble. If you still want to write for them, after receiving this payment you could give them one more chance. This could be a temporary cash problem fluke. However, if your payment is late a second time, I wouldn't be doing business with them anymore.


 

Published Tuesday, May 29, 2007 11:38 AM by KerriFivecoatCampbell

Comments

# re: Can a Freelancer Charge Late Fees for Late Payments?

Tuesday, May 29, 2007 11:37 AM by Bruce Shutan
You can always build a late fee into your invoice or a writer's agreement, which I think is a good idea, but then you'd have to drag the publication into Small Claims Court if you can't collect, which might be more trouble than it's worth. I agree with Dawn that the publication probably has a cash-flow problem, which happened with one of my now-former gigs. It took an entire year between the last article I wrote for a particular publication and the final check they were able to cut me. I had considered suing them but knew they were running on fumes. So I decided to seek payment in good faith by dealing directly with the business manager of this shoe-string operation rather than the publisher, who had bigger fires to put out. Just be persistent but just know that if you ever write for them again to expect more of the same -- with or without a late charge added to the fine print.

# re: Can a Freelancer Charge Late Fees for Late Payments?

Wednesday, June 20, 2007 5:14 PM by Misty Haley Bouse
Becareful that you don't make your editor's life hell. We editors have very little control over accounts payable; however, we do want to keep good writers who bust a hump for us happy. I am never aware if there is a problem with payments unless my writers inform me. With that said, we know you too have to eat but honestly, if you put terms on an invoice and make stink about not being paid exactly in 30 days, which I strongly beleive you should be, then you become high-maintenance. If your work is really good, I will want to keep you. But when my accounting department complains about your complaints, the bosses upstairs don't like it. As an editor, I recommend being a bit forgiving if you have a relatinship with your magazine--because there are loads of hungry writers who might be willing to wait for their check. Back in my freelance days, I made a point of never ever complaining. I hold others to this standard. Patience teamed with persistence. And let's hope everyone gets paid.

# re: Can a Freelancer Charge Late Fees for Late Payments?

Thursday, July 05, 2007 7:23 PM by Steve Rhodes
Let's hope everyone gets paid? Let's not pay editors for a few months and see if they complain. I recently battled the International Human Rights Law Institute for a measly amount due to me because I gave them a terrific discount for the work. It took more than six months to get paid, and indeed I did my best to tack on late fees, which they agreed to, then reneged, then only slightly acquiesced to. Telling writers not to complain about not getting paid is shameful. Journalists write about people getting screwed, then you want them to act like puppies? I say raise hell, find other folks to write for, and join the National Writers Union. And yes, put a late fee clause into your contract. You're not doing charity work. This simply isn't tolerated in the business world, why should writers tolerate it? Stop being chumps.

# re: Can a Freelancer Charge Late Fees for Late Payments?

Tuesday, March 18, 2008 6:42 AM by zxevil163
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# re: Can a Freelancer Charge Late Fees for Late Payments?

Thursday, March 20, 2008 3:55 AM by zxevil164
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