The freelance payment terms that save my sanity 😅

How I set boundaries around getting paid (and why it means I rarely deal with late invoices now)

If you just want to go STRAIGHT to the job listings for this week, here you go:

There are some juicy ones this week!

A remote gig of 16 x 1-hour scribing sessions about crypto, and a big job for Amazon in Las Vegas, USA 🇺🇸

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Anyways, let’s talk about getting paid on time and not having to charge your illustration clients any late fees.

“Should I charge a late fee when illustration clients pay late?”

This question was posted in the comments section of this Instagram reel earlier this week. (Thank you, Cassandra! Excellent question.)

Short answer: Yes. But I almost never need to anymore, and heeeere’s why:

Can freelance illustrators charge late fees in the UK?

Also yes.

So, for context: in the UK, if you’re self-employed and a client pays late, you’re legally allowed to charge them 8% of the total invoice plus the Bank of England base rate as a late fee. It falls under a law called the ”Late Commercial Payments Act” - here’s the link to the Gov.uk page about it. (Disclaimer: I’m not great at maths and I’m not a lawyer.)

It’s nice in theory.

But in real life, it’s very hard to enforce, because clients definitely (obviously) don’t want to pay late fees.

Why I don’t need to chase late payments anymore

The reason I haven’t needed to charge a late fee in years is that I changed my payment terms.

Nowadays, I ask clients to pay a deposit to confirm the booking, and then I make it super clear: if you can’t pay before the day of the event, please let us know. That way we can either work something out, or at the very least, we’re not sat here thinking you’ve ghosted us.

Universities are a good example. They almost always read the contract, then say, “We can’t do your payment terms,” because their finance departments are very strict. But that’s a good thing!

The conversation about finance and being set up as a supplier etc. happening *before* the event, means that the financial ball is already rolling.

Because we’ve already had the conversation upfront, they do tend to pay within 30 days after the event. Because we’ve flagged it, it’s on their radar.

How to set freelance illustration payment terms that work

For me, here are the things that changed my getting-paid-on-time life as a live event illustrator.

My go-to payment terms for freelance illustration clients (which you might find helpful if you’re dealing with a lot of late-payers)

1. Ask clients to pay a deposit to confirm their booking. Put ya money where your mouth is! (This immediately flags up any finance stuff. They will spring to life like ‘OK! We need to get you set up as a supplier. Fill in these 12 forms. Tell us your inside leg measurement! etc.)

2. Ask for the remaining balance to be paid on the day of the event. In my experience, most of my clients have been happy to do this. And if they want to wait until after the event? They’ve paid their deposit! It’s all good. Having boundaries that are a wee bit flexible (so they bend, rather than snap) is a great way to not-be-a-total-asshole-to-work-with.)

3. Issue the invoice *before* the event. Sending the invoice after the event is a recipe for gettin’ paid in a far away, distant time. Yes, you might need to add a purchase order number on there, or tweak some details, but if it exists before the event, that’s a great way to improve your chances of getting paid early or on time, or at least *less* late.

4. Be open to negotiation and having a chat about payment terms. Often it’s the giant corporation / university’s finance rules. There’s nowt the people working there can do about it. You just gotta playyyy the game.

5. Get ready to fill in a shit-tonne of forms. Most finance departments are obsessed with forms. Don’t get me started on that bloody IR35 nonsense. **eye twitch**

What to do when an illustration client pays late

Sometimes things will still go wrong, despite your best efforts. Maybe there’s a mistake on the invoice, or a weird portal form that needs filling out. But because the line of communication is open, they’ll (hopefully) keep you in the loop. And honestly, that’s all you want.

There’s nothing worse than submitting an invoice and then hearing nothing. Tumbleweed. Meanwhile, you’ve done the job and you’re left thinking, “Are they ever going to pay me?? What have I dooooone? 😩”

Dealing with slow university payments as a freelancer

In my experience, the people working in universities want to pay you, they just… can’t. Because the systems are ridiculous. (I’m sure there’s a reason, but still — ridiculous.)

Anyway, if you didn’t know about the late fee thing for UK freelancers (not just illustrators!), it is a legal right . You can look it up: “Late commercial payments”.

Hope that’s helpful!

Here is a freelancer prayer I made up just for you:

May the procurement teams be kind to you,
and may your invoices be paid on time.
I hereby hope that you savings account has 3-6 months of expenses in it,
So that you can weather the procurement storms.

Praise be unto the finance teams.

x Katie

p.s. This was originally posted as a Reel over on that there Instagram. You can watch it here if you’d like: