自由職業者怎樣避免白干活
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????3.實施迅速且帶有預防性的發票措施 ????“客戶對你的工作感到滿意的時候，立即遞送發票，”霍洛維茲指出?！叭绻蛻舨粷M意呢？那就更要立即遞送發票和結賬了?！彼€補充道，發票要“一式三份，分別通過郵寄信件、電子郵件和手機郵件（告知發票已寄送）形式發出。如果這是你的第一輪做法，讓他們設想一下第二輪和第三輪會是什么情況?！?/p> ????4. 結識會計人員 ????“收集有關會計程序的信息，結識幾個能在付款延遲時為你提供幫助的人，”霍洛維茲說?！斑@也能幫助你避免因為賬款問題給主要工作關系帶來不良影響。”她建議，每次開始新的項目時，可以這樣說：“我知道您很忙。在應收賬款方面，我可以聯系哪位會計人員？” ????5. 考慮把賬單上傳到云端 ????“讓事情公開化，而不是私下處理，確實會有所幫助，”霍洛維茲稱?！白C明文件是決定‘收款游戲’成敗的關鍵所在。所以，考慮使用在線服務追蹤你的項目周期，遞送項目發票，包括付款延遲追蹤和處理支付業務?！蹦憧梢酝ㄟ^搜索“在線發票”或“在線賬單”找到這些服務。 ????6. 制定跟進機制 ????“首先發送措辭友好、但語氣堅決的電子郵件，說明尚未付款，”霍洛維茲指出?！叭绻麤]有得到回應，可以發送更加正式的通知，重新描述賬單信息，同時指出，‘這筆款項已經延遲了數日或數周時間。請與我聯系，討論這個嚴重的問題。’要讓你的措辭更專業，以事實為基礎，而且重在解決問題?！?/p> ????重要的是，要記錄與客戶的所有聯系情況。她補充說：“如果你和客戶制定支付計劃——例如，你同意接受分期付款，而不是一次性支付欠款——在電子郵件中進行總結，作為正式記錄。要保存每封信件和電子郵件，留存通話記錄。如果事情發展到一定程度，可以在法庭上使用你留存的證明文件，或將文件轉交給收款中介機構?！?/p> ????或許，確保勞有所得聽起來像是固定工作之外的第二份工作，這也正是許多自由職業者推遲處理付款的一個原因，但這種做法是錯誤的。“不要延遲跟進，”霍洛維茲指出。“欠款時間越長，就越難收回?！弊Ｄ愫眠\。 ????反饋：如果你曾經或現在依然是自由職業者，你在付款方面有沒有遇到過困難？你是怎么處理的？歡迎評論。 ????譯者：喬樹靜/汪皓 |
????3. Practice prompt, preventive invoicing ????"You should send invoices right away, while everyone's in love with your work," Horowitz says. "No love? All the more reason to bill them and close the books." Invoices should be sent "in triplicate," she adds. "Send each invoice by snail mail, email, and with a phone message saying the invoice was sent. If this is what you do on Round One, let them imagine what Round Two and Three will be like." ????4. Get acquainted with someone in accounting ????"You'll glean information about their procedures and get to know someone in a position to help if there's a delay," says Horowitz. "It's also helpful for keeping your primary work contact unsullied by the money thing." When starting each new gig, she advises, say something like, "I know you're busy. Is there someone in accounts payable I could reach out to?" ????5. Consider delegating your billing to the cloud ????"This is one time when making things less personal can really help," says Horowitz. "Documentation is nine-tenths of the collection game, so think about hiring an online service to track your time on projects, send invoices for them, including late-payment follow-up, and handle payment transactions." You can find these services by searching under "online invoicing" or "online billing." ????6. Have a follow-up system ????"Start with an email, friendly but firm, pointing out that your invoice hasn't been paid," says Horowitz. "If there's no response, a more formal notice could be next, recapping the billing information and saying, 'This payment is now however-many days, or weeks, late. Please contact me to discuss this serious matter.' Keep your tone professional, factual, and solution-oriented." ????It's important to keep track of every contact with clients, she adds: "If you and the client work out a payment plan -- where, for example, you agree to accept the balance due in installments instead of all at once -- summarize it in an email for the record. Keep copies of every letter and email and a phone log. You're building documentation for possible use in court, or to hand over to a collections agency, if it comes to that." ????Making sure you get paid may sound like a second job on top of your regular work, which is why many freelancers put off dealing with it, but that's a mistake. "Don't procrastinate on follow-up," Horowitz says. "The older the debt, the harder it will be to collect." Good luck. ????Talkback: If you've done freelance work, or are self-employed now, did you ever have trouble getting paid? What did you do about it? Leave a comment below. |
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