Best Business Practices for Photographers, Third Edition, 3rd Edition

Chapter 36

Resolving Slow- and Non-Paying Clients

Every client for whom I provide photography services signs a contract with me, and this contract always stipulates the timeline for payment. The contract is nearly always the one I presented, but in circumstances in which a client-presented contract contains nothing objectionable, I am comfortable signing theirs.

The payment timeline varies. Sometimes it’s “due upon receipt,” “due in 30 days,” or requires “full payment prior to publication.” Despite this fact, we have found over the years that when it comes to our deliverables, time is always of the essence, yet I have more than my fair share of slow-paying clients. When this happens, there is a well-worn path between my office, the accounting ...