Pricing · Lesson 6
Getting paid on time
Payment terms are part of pricing. Agree them early and follow up firmly.
Late payment can ruin a profitable business. Treat payment terms as part of the deal, not an afterthought. Ask for a deposit before starting — 30–50% is common for project work — and link further payments to clear milestones, not 'completion'.
Make invoices easy to pay: correct client details, purchase order numbers if required, clear amounts, due date and bank details. Send them the day a milestone is reached. Confirm who approves payment at the client and how long it takes.
Follow up with a fixed routine: a friendly reminder before the due date, a call on the due date, and a firm note at 7 and 14 days overdue. Consider pausing work when payments are significantly late, as agreed in your contract. Polite consistency gets you paid faster than occasional anger.
Example — Hypothetical: milestone billing
A ₦20m project is billed 40% at signing, 30% at planning submission and 30% at final drawings. Before, it was billed 100% on completion and took four months to collect. Now cash arrives as work is done.
Try this
List all unpaid invoices. For each, note the next follow-up step and the date you will take it.
Reflect
What is the average number of days your clients take to pay — and what would halving it do for you?