I think the 50% payment up front is a good idea, and I don’t see why companies should get upset about that. If everyone were honest, it wouldn’t have to come to that, but with the economy being where it’s at right now, you can’t take the same chances as before.

I’ve had to write off a few non payees but luckily it wasn’t much money. I’ve learned my lesson, though.

@Jill, I think that diversification is a great point; very important in this economy; thanks!

@Judy, I think that the 50% up front payment is a great idea. In some cases (for example if an agency has all 4 or 5 ratings on Payment Practices) I think that you can tell that they are reliable, but I’ve been amazed at who has not been paying on time lately. I also agree that my fuse is getting shorter when it comes to late payments. Previously I would wait 2 weeks or so before reminding an agency, and now I am down to no more than a week!

@Abigail, that’s a great point that people with in-house jobs may actually be more vulnerable than we are right now. While an in-house job is an all or nothing proposition, we have more options for replacing a lost client, even if it’s a big one!

@Laurel, it’s comforting to know that these cycles of nonpayment come and go! I actually think it’s a great time to get into freelancing, because companies are probably looking to cut in-house costs. At the same time, I think it’s also the time to either very closely vet your potential clients or ask for payment in advance.

@Beth, great question! It depends on the client. With individuals who need their birth certificate or something similar translated, it’s not a great loss if they look elsewhere, so I don’t budge on the full payment in advance. With companies, it depends on the situation. I might go down to 50% advance payment if the company shows other signs of reliability and it’s a project that I’m very interested in, but given my recent experiences, I don’t go any lower than that unless the agency is highly rated on Payment Practices. A few potential clients have offered references; I think this is a nice gesture, but unless I know the other translator involved, I feel like the reference could be anyone, even someone else who works at that company, so it’s not a big plus.

Great post. Do you get any pushback from the individual clients that you ask to pay 100% in advance? If so, what do you say to them?

Beth

However, at the beginning of the year, I was laid off for economic reasons, and so I’m back to the freelance biz. It’s scary to think that again I’ll be uncertain whether I’ll be paid for all my hard work.

That being said, I am actually more concerned about my husband’s job than mine right now – he works at a large investment bank and keeps threatening to become a translator if he’s made redundant.

I really do worry about how the downturn in the economy will affect us. Hopefully clients won’t decide that translations aren’t a priority, because they are. I hope translations are recession-proof! I will check out MT’s comments as well.