Why is it So Hard to Get Paid?
By: Omer Trajman
Tags: Contracting, Getting Paid, Gig Economy, Networking, Freelance

Why is it So Hard to Get Paid?

Jerry Seinfeld has a routine where he talks about eating at restaurants and getting the check at the end of the meal. When you sit down to eat, you’re hungry, and the prices don’t matter as much. You have a sense of what you can afford and happily order your food. At the end of the meal, when you’re full, you get the check. Your brain thinks, “why should I spend money on food? I’m stuffed!”

You now have extra work that wasn’t in your proposal: chasing your client for payment.

Contracting works similarly. When you’re creating a job proposal, you decide on a price with your client, and ideally include invoicing and payment terms. Maybe you’ll invoice monthly and expect payment within 15 days. Often when you’ve completed your work and sent the invoice, 15 days pass and all you’ve received is the sweet sound of crickets chirping. You now have extra work that wasn’t in your proposal: chasing your client for payment. This problem is so widespread, there are countless resources to help you figure out how to get paid. A few recent ones with some good advice include How to get a client to pay you on time at Mic, How to Get Your Clients to Pay Invoices On Time from the Atlanta Small Business Network, and How to Handle Late Payments When You’re a Freelancer over at SHIFT News’ The Cutaway

It’s not that they don’t want to pay you, they just suffer from Seinfeld’s check at the end of the meal syndrome.

If you find work through a marketplace, the platform may offer some amount of payment protection if a client pays late, or worse, not at all. This insurance makes sense because you’re likely working for a stranger and the need for added protection is part of the reason marketplaces charge you contracting fees. What do you do when you’re working for a client you know? It’s not that they don’t want to pay you, they just suffer from Seinfeld’s “check at the end of the meal” syndrome. With the work already done, getting their finance department to pay you is low on their priority list.

AskFora simply asks clients to set aside their payment up front (while they’re still hungry, according to Seinfeld).

At AskFora we’ve come up with a better way to work with people you know and get paid on time. We help you avoid the awkward dance of multiple follow up emails and the risk of becoming a nuisance to your client. AskFora simply asks clients to set aside their payment up front (while they’re still hungry, according to Seinfeld). Payment is deposited in a neutral third party account, and your client retains control of when and how much is paid. As a contractor you don’t need to worry about chasing down payment or even creating an invoice.

It’s faster and easier than doing extra work to get paid after you already did the work.

When the work is done, you submit your job, the client confirms that the work was done and releases payment with a single button click. AskFora automatically generates an invoice for your records and you get your payment in a timely manner. It’s faster and easier than doing extra work to get paid after you already did the work. Best of all, AskFora is entirely free for contractors.

Create your profile today and get hired on AskFora.com. Better work with people you know.