How to Get Paid as a Freelance Software Consultant

You have skills as a computer programmer, and you want to capitalize on those skills. Now how can you get people to pay you for work you have done for them? This article summarizes the process of asking for and receiving payment as a consultant.

Difficulty:

Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Invoice Software

1. First you need to make sure your client understands that the work has been completed. A few days after installing the product, contact them using a personal means such as telephone to ask how they like the program and if it's doing what they need it to do. A client will not pay for a product that does not fit their needs. In some larger organizations they may not even know it's been completed. Taking the steps to speak with the people you organized the project with allows you to let them know you consider it completed in a very subtle manner.

2. Create a professional invoice with your name, company name, and contact information--including your mailing address. This makes sure they will not be confused as to where to send payment. There are many free, high-quality invoicing programs on the internet. The one I use is linked to below.

3. Make sure your payment terms are clearly visible on the invoice. Sometimes it is suffient to say "Net 30 payment terms" which implies the client has 30 days to pay the full amount of the invoice.

   Another way to display your terms is "Payment Terms: 30 Days" which eliminates any questions whatsoever.

   If you think your client will wait the full 30 days to pay and you want or need the money sooner, you can offer discounts if the client pays early. Use the "2%/10 Net 30" terminology on your invoice. This means that if the client pays within 10 days, they can take 2% off of the total invoice price as a discount. If not, they will owe the full amount by 30 days.

4. Send the client your invoice both as a PDF file by email and a fax if possible. This guarantees they received it. As a small business, it is generally not a good idea to contact the client after sending an invoice. Give them the full length of the payment terms to pay without calling them about it. Sometimes contacting them can be viewed as hassling the client for payment, and if you want to maintain repeat business with the client that is not a good idea.

Resources

• BambooInvoice - Great open source invoice program