Confused/newbed-out about invoicing - help?

[Support Monkey]

There is a lesson to be learned here. Agree terms BEFORE you sign the contract. In fact read your contract properley, the terms are probably in there.

Got to go with the jamjarst on this one, for next time make sure you have agreed this kind of thing before you start, having said that i think its bit cheeky to put in an invoice for work not done and they might think this as well, i would be putting in the invoice at the end of the month, you could ask the accounts department what their policy is, there are people on here who have 90 day payment terms so you could be waiting a while.

The fact you have not been paid since november is not their concern and you should have had enough money to cover this sort of thing before going contracting.

[northernladuk]

I was thinking maybe I could give them an invoice tomorrow or the next day to cover the entire month of December, with terms requiring payment within seven days of 31 December. However, this would mean submitting an invoice covering work not yet done, as I'm working next week as well as this. Do people do this? Is this what's known as a pro forma invoice? Any other suggestions??

He also says this.. Seriously??

Troll....

[NotAllThere]

He also says this.. Seriously??...

Yes, seriously. (NLUK, please pack it in). My current client has year end at the end of December. In the past few years, they've often asked their suppliers to invoice them for the whole of December before the month is over. Apparently it makes their accounting simpler.

We then make up the balance the following month.

You need to discuss with the client. Get your payment terms as low as possible. Get the credit rating of your client and if that's not brilliant, use it in your negotiation. (You must keep the amount owed at any one time to a minimum to reduce your risk). Your reason for invoicing early is to improve your cashflow. This is perfectly valid, and some clients will be accomodating. ( I've worked for a huge multinational who had a policy of 7 days' terms for small businesses, as this supported local commuities).

If you can't get exactly what you want, then if you need money you'll just have to get a loan.

[d000hg]

He also says this.. Seriously??

Troll....

Coming from a permie world this is entirely normal so a new contractor could think it reasonable.

[ChickenWing]

Thanks everyone, apart from NLUK, for your responses. Yes, I have indeed come from from that continent known as Permiegonia. I take your points about waiting a long time to get paid, and about the contract terms - as I added later in the thread, I had put together what I thought was a pretty awesome contract, but haven't been able to use it due to HR manager. Will make sure we have something signed before I start working long-term with them, if that happens.

As it's turned out this month, though, I had a cheque in my hand by the end of day and have banked it. I called one of the finance guys and he said to go ahead and give them an invoice for the entire month, which the head of 'my' dept was happy with, and a cheque was soon forthcoming. I am aware, however, that this was probably a Christmas courtesy thing and not to be expected under normal circumstances. Well done to the finance dept, though!

[Ignis Fatuus]

One point still open here is that the OP is working without a formal contract. Should she do something in the meantime, such as confirm by mail her understanding that they will be working together on some terms or other? Otherwise she risks HR coming up with a real horror of a contract, when they do come up with one. But then, given the business-to-business nature of the relationship, if the OP is currently working on an implied contract, is there any reason why the client's contract should take precedence over the contractor's?

[ChickenWing]

One point still open here is that the OP is working without a formal contract. Should she do something in the meantime, such as confirm by mail her understanding that they will be working together on some terms or other? Otherwise she risks HR coming up with a real horror of a contract, when they do come up with one. But then, given the business-to-business nature of the relationship, if the OP is currently working on an implied contract, is there any reason why the client's contract should take precedence over the contractor's?

Good point. I don't like working without a signed agreement. Right now my being there is based on a proposal I did (setting out "deliverables" etc) before starting, but obviously that doesn't take the place of a contract. I can't figure out if the HR person is too busy to deal with one more thing, not busy but can't be bothered, or if she's got some other, more questionable reason for stalling and not letting me submit my already-prepared contract.