payment terms- 45 days versus 30?

[cannon999]

but you're dealing with agencies.
The OP isn't. No (well very few) direct client is going to go for weekly payments as it's an admin burden.

No I am not. As I said, it's all negotiation.

[Lance]

No I am not. As I said, it's all negotiation.

how many direct clients have you had with payment terms of 7 days?

[cannon999]

how many direct clients have you had with payment terms of 7 days?

Two but why does that matter? If they don't agree to it then just don't take the job. As a software contractor in the current market I can find someone that pays promptly and pass on those that drag their feet

[Lance]

Two but why does that matter? If they don't agree to it then just don't take the job. As a software contractor in the current market I can find someone that pays promptly and pass on those that drag their feet

So it's very few clients then. Like I said.

prompt payment is not the be all and end all of business. When I work to a SoW I invoice based on deliverables. That often means that I won't bill for months. 7, 14, 30, 45 makes no odds at that stage. I don't have a cashflow problem.
If you're a bum on seat resource, and short payment terms are needed, most clients (not all, there's two that don't) would rather put someone through an agency. Most clients I've worked with wouldn't entertain anything quicker than net monthly as that fits their admin cycles.

And to suggest that these clients are dragging their feet is simply failing to understand how businesses back office functions work.

[BigDataPro]

Payment terms like everything is negotiable. I personally don't accept contracts that don't pay weekly

As for as I am aware the only agency that is happy to pay weekly is TEK Systems. Any decent sized direct client won't pay weekly due to additional admin burden.

[uk contractor]

Recently its crept up to 60 but the agency will usually pay you in 30.

[ladymuck]

Recently its crept up to 60 but the agency will usually pay you in 30.

Which one?

[ladymuck]

I've had a variety of terms over the years.

I generally don't care what the terms are, as long as the client / agency stick to those terms.

I have been very lucky in that the few times payments were delayed wasn't because of client / agency games but just a break down in the process with everything being swiftly resolved with the magic words "I won't doing any more work until you pay up".

[eek]

As for as I am aware the only agency that is happy to pay weekly is TEK Systems. Any decent sized direct client won't pay weekly due to additional admin burden.

Not true, Hays are setup for weekly billing. Any agency using Sonovate for invoice factoring / timesheet management will also be weekly billing (Sonovate are a pain for me but for different reasons).

Agencies will do things they way they want to. Personally I would expect an agency to pay on 7 or 30 day terms and no later but consultancies and end clients get different T&Cs.

[PerfectStorm]

Payment terms like everything is negotiable. I personally don't accept contracts that don't pay weekly

Do you turn down a lot of contracts then? Weekly's the same as monthly if you have a warchest...

Imagine turning down paid work for some sense of regular cashflow... I know what I'd do