Agency's terms of payment

[Old Greg]

Been on...

Friday Invoice - Tuesday Payment
End of Month Invoice + 30 days
Weekly + 7 days
Monthly + 7 days

Currently working on cash up front

It was Invoice Friday then 7 days but over Christmas the agency paid me twice without having invoice for the amounts. I've told then but admin doesn't seem to be the strong point.

My last client had never taken on a contractor before.

'Do you mind invoicing at the beginning of each month and we will pay within 7 days?'

The last month of the contract they paid 3 days late so I charged them interest.

[Wanderer]

just about to move from 30 day payment terms to 60 days. I think of it as an addition to the warchest.

So your warchest is held by another party who could easily go out of business and not pay you? I'll have the money in my own company bank account thank you very much.

[SussexSeagull]

So your warchest is held by another party who could easily go out of business and not pay you? I'll have the money in my own company bank account thank you very much.

Plus one hears of companies finding reasons not to pay final invoices.

[BolshieBastard]

just about to move from 30 day payment terms to 60 days.
Not great in terms of cashflow right now but I think of it as an addition to the warchest.
When the contract finishes at the end of January I'm still being paid through to 31st March

Well I just laughed when the agent mentioned 60 day terms to me but, each to their own.

[gingerjedi]

I'm on 30 days payment terms paid weekly, I keep a spreadsheet with the dates I should be paid alongside the submitted timesheet date.

It's the only way I can keep track.

[Helpdesk67]

Cheers guys, it was just a bit of a shock to the system, money is tight as I was out of work for a few weeks and this was the last thing I needed. I contracted between 2003 and 2006 when I went full time and I have been back contracting since September, and have ALWAYS been weekly paid, 1 week in arrears, assumed that this was standard practice. I guess I have just been very lucky in the past.

[northernladuk]

Cheers guys, it was just a bit of a shock to the system, money is tight as I was out of work for a few weeks and this was the last thing I needed. I contracted between 2003 and 2006 when I went full time and I have been back contracting since September, and have ALWAYS been weekly paid, 1 week in arrears, assumed that this was standard practice. I guess I have just been very lucky in the past.

Might also be because a lot has happened in the 6 years?

[witchfinder general]

The whole 28-30 days thing seems to be be standard with a lot of agencies these days, my gripe with it is that it makes it very hard to judge exactly when your money is going to hit your account (there seems to a variance depending on the time of day they make payment)and by extension it makes it hard to schedule your outgoings

[BolshieBastard]

The whole 28-30 days thing seems to be be standard with a lot of agencies these days, my gripe with it is that it makes it very hard to judge exactly when your money is going to hit your account (there seems to a variance depending on the time of day they make payment)and by extension it makes it hard to schedule your outgoings

And with Faster Payments, agents should be made to pay an invoice within 24 hours of it hitting their in box.

[Xenoid]

Invoice paid 30days Later

I have read this thread and its a bit shocking actually. I am an IT Contractor and recently started a new contract. (Subcontracting). The agency I work through has now told me that invoices are paid on the last Thursday of the following month. Which means I will have to work a month and wait approx another for the invoice to be paid?

Is this legal and is there a regulatory body for agencies that has something around invoices being paid? Do you reckon if the agency refuses to bring the pay date forward that I should talk to the client and threaten to break the contract?

That might scare the agency in changing their payment schedule.