Direct v Agency

[SueEllen]

I've been direct more than once and the worse payers where both a very large well-known company and a small company. Oddly the medium sized companies were better at paying on time.

In terms of contract clauses the companies who were use to using contractors/other businesses had the better contracts and size played no part.

The only thing I would suggest is read the contract very carefully and use a lawyer who specialises in the particular area you deal in not just b2b contracts if you need some clauses redrafted.

[Gentile]

I've only contracted direct once (as opposed to fixed-price jobs, where the money came up front). It was a complete pain in the arse. I'd worked with the organisation concerned (a large public utility firm) twice previously, each time through an agency. When they came calling a third time, and I knew the guys involved because I'd worked with them before, it seemed like a no-brainer just to go direct (the agency had since gone out of the picture for various reasons).

I've never had so many problems getting paid in my life. The guys I was working with were fine to deal with on a personal level, and just as happy with my work as they had been before, but to their accounts staff at head office any invoice from my ContractorCo was just another bill that they delayed paying until they couldn't possibly get away with holding out any more. In the end, I had to threaten to stop the project mid-flow in order to get the back payments I was owed (which amounted to about four months work at that point), and it soured the relationship. I'd never work on a pay-for-play, billable hours basis direct with any client ever again. Dealing with agents has its problems, but getting paid in a timely manner has never been one of them in my experience.

[sharclar]

I have always gone through an agency until this gig where I am direct, and touch wood have never had a problem either way but reading the threads about unsigned time sheets etc has gotten me thinking about what would happen if the worse came to pass.

When through an agency there is a reasonable level of protection that if you have a signed time sheet and are opted in (I think I got this the right way round but correct me if wrong) they must pay you. I assume the protection offered when direct is no more than any other B2B contract?

I think it comes down too size, the smaller the outfit the less chance you will be paid on time correctly, the larger the outfit the more legislative hurdles they usually have to jump through. Unfortunately throughout the course of my contracting career I have had both large and small companies surprise me, but overall it sticks to this rule !!