Send the invoice. Follow it until it is paid.
A plain guide for small-business owners and bookkeepers. One step of getting paid is taken up in every post, and put in order.
Newest posts
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Recurring invoices: how 5 apps handle charging
Compare 5 apps on repeating invoices: schedule timing, whether sending and charging are separate, and what each quoted help page says after a failed payment.
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Deposits and partial payments in 5 invoice tools
How five invoice tools handle deposits, partial payments, and schedules, with stated limits on late fees, subscriptions, and retainers.
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Four steps, in this order
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Agree the terms first
Write down your due date, any deposit and any late fee before work starts.
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Write the bill clearly
Name your work, the amount and your due date. Clear bills give clients less to question.
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Remind on a schedule
Send one note before it is due and one after. Keep each note short, and keep copies.
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Choose what comes next
If a bill stays open, choose between calls, final notices and pausing work. Your contract and your place decide what you may do.
What each guide gives you
- One step
- Each post takes one step of getting paid and explains it in plain words.
- An outline
- You get a short list at the top of each post, so you can jump to the part you need.
- A name and a date
- You see the team name, the publish day and the minutes it takes to read.
- Its sources
- If you want to check a claim, its source is at the end, with the date it was last checked.
- Labelled examples
- When a post gives a sample case, it says so. You will not find an invented person, customer, quote or number.
Before a post goes up
- A language model writes the first version of each post.
- Software matches every claim to a cited source.
- A model from a different company reads the facts again before the post goes up.
- If you doubt a line, send the team the post and the line.
- When a line is wrong, the fix carries a note saying what changed and when.
Who it is for
Written for
You send invoices, or keep the books for someone who does, and you want them paid on time.
Not written for
If you want to run an accounting firm, price a job or manage trust money for a law firm, you need other guides. These posts are about getting your own invoices paid.
General reading only: this site is not a collection agency, and what you may do about a late bill depends on your contract and your place.
Who writes it
Every post carries the name PaidSmith Editorial Team. That name is not a claim that an accountant or a lawyer reviewed the post.
Questions go to operations@paidsmith.com.