If you run an online business (or any other business, for that matter) there’s a good chance you’re going to have to deal with at least the occasional late payment. While this is unfortunate, it’s also completely normal. More often than not, the client is in good faith and the matter can be resolved quickly and amicably. No harm, no foul.
Unfortunately, though, there are times when, whichever way you look at it, the client was in bad faith. Perhaps they tried to talk themselves out of paying you with a variety of excuses. Or, even worse, they simply went AWOL the minute you delivered the work.
It’s a sad fact of life that there are unscrupulous people who take advantage of the veneer of anonymity the Internet provides to score free work. And, if you’re not careful, you could end up putting in a lot of time and effort into a project without getting paid what you’re due.
Thankfully, it’s very easy to weed out these people from legitimate clients and to nip any potential problems in the bud. Here’s how.
