by chasing on 5/20/13, 8:05 PM
Here's a really, really basic business concept, presented in about ten times the number of words it needs. PLEASE SIGN UP FOR OUR PRODUCT.
Also: That's not why I'm getting paid late. I get paid late for a variety of reasons.
by tptacek on 5/20/13, 7:48 PM
We have full-time staff allocated to this challenge, and still have clients that will pay us late. This is a fact of life in business.
by antonios on 5/20/13, 8:12 PM
Interesting article. However, I find it a little difficult to believe that the aforementioned finance professor cared as much about "social justice" as the author says. It's unprofessional and rude to expect someone to complain in order to pay him.
by inerte on 5/20/13, 8:02 PM
I used to work at a very large telecom company, and one of our clients was on average 380 days late with their payments.
We used to say we were their bank, lending money for cash flow. Except never charging interests :)
by praptak on 5/20/13, 8:05 PM
I made some side money as a student by creating and maintaining a DB app for a local dealer of a particular brand of chemical products. The owner had a simple rule - customers pay upfront unless the sum was large enough for him to sue for. He had a de facto local monopoly so he could afford to enforce this. Obviously it didn't apply to trusted customers.
by will_brown on 5/20/13, 8:10 PM
As a former vendor to a Fortune 500 Company, even said Company often paid me in excess of their own net 30 payment terms. I can relate to "Company Y" in the article, because my thought was if I complained my orders might shrink or not come at all, plus I could afford it. I did not stay quite entirely I would contact their accounts payable and try to move their hand, but it was clear they were capable of inventing issues to justify their failure to pay (much like I imagine insurance companies always have an excuse for denying a claim) so I found "complaining" actually worked against my goal.
by artursapek on 5/20/13, 8:23 PM
by chrisa on 5/20/13, 8:10 PM
Sadly, this is very true. It's also a very hard lesson to learn. Even worse, it's extremely difficult to change the behavior after it happens the first time. If you're having trouble with this, here's a talk that helped us quite a bit:
http://vimeo.com/22053820by ambiate on 5/20/13, 8:01 PM
Ugh, our lapse rate is typically 30 days. We have companies that have lapsed 6+ months. Yet, it has been going on for decades. No one questions it and we always seem to get paid in the end. It is just bad form for both parties. 'We have always let them do it!'
by codegeek on 5/20/13, 7:54 PM
After working as a contractor (Corp to Corp) for a while, I have realized that death and clients not paying on time is certain in this field. Yes, you can do many things to minimize it but total elimination is not possible.
by jerven on 5/20/13, 8:20 PM
For large companies paying as late as possible is part of their cash flow management. Why pay if it does not cost you? its like a free 30 day loan. So if the terms say 30 days to pay on day 34. If your company is large enough you, just the carry trade on income you have and expenses you have not paid yet can make a difference on your balance sheet.
If some one is kind enough to extend it to 60 days without complaining, then its more free money for the customer.
by hmottestad on 5/20/13, 8:34 PM
I find that very greedy.
I was going to say a lot more, but what can I say to a line ending it "but they didn't complain". Pretty sure that would justify a heck of a lot of things.
by RandallBrown on 5/20/13, 8:18 PM
What advantage do you gain by always paying them late? Just hanging on to the money a little longer so you can earn a little more interest on it or something?
I've worked with a company that always pays me late. I've told others to be wary about working with them because of it.
I don't see how this is a good thing since it makes you seem extremely unprofessional.
by cowsandmilk on 5/20/13, 8:12 PM
I find offering discounts works extremely well. You write 2/10, net 30 and almost all customers will pay in 10 days.
by willtheperson on 5/20/13, 8:25 PM
It may be "good business" but she's still a bad person who is fueled by greed.
by epoxyhockey on 5/20/13, 8:58 PM
When I worked for a Fortune 10 company, they would rarely pay a bill on time. To get a timely payment, the late fees needed to exceed what the company would earn off of interest on the same amount of money.
by nawitus on 5/20/13, 8:02 PM
Some companies purposely accept getting paid late, as it's a selling point.
