In the years that I've been a virtual assistant, I've seen a wide variety of terms offered to clients of virtual assistants, everything from 100% payment up front to terms of Net 30 Days. Now, while I have my own very strong personal opinions on terms, I do understand that your mileage may vary. There is no one blanket right answer for everyone. But I will offer you some advice.

Number one set terms you can live with financially and adhere to in terms of being forceful in collections. Now, I'm not saying you have to be nasty with collections, but simply just be forceful. When it comes to payments, clients are in many ways like children. You have to set boundaries or they will go wide open and take advantage of you (even if they don't mean to). So whatever terms you do set, stand by them and don't bend "just this one time."

Number two, you have to consider your cash flow when setting your terms. How many bills do you have? How often are they due? If you offer terms of Net 30, you have to prepare for the fact a client may not pay until Net 60 (or 90!). But if you require 100% deposit up front, realize you are going to lose customers from the get go who want to see your quality and efficiency of work before paying you. Trust is a two way street.

My solution? What I have been doing has been very successful and has not offended, turned away, or upset anyone. For new clients who find me off the internet (Google, Craiglist, etc.) for non-ongoing projects, I require 50% deposit to start the project, and then I ask for the balance due upon receipt or completion of project. If they come back for repeat business within three months, I make the terms 100% due upon completion or receipt of project.

For ongoing clients, my billing works a little differently. I offer two options for my clients. The first is an hourly rate. This is where I charge clients per hour worked (quarter hour increments). First, if they are not through a freelance site with Escrow I make them sign my hourly contract agreement. And then I bill them every two weeks for the hours I've worked regardless of whether it's 30 minutes or 30 hours. The terms are due upon receipt.

Second is the retainer rate. Retainer fees are for a set number of hours per month paid in advance. I mail the bill out the month prior on the 20th. They have until the 1st of the month of service to pay the bill. If they do not pay the bill by the end of business on the 1st, they are charged that month as a regular hourly client at the regular hourly rate. If they make their retainer payment late, that payment goes toward the bill - but they are still billed at the regular hourly rate instead of the retainer rate, because they lost their opportunity to receive the benefits of a retainer package by paying late.

My payment rules through freelance sites are always that I require money in Escrow to begin a project, and that I expect full payment upon receipt of the project.

Whatever choice you decide to make for your business, just make certain it's a choice you can live with in terms of cash flow. Don't be afraid to speak up and ask for what you want and need. You'd be surprised how many clients will just say, "Okay." And not be upset about your terms. You are not a huge corporation (at least no VA that I know is), and you simply don't have the financial leverage to offer huge corporation terms of Net 30 Days.

I worked as an independent contractor for a transcription company for a while. And after working there for a few months, I realized the lady who runs the business is not really making responsible and competent decisions for her business. Why? Because she promises to pay her contractors on set dates twice a month. But when those dates come, she uses the excuse her client(s) haven't paid in their Net 30 Days terms.

First of all, why is a company your size even offering Net 30 Days? Do you have a death wish for your business? I've been doing transcription for years, and I've never had a client whether small projects or large become offended that I require payment upon delivery of transcriptions. Stand up for yourself! Don't be afraid you'll lose business. If you lose business because you say you want terms of due upon receipt, you probably don't want that client anyway, because they're going to be the ones who take six months to pay you!

Second of all, could you imagine if a company told its employees, well, I know you worked for me. But I can't pay you until our customers pay us. Hello? This is not how business works. You pay the people who work for you regardless of whether you get paid or not. As a business owner, collections is YOUR responsibility.

Well, I hope you will keep some of these lessons in mind as you move forward. And if you have any questions about how to word things when setting up your terms or trying to collect, feel free to ask me. I'd be glad to give you some pointers.

Keep moving toward success!