Being a freelancer take a lot of trust and risk. Of course, being a company that hires freelancers also takes a bit of risk. The company must trust that the freelancer really will produce quality work on time, but that basically ends there. If they’re unhappy with the freelancer, all they need to do is write a curt e-mail telling him or her that services are no longer needed and good luck with your career, although some opt to detail their grievances, too. For the freelancer, however, he or she must trust that he or she will get paid, and companies are notoriously slow in sending payments to their independent contractors. You’d drown in bills first before receiving the money you earned, and the unfair thing is, you submitted quality work on time or even well ahead of the deadline, and the company is taking its sweet time paying you. If you don’t have a contract, you can see how easily they can worm their way out of the situation, leaving you exhausted from and unpaid for the services you rendered.

I generally make it a point to send an invoice to my clients on the date I’m supposed to receive my payment, and barring that, I like to harangue them about it–within reason, of course, but I’ve never exactly been shy about asking for money. It gets curious how some companies would be in constant touch the whole time you’re completing the project and suddenly be unavailable most of the time when it’s time to pay you.

I have no other advice for fellow freelancers other than to get everything in writing, send an invoice, and ask aggressively for the money you rightfully deserve. Fortunately, Melissa Brewer has a fine article entitled When Clients Don’t Pay, Pay Late…And Another Anomalies of Freelancing that you will learn a whole lot from. At the very least, you’ll learn that you’re not the only freelancer out there whose clients are wimping out on you.