So I did a logo + full brand guide for a local bakery. Delivered everything, they loved it, sent the invoice net 15 and now it's been a month of silence. Phone goes to voicemail, emails unread. It's not a huge amount but it's my rent money. Anybody dealt with this? Do I just show up at the bakery and order a croissant until they acknowledge me?
Invoicing
A client disappeared when it was time to pay the invoice
Show up and buy a croissant with the invoice taped to the exact change you hand over. Honestly though, do you have a signed contract or just email approvals?
A month is nothing. I had a client ghost me for six months then email 'so sorry, got buried!' and paid in full. Don't burn the bridge yet, just keep a paper trail.
This is why I take 50% upfront. Not victim blaming, OP, it's just that freelancers get treated like the last priority on the payables list.
Send a final notice with a late fee attached. Watch how fast 'unread' becomes 'read' when the number goes up.
Eh, late fees only work if your contract has a clause for them. Otherwise it's just a scary email.
For a bakery? Go in person. You can't ghost someone standing in your lobby asking for a sourdough loaf and an ETA on payment.
Certified letter. Costs like six bucks. Weirdly effective because it can't be ignored as easily as an email.
Six bucks to get paid rent money is fine. But also, have you checked if the bakery is even still operating? Small business closures happen fast.
This. My brother's 'ghosting' client had literally closed and fled the lease. Do a quick check of their socials before you escalate.
Wait, OP, did you hand over the final files before payment cleared? Because if so, that's the real lesson here.
Love how this thread started as 'client won't pay' and is now an interrogation of OP's business practices lol.
It's a fair interrogation though. Deliverables befo re payment is how you end up writing forum posts at 2am.
I still vote certified letter. Simple, cheap, and creates a dated record. Forget the croissant stakeout.
Croissant stakeout is the better story though. Please report back.
OP asked a question and vanished just like the client. Kind of poetic.
You scared them off with the interrogation lol. In all seriousness, a polite but firm 'final reminder before i escalate' email + certified letter + a phone call from a different number usually shakes them loose. If the bakery's still open, someone there knows where the owner is.