Enough of chasing payments after jobs
I do on-site photography and video work corporate headshots, small events, that kind of thing. For the first couple years I just collected payment via Venmo or bank transfer after the job.
It mostly worked but last year I had three situations that started getting to me.
One: client wanted to pay immediately after the shoot, had their corporate card out, and I had no way to take it, had to invoice them and wait two weeks for accounts payable to process it.
Two: a Venmo payment that sat pending for four days because the client's bank was slow to verify. I'd already delivered the files.
Three: a client who just didn't pay and I had to follow up for three weeks because there was no real urgency on their end. Payment hadn't happened yet so it felt optional to them.
None of these were catastrophic but combined they were a lot of friction for work I'd already done and delivered.
Started accepting cards on the spot client taps while I'm still there, payment's done before I've packed up my gear. The difference is bigger than I expected, people who pay immediately feel more settled about the transaction. The follow up chasing basically stopped.
Anyone else made this shift? Curious what's working for others who do in person freelance work.