One uncomfortably common reality of working as a freelancer is coming across clients who think they can take advantage just because you’re not a bigger business. If you are faced with clients who can’t or don’t want to pay, you have to make sure that you have some protections built into how you do business so that you can get the money that you are rightfully owed.

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Get it signed and sealed

If you can make sure that you have evidence of the services that you’re providing, as well as the payment that you will be owed as a result, then your client can’t play with plausible deniability. Contracts also have the benefit of making the expectations of both parties crystal clear, and legally enforceable. You should take a look at some of the commonly used freelancer contract templates, but you might want to make some additions or alterations, which are typically best done with some legal help.

Keep it tight with the invoices

Invoices, much like contracts, are useful because they offer a paper trail to keep it clear what you’re owed and for what services are provided. However, it’s easy to lose track of floating invoices, so you should consider using invoice tracking software to make sure that you’re always able to see, at a glance, who owes you what, the last time you got in touch with them, and the deadlines outlined for any expected payments. That way, you can follow up more easily with those who still need to pay you.

Make sure to work it into your accounting immediately

As a freelancer, another essential task that you have to keep up with is maintaining your financial records. After all, you have to take care of your own taxes, completely, so you want to make sure that all income and expenses are reported as accurately as possible. With the help of Quickbooks online to accept ACH payments, you can integrate your payment methods directly into your accounting software. This means that you can skip the step of having to manually process each payment after it comes in and also reduces the probability of mistakes due to human error.

Go the upfront route

If you’re worried about clients who might miss payments or will ignore or “forget” about your invoices, then you may want to look at the possibility of accepting payments upfront, before any services or goods are delivered. If you’re going to do this, then you had better ensure that you can have a merchant account at the ready and something like a credit card processing system so that you can make it much easier for them to pay on the spot. Nowadays, you can even get credit card readers for your smartphone so it shouldn’t be too difficult.

With all going well, you shouldn’t have to need to go too far beyond the tips above to get the money that you’re owed. However, don’t be afraid to take the step of legally going after what you have earned, especially if you have records to prove that you are, indeed, owed it.