Making you first sale is just as or even more exciting than getting your first assignment.. after all you do want to make money! But getting paid can sometimes be not so easy. Most newspapers are good about sending payments on time but others are terrible, it is even worse with magazines and television stations. The absolute worse in my experience is out of state and even international clients but even with them, I have only encountered three or so late payers. Sometimes it is an unorganized editor that misplaces your invoice, or sometimes they are just lazy and forget. Either way there are times when your payment will not reach your mailbox unless you intervene.
From my experience this is how it should go for the average newspaper photo assignment; shoot the assignment, send the invoice and receive the check in the mail within 7-14 days.
It normally isn’t as easy as it sounds, here’s why: [private_pro]
After you shoot and submit the photo for print the payment process is just beginning. Since most newspapers pay for the image only once it is published, you will have to wait until you see it in the newspaper to confirm that they actually used the photo. It is also a good idea to keep a copy of the photo and story for your tearsheet too.
So you wake up in the morning, grab the paper and see your photo printed in the newspaper. You go into your favorite accounting program and generate an invoice with the photo file name, photographer name, event (or assignment # if applicable) and date it was published. I use QuickBooks Simple Start Free Edition for my invoicing and payment tracking it is pretty much everything a photographer should need when it comes to invoicing and tracking payments. You can download it for free HERE. After you have the invoice generated, email it to the assigning editor and the accounting dept. I do this just in case one of them misplaces it, they both have a copy. The editor can’t pay you on his own, it has to go through the accounting dept. but the accounting dept. cant pay you unless the editor signs off on it. So by them both having a copy they should be both be able to process your invoice faster.
In the past I would only send it to the editor only to wait for three months without getting paid! It’s usually the same ol story “I sent it off to accounting and I have no idea what happened” … bullshit. Now when I send it to both what usually happens is the accounting dept. gets this invoice that can’t be paid unless the editor signs off, so she forwards it to the editor and it usually gets done.
If I don’t get an email back within 24 hrs acknowledging that they received the invoice, I always follow up with both the accounting and the editor the next morning to make sure their spam filter didn’t block the email. If this is the first time you deal with this client I would follow up again via email in about a week to make sure everything is ok with the invoice. I usually tell them something to the effect of making sure they have all necessary paperwork from me like contracts, tax forms etc. Of course the real reason is to make sure they are processing your invoice and cutting you a check. It is usually at this time they will tell you that the check is either on it’s way, waiting for approval, lost, or they need additional paperwork from you. That is why I check in within a week, if not you will be waiting months only to find out the invoice was lost!
If you don’t receive your check in about a month I will contact them again asking for the status of the payment. Now it is important that you don’t get attitude with anyone yet, usually multiple people are responsible for processing the check so you can’t pin down all the blame on one person… yet. I usually say something like, “Hey Alicia, what is the status of the payment on my invoice #242 I have yet to receive payment and it has been about a month. I just wanted to make sure that you sent the check to the correct address which should be… (your mailing address) . Let me know if there is something I can do to speed up the process. Have a good day! “
Don’t get all pissy yet, because if it is just a simple error on their part then you will just get your invoice put on the bottom of the stack, and thats not a good place for it to be. By keeping it friendly you will make things easier in the long run…. trust me!
Hopefully it doesn’t get this bad but if two or even three months rolls around and you are still getting the run around about your check then its time to start making calls and get some real answers. If it gets this bad I would stop accepting work from them until they get things straightened out. No need to keep working for them for free. Just like you were timely and professional with the completion of the assignment, they should fulfill their part of the business.
If it gets real ugly I use my Pre Paid Legal plan to get that extra push from a real attorney. They will send the publication a letter demanding payment and warning them of legal action if the payment deadline is not met. This is very powerful and something that you shouldn’t have to deal with often especially when it comes to local stations and publications. The times I had to use Pre Paid Legal were out of state magazines or organizations that simply ignored calls and emails. One letter from the attorney and it was solved and my check was sent!
So hopefully you did not have to contact an attorney or wait 3+ months to receive payment but when you finally do recieve your first check as a freelance photojourlist I am sure a big smile will be on your face! Be sure to follow up with the assigning editor and thank him for the business, this goes a long way to build further business from their organization.
So, get out there and start making sales! [/private_pro]