I Started Charging a Late Fee. Here's What Actually Happened.

Short summary

A freelancer shares the real-world experience of adding a 1.5% monthly late fee to invoices after repeated delayed payments from a marketing agency. The fee improved payment speed with larger clients but coincided with a smaller client quietly ending the relationship. The key insight: late fees force a decision about whether you're willing to lose a client over owed money, and they work differently depending on client size and leverage.

• •Adding a 1.5% late fee improved payment speed with larger clients without confrontation
• •A smaller client stopped booking work after the fee was invoked, highlighting relationship risk
• •Late fees create a financial floor but enforce unevenly across clients of different sizes

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