There is a version of the late-payment conversation that goes: "Some clients are just slow payers and there's nothing you can do." I don't believe that. In my experience, most late payments trace back to something preventable — an unclear invoice, ambiguous terms, an invoice sent to the wrong person, or a writer who didn't follow up because it felt uncomfortable.
Getting paid on time is largely a system problem, not a relationship problem. Fix the system and most of the late payments fix themselves.
Agree payment terms before you start
This is the single most important thing, and the one most commonly skipped. Before you accept a commission, confirm: what is the fee, when will it be paid, and what triggers payment — filing, acceptance, or publication?
For magazine work in New Zealand, "20th of the following month" is the most common terms — and most publications have this built into their accounts cycle, so it happens without you needing to push. But you need to know that's the arrangement before you invoice. If you invoice assuming 14-day terms and the publication runs on 20th-of-the-month, the "late" payment isn't late — it's just not what you assumed.
For corporate content clients, 14 or 30 days from invoice date is typical. Get it in writing, even just in an email reply: "Happy to proceed — confirming fee of $X, payable within 14 days of invoice." That sentence protects you.
"Most late payments trace back to something preventable — an unclear invoice, ambiguous terms, or a writer who didn't follow up because it felt uncomfortable."
Invoice immediately on filing
Not at the end of the month. Not when you remember. The day you file the piece — or the day it's published, if that's what triggers payment — is invoice day.
Speed matters here more than most writers realise. An invoice that arrives the same day as the work is filed is processed quickly because the work is fresh in everyone's mind. An invoice that arrives three weeks later lands in an accounts queue when the context has faded, the editor has moved on to the next issue, and nobody is quite sure what it's for.
Invoice the right person
At larger publications, the editor who commissioned you is not the person who processes your invoice. There is an accounts department, and they need the invoice sent to a specific address — often accounts@publication.co.nz or similar.
If you don't know where to send invoices, ask before you file. "Who should I send the invoice to?" is a perfectly normal question. Sending it to the editor and hoping it finds its way to accounts is how invoices get lost.
Make your invoice easy to process
A complete invoice that contains everything accounts needs — your name, GST number if applicable, invoice number, description of the work, amount, due date, and your bank details — gets processed faster than an incomplete one that requires someone to email you for missing information.
Every time accounts has to contact you, you add days to the payment timeline. Build a complete invoice template and use it every time without exception.
Follow up before the due date
This is counterintuitive. Most writers follow up after the due date — when the invoice is already late. A brief email two or three days before the due date is actually more effective: "Just a note that invoice INV-2026-012 for $X is due on Friday 20 April — please let me know if you need anything from me to process it."
This does two things. It surfaces the invoice in someone's inbox at the right moment. And it gives accounts time to process it before it goes overdue — which is what you actually want.
What to do when an invoice is late
On the due date, if payment hasn't arrived, send a short, friendly reminder. No accusation, no drama — just a factual note: "Invoice INV-2026-012 for $X was due today — could you confirm when we can expect payment?"
A week later, if still unpaid, a second reminder — slightly more direct: "This invoice is now a week overdue. Could someone from accounts let me know the status?"
At two weeks overdue, escalate: contact the editor directly, not just accounts, and ask them to follow up internally. Editors have influence over their publications' accounts departments in a way that writers don't, and most editors don't want their contributors chasing payment.
Beyond three to four weeks: a formal letter noting the overdue amount and stating that you'll be adding a late payment charge if it remains unresolved. This rarely needs to be sent — but having it ready and being willing to send it is what separates writers who get paid from writers who don't.
Keep records that make following up easy
If you don't know what's paid and what's outstanding at any given moment, chasing invoices becomes much harder. You need to know — for every invoice — the date it was sent, the amount, the due date, and whether it's been paid.
This is the kind of record that should live alongside the project itself, not in a separate spreadsheet you update inconsistently. When your accounting and your project management live in the same place, you always know where you stand — not just on the writing, but on the money.