Invoice the day of the signing, not the end of the month. Follow up at thirty days, then weekly, politely and relentlessly: the squeaky notary gets the check. This ledger doubles as your tax file at year end. Month:
| Company | Date | Fee | Miles | Invoice # | Invoice sent (same day) | Follow-up 1 (day 30) | Follow-up 2 | Follow-up 3 | Paid date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ☐ | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ | ||||||
| ☐ | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ | ||||||
| ☐ | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ | ||||||
| ☐ | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ | ||||||
| ☐ | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ | ||||||
| ☐ | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ | ||||||
| ☐ | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ | ||||||
| ☐ | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ |
| Bucket | Amount | Companies in it | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current (invoiced this month) | None yet | ||
| 31–60 days | Weekly follow-up | ||
| 61–90 days | Payment-demand letter; prepaid legal plans make that affordable | ||
| Over 90 days | Escalate; grade the client |
Waits run from a week, for the best services, to ninety days; thirty to sixty is common. Read the community forums on which companies pay and which stall before your fifth order from a company, not after your tenth unpaid one.
| Month | Signings | Average fee | Total fees | Total miles | Mileage at federal rate | Net after printing and miles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Log every job's fee, miles, and time. New agents do not negotiate; the operator consensus is to wait until twenty-five to thirty completed jobs before countering. Grade payers and drop the sixty-day, three-reminder companies the moment better-paying work appears. Hold a buffer equal to a month of business costs before going heavy on the loan lane, and bank the general lane's same-day cash to fund the float.