you can do more work, but under certain conditions.
by ed mendlowitz
202 questions and answers: managing an accounting practice
question: client didn’t pay his bills to me, doesn’t return my phone calls and his secretary keeps sending me the tax notices he gets with notes of “when are you going to take care of them?” i tell her that i need the client to call me before i can do any more work and she ignores this and keeps sending me the notices and other tax correspondence he gets.
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i don’t want to tell him i am dropping him because then i don’t think i’ll ever be paid. every year he goes on extension and he usually pays me half of what he owes when he sends me his tax info, but the past due amount has really accumulated to about three years’ fees. what should i do about getting paid?
answer: you have two choices:
1) i think you should send a certified letter informing him that you cannot do any more work until arrangements are made for him to pay his past due debt and the new work you will be doing.
2) tell the client you need a check for the full current year’s tax services before you can start working on his return, and need some payment on the back amounts.
approach it this way:
look at the past due amounts as dead, and just try to have the client not fall more behind, and if possible try to get something in any form toward the past due amount – for example charge $250, $500 or $1000 each month to his credit card toward the past due amounts.
with the past due amounts frozen, or on a small payment plan, getting paid in full for the current work should not be a burden to the client. you can also incentivize the client on monthly payments by creating an understanding that when half or two-thirds of the past due balance is paid, you will cancel the remaining amount, or something similar to that.
result: you’ll be charging $600 a month to the client’s credit card and for the current year’s fee, 50 percent when work comes in, and 50 percent when return is completed.