I’ve also been getting in the habit of telling everyone and putting on invoices (except for major publications, it won’t work) that there’s one price for payment within 30 days and another for after. Sometimes that helps get them to PayPal.

Marcia

I agree. If the related fees are as high as $30 wire transfers don’t make much sense. They certainly don’t make sense for smallish amounts. From Germany, Switzerland and the UK the fee is usually around $10, and my contracts require my clients to pay that fee (which is common in most of Europe anyway).

Best,
Stef

Jodee Says:
I looked into this for a client of mine and was told it wouldn’t work because I don’t have a bank account with a U.S. bank.[/quote]

It’s not only possible to direct deposit money internationally but it’s fast and easy. Not to mention cheap. Almost all of my clients are located overseas (mostly Europe), and every single one wires the $$$ directly into my US bank account. All your international clients need to proceed a wire transfer is your account # and your bank’s SWIFT code. International deposits arrive in my account 24 hours after they were wired at no extra fee for me (make sure your bank doesn’t charge you a fortune for incoming international wires).

If, on the other hand, you need to direct deposit money into an international account you need the account holder’s IBAN (= International Bank Account Number) and the bank’s SWIFT code. It’s simple, really. And safe. Hailing from Europe I am used to both pay my bills through direct deposit and receive my paychecks/fees via direct deposit and not once has that caused any kind of problem.

I have learned to hate Paypal, though, and no longer accept Paypal payments after getting screwed three times. Unfortunately, Paypal’s “buyer protection program” is designed to screw the sellers, and it’s easy for buyers to reclaim their money through the protection program even if you’ve delivered what you and your buyer had agreed on. So no more Paypal for me. I strongly prefer direct deposits and gruntily accept personal checks and money orders. If a client insists on Paypal payments the client has to do without my work.

Either way (and either way of payment ) – reliable clients and well-paid work to all of you!

Best,
Stef

PayPal is nice, except for the fees. One publication agreed to up my fee just a bit to compensate for that.

Bill

Rather than keep a balance in a PayPal account (there’s no PayPal debit card over here), I immediately transfer the money to my bank account and usually have it within a week.

As far as the fees and tax goes, I usually just list my revenue for each payment as the money I get *after* the fee. I figure that’s the cash I actually receive as income – it’s not the same as receiving the full amount and then paying a fee at a later time. It’s never caused me any problems though, touch wood, I’ve not yet had a cavity-search level audit.

Most of the time direct deposit is only offered through employers with whom you have steady or permanent employment as it’s work to set up – so trust has generally been established.

To me there’s nothing nicer than to look in my bank account and find it a couple of thousand dollars heavier.

I did have one job offer a few months ago where the employer requested I send them a voided blank check so that they could set up direct deposit. I’m not willing to mail this off to some company half a world away.

I do have one employer who pays by check. I’m not thrilled with the situation, and usually they pay a month late. Since starting, they always have some reason why their payment has been delayed a month. I’m happy that I do eventually get paid, but receiving money for work done in May on July 1st is a hassle.

Cheques? Every single one I’ve received has been incorrectly filled in, has a typo or has bounced. Wrong currency, wrong business name… a mess, in short. We don’t accept cheques, thank you very much.

Bank account and direct deposit? *blink* No friggin’ way. But Interac and debit card transfers are a nice option. Interac transfers may only be a Canadian thing (YAY! For once, something we can call ours!).

Internet merchant accounts are another option not listed. There are many of these that allow people to accept credit cards easily. (But PayPal already does that… 3% really, REALLY isn’t a big deal and you DO need those tax writeoffs…)

But the international exchange thing would suck, definitely. So far, my clients are US-based or have US accounts.

PayPal is fine for me, but I’m careful with them. I’ve heard horror stories. Direct deposit is my favorite, but I only do that with companies I know and trust. Checks are fine, because I’m fairly close to an ATM and can go for a walk, get out of the house, and deposit the check. So it’s good for me when I get a check.

For me, PayPal works for having payments immediately. I use the money in PayPal for pay for online things such as my web hosting, domain names, online shopping, etc. Sure there is a fee but it’s MUCH less than the gas cost to drive down the road to my bank.

Direct deposit works great because it’s also instant payment into my bank account. I can pay bills without having to wait for a check.

Checks are wonderful because I always have a steady stream of them coming in throughout the month. This way I am never out of money or broke.

Another positive for PayPal is that your client can pay by credit card, even if you don’t have a credit card processing account.

Maybe I have had too many flaky clients, or maybe its because this is my sole means of supporting my family – I like having the ‘security’ of Paypal funds.

The downside, for me, is the wait to transfer them to my account free or the fee to pull them other ways (other than using my card). Some bills I have must be paid in ways other than a card, so I have the hassle of transferring funds, or paying a fee to pull them, and then deposit them into my bank, which is on the other side of town. Not a huge issue, but it can be an annoyance to deal with when in the midst of deadlines and bills are due.

Patti