There Are 2 Ways to Handle Payment Discrepancies With Clients
But one feels much better than the other
We hear expressions like, “Always believe the best” and “Give people the benefit of the doubt.”
But how often do we really do this?
I was working for a client recently doing some writing. I sent them the invoice, and a few hours later, they sent the payment.
Only, the amount wasn’t correct. They were a bit short.
I initially began to stew about the discrepancy. What should I do? How should I tell them? Should I just wait until I send the next invoice, and if they hadn’t paid it by then, I’d tack it on to the amount owing?
I felt a bit weird about doing that, but at the same time, I wasn’t okay with being paid the wrong amount.
I tried to go on with my work, but I kept getting sucked back in.
My thoughts soon went down a rabbit hole, wondering whether they had just misread the invoice, or whether the lower payment was intentional. Were they trying to tell me something with these missing dollars? Did they not think my writing was worth the amount I had charged?
I didn’t know for sure. My gut instinct was that it had simply been a mistake.
