Getting paid is an important part of any business strategy

Getting paid is an important part of any business strategy. Unfortunately for the one providing the services, it's easy for the recipient of these services not to pay the provider, or to delay paying the provider after having received those services. The phone companies, the natural gas companies, the water companies, and the electricity companies, all know this can be a problem. They've seen it all before, and they've heard it all before. And they have strategies for dealing with those who do not pay. It can be uncomfortable, but what choice do they have?

Delaying paying puts the provider in an unfair situation, making it more difficult for them to provide services for the next person. It means they themselves will have to borrow money, in order to be able to pay their own bills, or their own employees. This is a bad cycle to get into it. It does not help anyone. And for this reason, utility companies, and other companies, impose penalties on those who do not pay their bills, or who do not pay their bills on time. You can hardly blame them. Everyone wants to get paid on time. Everyone needs to get paid on time.

Digital Dan's Policy: Full Payment Before Going Live

Our terms state that all clients shall render the full amount owed on their bill prior to their website going live. This is what you agreed to when you signed on with us. We are only expecting from you what you agreed to pay when you signed the contract. Nothing more and nothing less.

Here's what can happen if we are "generous" and decide to let you delay paying, so that your website can go live before paying us in full. We know, you really want to see your website go live immediately, and you will pay just as soon as we've done that. But here's why that's a very very unwise decision for us, and for you, too. We want you to understand it in full, so you can understand the implications.

The most common scenario

You have an existing website. You've decided to let us redo that website. We've worked tirelessly to get that done. By this time, we've worked with you back and forth on the phone, and through email, and perhaps in person, or on video conference, many different times. All is well, and a good investment has been made by both sides. The go-live date is just around the corner. You say, "Please put it live, as our clients are really expecting to see the new website and we've been advertising that for a while, and besides, there is new content on the new website that must be presented immediately. It cannot wait." But the bill has not been paid in full.

We graciously mention to you that the bill has not been paid in full, but it looks like an offense. Are we not really trusting you? "Please, put it live, and I will pay you after that." It sounds good, so we cautiously put it live. Looks good, doesn't it? The only problem is that you then realize there is still some work pending that you suddenly forgot about -- perhaps you forgot to tell us about it, or there was some missed communication, and now your website is live, but your bill has not been paid. You suddenly reason within yourself, "I should not pay if the work has not yet been completed." Sounds like a good line of reasoning (and it normally would be), but as you can see, expectations are now being dashed.

By insisting that you to pay in full before your website goes live, it will force you to think hard about what still needs to be done on your website in order to make it all that you had intended it to be. Had you really wanted a blue border or page "X" to appear? Or a different image on that mega menu? Or a different set of videos to appear on page "Y"? Or a slightly different way of presenting images on page "Z"? As you can see, as soon as your website goes live and you are now gaining the benefits of that, it may easily cause you to "forget" about the very fine points of what really needs to be done on your website in order for us to be able to close off the deal. After all, when someone is willing to flick a switch for you, what is that to you? That is no skin off your back at all. It is rather an advantage. But to us who thought we were going to get paid, it is disadvantage. Now we are short the money that we budgeted for, and we will have to go into a borrowing situation just to pay our own employees, or to be able to pay our own expenses. To think differently is to not understand the business world who are composed of people just like you. This is not good.

The Bottom Line

The bottom line is that we want service to be provided in a fair, equitable, manner, and that by insisting that the client pay their bill in full before the go-live date, we are encouraging responsible, life-giving, behavior, which will only serve to bless you and your family in the end. This will also enable us to do our job properly, for all concerned. In the end, it's a win/win situation.

At Digital Dan, we work tirelessly to make sure that our clients are well-served. In return, we fully expect that our clients will return the favor by paying their bills in full, prior to the go-live date. This does not include services (like annual hosting charges) that we must collect on an annual basis after the go-live date. However, it does include the basics -- your website.

Your cooperation and understanding is appreciated.