How do you actually get paid the money?
russell: I do consulting and I get a written agreement giving rates, total amount, and other terms.  Usually the company issues a purchase order and I invoice against the purchase order, usually net 30 days, 15 if I can get away with it.  They send me the checks. I dont give discounts.  I havent worked with mom and pops.  My clients are multi-million to multi-billion corporations and I havent had any collections problems.  It's may be more problematical with sole proprietorships and such.  My billings are typically 5 digits per month.  If you are talking a few hundred per year, the purchasers usually expense it on a credit card because the PO process is so cumbersome.Getting large companies to pay on time hasn't been an issue, but you need to agree to their idea of a schedule.  Sometimes 15 days works, but one insisted on 45 days and the 45 days was when they put the check in the mail.See http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=438740 for another perspective.