I email pdf invoices that have a line asking clients to please pay by a certain date. Then in the cover note, if the client’s local, I ask if I can pick up a check on the pay-by date.

If the client’s not local — or big enough to have a respectable D&B rating, I sell the invoice to Aquent Fastcash. They pay me the bulk of the invoice within two days and then collect from the client. If an out-of-town client doesn’t qualify for Aquent, they pay by credit card, on the pay-by date, via PayPal.

My advice is, never worry about a client’s reaction to your billing procedures, no matter how nonstandard they are, as long as you explain them politely an clearly upfront. The only ones who ever get mad are the ones who realize you’ve just denied them their opportunity to stiff you.