How do I get paid past net 30? | Business of Film

The standard payment terms in this industry are net 30. You invoice, you wait thirty days, you get paid. But sometimes, it can stretch towards net 45. Sometimes it gets to a longer net 60. Sometimes it feels like you never will get paid at all, despite the constant emails, phone calls, and multitude of polite nudges.

In our industry, it isn't whether net 30 is practical, economically right, or morally ethical. While those questions arise, it unfortunately is the norm that is not going to go away for a while. So instead, let's discuss: what do you do when day 31 arrives and your bank account is still waiting?

Here's what actually works.

Send the follow-up invoice

On the first business day past net 30, (day 31, 32, or 33), send a polite follow-up email with the invoice attached again.

Subject line: "Following up on Invoice #[number]."

Body: "Hi [Name], just following up on the attached invoice from [date]. Let me know if you need anything from me to process this. Thanks."

This does two things. First, it reminds them the invoice exists — which matters more than it should, because production company accounting departments are often drowning, and the corporate world is often bureaucratic and full of red tape. Second, it starts a paper trail, which you'll need if this gets worse.

Don't apologize for following up. You did the work. They owe you the money. Following up on an overdue invoice is not rude. It's strictly business.

It is good to be polite and nice in your email, as people do make mistakes...sometimes. But the biggest indicator of a good client/production is how they respond; particularly, how much they care that your check didn't arrive on time.

Call if email doesn't work

If the email gets no response within a week, call. Not because calling is more effective at getting money out of a slow-paying company, but because it's harder to ignore a human voice than an email.

Ask to speak to the accounting team responsible for payment. Be calm, be direct: "Hi, I'm calling about Invoice #[number] from [date]. It's now [X] days overdue, and I wanted to check if there's anything holding up the payment."

Sometimes the answer is: "Oh, we never received that." Sometimes it's: "We're waiting on approval from [someone]." Sometimes it's: "Our system flagged it because [bureaucratic reason]."

Whatever the answer is, you now know what the actual problem is instead of guessing. And you've made yourself a person instead of a line item, which changes how they treat the invoice. And on top of that, you still have your paper trail.

Aside: understand the real delays

Most late payments aren't malicious, they are most likely structural. But that doesn't make it any less annoying.

Production companies often don't get paid by their client until the project delivers. If the client is slow, everyone down the chain is slow, especially if the production company doesn't have the cash reserves to pay out on time. Sometimes your invoice is sitting in a pile waiting for someone to approve it who's been on set for three weeks and hasn't opened their email. Sometimes the accounting person quit and no one told you.

None of this is your problem to solve, but understanding it helps you know what kind of fight you're in. If the delay is internal chaos, persistence works. If the delay is cash flow, persistence won't fix it — and you need to decide how hard you want to push a company that might not be able to pay you on time even if they wanted to.

Now, this is no excuse to not be paid on time. You have bills to pay, a life to live, and put in the work for a job that you thought you'd be paid for. No one likes when the paycheck doesn't come on time. But understanding this can help determine when and how to negotiate payment terms. If a production company reaches out to you that has had trouble paying in the past, it may be better to negotiate payment on the day or on days before net-30 to try to jump the line. It also can give you a way of implementing a late fee, which is now becoming more popular, which we describe down below.

Know when to escalate

If it's been 60 days and you're still getting vague answers, it's time to escalate. Email the producer or the person who hired you directly. Keep it professional, keep it factual: "Hi [Name], I've been following up with accounting on Invoice #[number] for [X] days without resolution. Can you help push this through?"

Producers hate dealing with unpaid invoices because it affects their reputation, which means they'll usually fix it fast just to make the problem go away. This works especially well if you've worked with them before and they want to work with you again.

The nuclear option

If you've escalated, if you've called, if you've emailed, and it's been 90+ days with no payment and no real communication, you have two options: small claims court or walking away.

Small claims is designed for exactly this situation. The filing fee is low, the process is straightforward, and you don't need a lawyer. The filing itself often shakes the money loose — companies that were ignoring your emails will suddenly find your invoice once they're served with a court summons.

Walking away means deciding the time and energy it'll take to chase this money isn't worth it. Sometimes that's the right call. Sometimes you just want to be done with it.

Neither option is pleasant. But if you're at this point, you've already done everything reasonable, and now you're choosing between unpleasant options instead of good ones.

What to do next time

The best way to avoid this problem is to not work with slow-paying companies twice. Keep a list. If someone pays you 60 days late after you've chased them for weeks, they don't get to hire you again — or if they do, you charge more for the inconvenience.

For new clients, ask around. Other crew will tell you who pays on time and who doesn't. The industry is small enough that reputations travel.

And before you shoot, be clear about your terms. "Payment due within 30 days" is standard, but you can also add "a 1.5% monthly late fee applies to overdue invoices" if you want to build in a consequence. Whether you enforce it is up to you, but having it there gives you leverage.

Getting paid late happens in this business. But you still need to get paid.

You did the work. You sent the invoice. You followed up. At a certain point, the problem isn't you — it's them. And the sooner you recognize that, the sooner you can decide how much of your time this is worth.