FURIOUS about late payments - Page 2

Yes. I have implemented a late fee as well. I include some buffer time prior to the event.

If I receive payment within that buffer time, it's the balance plus the late fee. Thankfully I have not had to NOT make a cake for someone b/c they were late.

Gotta tell you, I would caution a bride against doing business with a business that demanded payment in full that far in advance. It is a sign of a business with poor cash management, and that is indicative of a business likely to fail in a down economy.

Caterers and other wedding professionals typically get final payment no more than two weeks ahead of time, and my guess is that you would have better success in getting payment on time if your policies were more like other wedding vendors.

With the policies you have currently, I wouldn't ever even consider having you as a baker.

I agree about the "late fee extension". If some people see that they CAN pay late, they most likely will even if it means it'll cost them more $$.

I think it's very important to stick to the original contract that they signed.

Good luck with this one!

P.S. One of my family members thought they were being cute one day as I was carrying in a cake to a family party she said "Oh here's the Cake Lady"......................I wasn't amused. I hate that name!

A-flipping-men buddy. Could there be a more unprofessional term to use or what??

I agree with the original poster timeline. Usually that month they know how many guest they will have. Most of my brides want to get the cake payed for in advance anyways. Who wants to pay at the last minute? Unless they dont have the money and I dont want to worry about getting bounced checks. Stick to your guns and your contract.

Just a thought, maybe she didn't get the emails? did you try calling her?
I agree with your contract, if I didn't have the payment I would cancel, did you hear back from her yet?

I havent read the rest of the thread yet, but I had to comment on this...because I think you are very correct! Even though I am fully licensed, insured, inspected, injected, and pay through the nose for all these things, I bake from a commerical kitchen in my home. (if you walked into my space, you would never thinik you were still in a house) yet I am treated like I am not a real business and not a real bakery, and not taken seriously. I get calls all the time on the phone asking "Are you a real bakery or bake from home?" I answer "yes". People think I will give a discount because I have "low overhead". I don't pay high rent, but I pay just as much in insurance, fees, taxes, licensing, utilities, trash pickup and advertising. I even have to pay more for my basic ingredients because many companies won't deliver to me.

I dont mean to start a bakery vs home bakery discussion: I have been seriously thinking of moving into a commerical space because I just dont have room anymore at my home, so no offense to store front bakeries! Back to the original post, I do think some brides don't take us seriously and we get paid last. They dont think we have lawyers or that our contracts are legit, for some odd reason. But I also think that with todays economy, brides are spending too much and then don't have the money to pay thier final bill. I have had two weddings canceled this year because "we couldn't afford the wedding" (one or both of them were laid off) Its sad.

As a business person, if I saw a contract like that, I would assume I wasn't dealing with a professional business, but with a home baker who was running a business on a shoestring and couldn't afford the ingredients etc for my cake until she got my money. That is something that would make me nervous.

I just spoke at a seminar ( My husband is an MBA, and we do a lot of " industry" lectures etc. on business practices.)

I just did a talk on the effects of the economy. Brides in NC are booking later and spending about 10-15% less than they did last year. They are also paying later and/or using credit more than last year.

I am just going to venture a guess that you don't take credit cards, so that leaves brides ( or their parents) having to wait for an additional paycheck before they can pay you.

North Carolina has some of the highest unemployment in the country, and so people are really struggling. You are welcome to run your business using whatever policies you choose, but if you are difficult to do business with, you will get less business. And wait 'til you see the effect on your business the first time you cancel a brides cake for not paying A MONTH in advance. It is not a reasonable policy, and my prediction is that it will cost you business.

Wow - thats what wrong with this world today, credit cards!

I think everyone's policy is their business. Do what you're comfortable with.

Around here payment in full 30 days before any event has been industry standard since I was married over 25 yrs ago. I know, we paid for our own wedding..........and we didn't need to charge it on a credit card either. That's just wrong.............

angelcakes...........you hit the nail right on the head!

Yep, you guys were both married in the age before " the Knot". Brides today don't cut back nearly as much as they should if Suzy Ormond were giving them advice. They are more likely to charge things and those that can't charge things may be having to scrimp a little to pay you off.

If you want to do business with brides, you'd better get familiar with the way brides do business. I'm betting your policies are costing you money in the long run.