clients

Pickups and Revisions: What’s Your Policy?

January 31, 2022 by Laura Schreiber

Why Voice Actors Need a Policy for Pickups and Revisions

As a full-time, professional voice actor, I love working with repeat clients. I love delivering finished audio I can be proud of, and over the years I’ve come up with a few strategies to reduce the number of pickups I have to do. It is important to understand the difference between pickups and revisions, and how live sessions come into play.

Just What is a Pickup

A pickup implies that you, the voice over talent, have made an error, and typically any and all performance errors are covered by the actor regardless of the size of the job’s budget. This could mean that you misread the script, it could mean that there is an odd noise in the recording and it is obscuring your work, or it could be a performance error. Perhaps you were meant to sound calm and relaxed and the client feels you give off an agitated vibe. Any of this constitutes a pickup. When I book a job, I do ask clients to give me the courtesy of asking for pickups and deliveries within 48 hours of when I give them the finished audio. Most do. Some don’t. How flexible you want to be is up to you, and makes a difference in how you feel about your relationship with the client.

What is a Revision

A revision is different than a pickup. A revision implies that the client has changed the script. Typically this means that they got your VoiceOver audio back, reviewed it, and then decided to make tweaks. For me, for jobs over $250, I include one round of minor revisions which I define as less than 20% of the script within 48 hours of delivery. If it is after 48 hours or more than 20% I charge $75 per 30-minute revision session. If the revisions are more than 40 percent of the script I adjust the rate. If the script starts to look more than 3/4 different and it is a long narration, then it becomes a new job, and negotiations begin. This is not common. In all my years as a VO talent and coach, the two times this has happened, the clients were upfront about the revisions and offered me a new rate before I even had to start worrying. If you are noticing, they are noticing. In terms of the turnaround with revisions, again, you have to decide what you can live with. For example, I work with some eLearning companies that take quite a while to review their work. For me, this is not a problem and I am happy to wait.

Throwing a Live Session into the Mix

So you have a session for Source Connect, Zoom, or Skype. Wonderful. What should your pickup policy be? Audio from a live session is always final delivery. Period. The session should not end until the clients have what they need. This is the industry standard. If the client comes back after a life session and wants a re-record, you are entitled to a fee for an entirely new booking. Basically, you have made yourself available to however many people from their team are on the call, from the producer, to the creative director, to the folks from the brand. They have plenty of time to give direction, chat, and get all that they need from you. You are not in any hurry. If, after the spot is produced, they decide to take the work in a different direction, that’s fine. They can pay you for another session.

Tips to Avoid Pickups and Revisions

In the end, here are some tips I have come up with that leave me having to do very little pickups.

On jobs under three and a half or four minutes, I deliver at least two takes. If a client has options, they are less likely to come back to you wanting more.
I deliver wilds of the end. If there is a talk line, give them lots of options of the end as you would in a live session.
If there is something that may have an unusual or unexpected pronunciation, either try to call the company and hear how they say it, or fine it on YouTube and avoid having to do the retake for that. If you can’t find it, give them wilds of the word or sentence with different pronunciations.
Try to review your audio several times before you submit it. If you are new to VoiceOver, this is a reminder that you need to do your editing for correctness to script before adding EQ/Compression/Effect stack.
If you have a long narration, I actually edit page by page. I go through each page twice before moving on to the next one. I catch my errors and it gives my voice a break.

Ultimately Why Pickups and Revision Policies Matter

In the end, we want our clients to have a great experience working with us. We want them to come back to us over and over again. If we lay out our policies clearly, and there is no room for ambiguities, communication should be seamless. Expectations should be clear. Relationships are built on trust, and when policies are consistent, because there is, in fact, an actual policy, it is much easier for a client to understand what they are being charged for and why.

Be Careful Who Represents You In VO

January 24, 2021 by Laura Schreiber

Common Beliefs or Misconceptions in Voice Over

When I started in voice over years ago, I remember thinking that when I had an agent I will have “made it.” I remember Screwing Up is Part of Success”one of my coaches telling me that she worked for five years before she had her first agent, so that I could align my expectations. At that point, I did not even know about managers. I was lucky, I was able to get on quite a few agents rosters pretty early in my voiceover career. As a working professional, I would hear a lot of chatter on social media about various agents and managers and how to get signed, as if somehow getting on the roster would lead to the ultimate success.

While I understood early on that being represented by these wonderful regional agents meant that I had more opportunities available to audition for, I was in no way guaranteed success. I did not understand that having a manager was not the same thing. I had hoped, quite naively, that as the manager took both a monthly retainer and a percentage of booked work, they would work harder to make deals happen. Boy, was I wrong. More than a year after I severed ties with my manager, I am still undoing the damage that was done. Here is just a glimpse of the reality of what choosing the wrong person to represent you can end up like.

The Email…

Like most successful female voice talents, I do a lot of direct emails. One of the groups of people I target are radio station managers and program directors to grow my radio imaging business. This week I reached out to a station manager again who had wanted to sign me for a monthly retainer in 2019. In 2019 “Mike” called me. We chatted and he was ready to move forward. I handed him off to my manager and never heard from him again. This week, in response to my friendly email check in, I received this message:

Hi Laura,

Sorry, I did not. Last year when I was interested in working with you, I was told that our station was not big enough for your services. That’s why I have not followed up.

This email got me very upset for several reasons. First, I was ready to move forward, my manager who was supposed to represent me, acted in a way that did not represent me. Next, I lost this station which would have been a monthly retainer. Third, this was not only a loss of revenue, it reflected badly on my business and my brand. Fourth, and perhaps most upsetting, this was one of six stations in a six week period that my manager blew deals with. Six stations, that would have ranged between $150 and $500 in monthly retainers, yet I was contractually obligated to pay him his monthly retainer for the remainder of the year. So, let’s dive deeper.

If I Had Leads, Why Sign With A Manager in the First Place?

There were two main reasons I signed with this manager. First, as a working creative and small business owner, one of the hardest aspects of the job is negotiating rates. I have always worked to maintain industry standard rates, often siting both the GVAA Rate Guide and the GFTB Rate Guide to clients. I had felt that I was low-balled on the the last few imaging retainers I had negotiated prior to my talks with the manager. I did not feel that it was related to my ability or experience, it just seemed that I kept getting the same sob story from every single station. None of them had any money. They all wanted so much for so little. It was crazy. I had hoped that with the manager negotiating the rates, each station would be in the ball park of the rates cards, even if the manager now got a cut.

My other hope was that if I was able to seal the deal with more lucrative stations because of the manager, then some of the top agencies like Atlas or CESD would take notice of me and would sign me. I have felt so close to making this step, and just needed something to push me over the edge. I saw other very well known and amazingly talented voice actors post that they were booking stations with the help of this manager. They were then getting repped by these agencies. I also knew some talents at these agencies who were on this mangers roster. It was not hard to connect the dots and in truth did not even seem like a leap of faith. It seemed like a common sense, savvy move. Well, sometimes the evidence can be very misleading.

the Damage

I signed with this manager specifically for the Radio Imaging part of my business in January 2019. Within the first week, I sent him 5 leads of stations who wanted to sign me and wanted to negotiate retainers. The email above was a call I got a week later. Of these leads, my manager destroyed every single one of them. I was not on the calls. I had empowered him to speak on my behalf. The email above “I was told that our station was not big enough for your services.” is a glimpse of how these prospects were treated in my name. Was this the road to the big agencies? No. Worse, when he tried to renegotiate the stations I had, I lost them. There were other odd quirks about the manager. He wanted any auditions to be professionally mastered, which was an added expense. He also sent Sound and Fury auditions, but I get those from other agents, so now I was paying him to get auditions I was already getting. It was terrible. I realized early on and I was stuck. I basically had to stop soliciting all Radio Imaging business or it would be tied to him. Years of hard work and planning came to a screeching halt. Be careful who you pick to represent you.

Undoing the Damage

First I had to wait until I could give him notice as per my contract. As soon as I legally could, I did. Then, as soon as I was legally out of contract, on 1/20/2020. I began reaching out to stations to tell them I was no longer with the manager and that if they were so inclined they could negotiate directly with me to learn my market availability. It was too soon, there were no bites. No one would even reply. I continue to circle back to the stations that were interested. Now I have updated my demo, and my hope is that with some time, and fresh branding, I can rebuild.

https://youtu.be/nrobFDWQVmI

Lessons Learned

THE BEST PERSON TO SPEAK FOR ME IS ME. If you want clients to get to know you and how great you are, then you have to be the one to work with them. If you really feel that you need someone to negotiate on your behalf, you had better make sure you know the tone and tenor of what they are saying

A Case Study: When Working with Clients on the Weekend is Worth it, And When it’s Not

August 23, 2020 by Laura Schreiber

The Scenario: Two Weekends in a Row

As a working mom, I try to only work on weekends under specific scenarios: if booked work comes in that the client specifically needs over the weekend, if I get a direct audition for the weekend, or if it is something like my blog which I generally do while my kids are asleep. Otherwise, the weekend is cherished family time. So, if a client tells me they need something over the weekend, I am generally pretty sympathetic that they have someone on the other side who needs something and has a deadline. It happens that both last weekend and this weekend I had bookings come in over the weekends. While I was delighted about both bookings, the one this weekend was much more pleasant. I think the two bookings lend themselves very well to case studies on what makes an ideal voice over client to work with and what makes a client a little more challenging.

Client A

Earlier in the month a client I have worked with before reached out to me with a small budget for a local TV and Media campaign. After a lot of back and forth, we came to a price we could both live with. It took quite a while for the scripts to come in. Of course I finally heard from them Friday evening. I confirmed receipt of the script and asked Client A if Monday by midday was okay and they said it was needed over the weekend. Normally I would add either a “RUSH” fee or a weekend fee, but we had negotiated and the budget was low so I could not do that here. The other snag was that the client only sent one script. We had negotiated a bulk rate assuming that I was recording at once, and sending everything piecemeal was not a great start.

Client A is in a different time zone. The client is quite slow to respond to questions I have or to give any feedback when audio is sent. I sent all audio Saturday and did not hear anything back until Thursday. Typically when I deliver finished audio I invoice, but as this was just one of four deliverables, I could not invoice for the first TV spot until the entire slow moving project is complete.

Client B

My experience with Client B has been very different than my experience with Client A. I met Client B when I presented at an eLearning conference in June online. We had a follow up Zoom and the work that came in on Friday evening was also a long time coming. Like Client A, Client B also sent this booking in the evening on Friday. Also like client A, Client B was in a different time zone but in the other direction, so their workday would start before ours on Monday. In this case, Client B did not specify that they needed the work by Monday. In contrast, I was excited to get the ball rolling.

Like Client A, Client B sent clear specs and a sample. Unlike Client A, Client B, was very easy to communicate with. They answered all questions promptly and were extremely clear and direct. Client B is an international client who also needed copy writing services. Again, the ease of communication made this go extremely smoothly. I invoiced when I delivered the finished audio as I typically do and Client B paid within an hour of delivery. They also sent three follow up emails the team reviewed the files that I sent. I felt as though I were in Italy listening with them. It was great to be part of the team like that.

What Made All the Difference?

As I think about it, working on Saturday was not the problem. Subtle contrasts between Client A and Client B made the experiences quite different. I made this chart to help make the nuances more clear. Please see below:

	Client A	Client B
Asked for work on weekend	X	X
Sent Sample	X	X
Sent Specific Specs	X	X
Easy to Correspond With		X
Needed Copy Writing To		X
Gave Specific and Timely Feedback		X
Self Directed	X	X
Paid Promptly		X
Overall Felt Like were on the Same Team		X

It is much easier to work with responsive people. It is also much easier to work when you feel that your work is valued. Everyone works at their own pace, and as the voice over actor, I cannot control the pace at which the scripts are sent to me. Even though I ask that revisions come in within 48 hours in my terms at the start, I try to work with all clients, even if they pace the projects differently. While it does not feel good to have it dragged out, when I saw the first cut of the first commercial, it turned out great. The client was really nice and was working with a large team. I understand that the client cannot always control pace.

So, in the final analysis, what steps can I come up with as a business owner to have more interactions be like those with client B?

Be clear about my terms at the start.
Always maintain a professional demeanor.
Maintain industry standard rates and never devalue myself.

When those are in balance I am doing my part to protect my interests, and I have to have hope that the clients will do their part as well. If all is in balance, then yes, it is worth making the effort to accommodate clients over the weekend!

Defining a VO Pro

May 3, 2020 by Laura Schreiber

On this Sunday morning, lets’s grapple with this question: if there’s a low barrier to entry in voice over, what defines a pro?

Spending more time in Facebook Groups These Days

Like many in the voice over industry, I have been spending more time than ever on social media these days, especially on FaceBook. I long for human connection and to feel part of our beloved community, and frankly I enjoy the banter more than ever. Yesterday this post from highly esteemed coach and casting director MaryLynn Wissner caught my attention:

There’s a lot to this. We work in an industry where you don’t have to come from a career in theater or on camera work to get started, though many did study performing arts in school, pivoted for a first career, then returned to voiceover. I, myself, was a History teacher. Christian Lanz was an architect. Maria Pendolino worked in finance. Dana Hurley was a pharmacist. The list goes on and on, and there is nothing wrong with changing careers and bringing all of those skills with you into your business in VO. The question that is being asked here, is what is the difference between a guy who buys a plug in mic and a membership on a pay to play and calls himself a “professional” and then has the credit of having some good coaches, the benefit of being in good company, and an actual working professional? To me, if working with the best of the best in coaches is removed as a criteria in defining a pro, than we need to look to a voice over actor’s website, testimonials, bookings/credentials, and social media standing.

The Website

Put simply, the website is our storefront. More than our business card, our website is our calling card. It not only houses our demos, it is the voice actor’s place to showcase actual booked work. We can display our business philosophy. We can post testimonials. We can make it easy for clients to find us. This is how we create a sense of our brand. And a voiceover professional, unlike an amateur, has all of these things: sample of work across genres, a brand, comments from clients. Joe Davis and Karin Barth were recently interviewed on the “Middle-Class VO Podcast” talking about what sets voice over actor’s websites apart, in terms of what makes them professional and what makes them findable by google. The entire podcast can be found here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-5r6SR33Kk

All About WEBSITES with Joe Davis & Karin Barth! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-5r6SR33Kk)

and Joe’s main words of wisdom are that the “website needs to work on whatever device….making sure that they are mobile compliant of mobile responsive….in today’s world more than half of web traffic is mobile.” A telltale sign of an unprofessional talent is one missing key information on their website, missing demos, with demos named improperly, or with a site that is not mobile responsive.

Testimonials:

A professional talent has an abundance of testimonials. Period. They should have them proudly displayed on their website, on LinkedIn, on whatever Pay to Plays they are on, and likely they share them on social media. Testimonials are not difficult to get. Happy clients who have just received pristine audio are typically delighted to provide them. My very first voice coach, Anne Ganguzza, told me how important it was to get testimonials! She asked for one from me about our work and gave me my very fist one. A voice actor without testimonials is likely not a professional voiceover actor.

Street Cred

Ok, I am talking about a solid client list with proof. What is proof? Samples of actual work that has aired. If a voiceover actor does not have samples of work in the genre or clients in a specific genre they have not likely worked in that genre even if they have a demo for it. The exception to this is likely eLearning as so much eLearning is proprietary content. Where can you find samples of work voice actors have done? Booked and finished work is typically prominently displayed in places like voice actor’s websites, YouTube pages, facebook, LinkedIn, ispot.tv, sometimes imdb, and more. So, a real, actual working professional has a body of produced work that they can easily share with anyone who wants to see it.

Social Media

Typically actual working professionals are active on social media as networking is really important. We typically post finished jobs, especially when these jobs have been done for large, recognizable brands. We love to share these clients on Facebook and Instagram. Often we have large social media connections and followings as well. YouTube is another sign of a voice over professional. Typically we post samples of work here. Many of us have videos about our professional philosophy, showing our studios, discussing our work, and more. A lack of a professional social media presence is a major red flag.

The Flip Side

While I think it is clear how to differentiate a professional voice talent from a wannabe, there is, of course, a flip side to all of this. As there is a low barrier of entry and many do not depend on agents or entry to the union for job sustainability, there is a chance that amongst the many with a plug in mic and a computer our bookings ratios will go down and our community demographics will shift. One of my favorite talents who I had the privilege of spending a day with at a VO Revolution conference in 2016, Dave Fennoy, speaks to exactly this issue as the final thought that I leave you with:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPkn3sb6-X4

Dave Fennoy – You must change with the times (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPkn3sb6-X4)

Top 5 Bests of 2019 for this Working Voice Actor

December 25, 2019 by Laura Schreiber

Time to Reflect

At the years’ end, it seems like an additional time to reflect. I’m not sure if it’s the food coma induced by all the latkes and egg-nog lattes, or it is just the natural cycle of things, but it is a great time to look back on the best parts of the year and see how far this career I have worked so hard to build has come. So here is my countdown of top 5 best voiceover moments from 2019:

5. WoVo Con In October

Time with industry friends goes by way too fast!!

Without a doubt, WoVo Con is always worth the trip to Las Vegas! What do I love about this conference? Well, the superior sessions, seeing my VO besties, and an opportunity to build important voice over relationships. Over the years I have gone to some amazing sessions. This year I loved Everett Oliver’s session and I loved Brad Newman’s session. I was so happy to have time with Shelley Avellino and to see others like Dana Hurley, Jodi Krangle, Anne Ganguzza, J. Michael Collins, and the list goes on and on. I also had a chance to meet and get to know potential clients! I even went to dinner one night with an eLearning company that added me to their roster, so I enjoyed my time there and made every moment count.

4.Trip to Toronto adjacent to VO North in September

From the front left is Kim Handysides, Shelley Avellino, me, and Dearbhla Trainor at a NY style diner in Toronto! We had s much fun.

I had an amazing time in Toronto this fall! I had initially planned to be there for VO North, but instead I was adjacent to the conference and spent time with some my VO besties Dearbhla Trainor, Kim Handysides, and Shelley Avellino. We stayed at Derv’s and helped her get ready for the conference. We got to see about of the city and have time together. Kim and I went on an adventure to the middle of no where together to visit clients. That was interesting. We also saw her family and her home town! It was absolutely amazing to have time with these spectacular women and I loved every moment of being with my friends and being in such a great city! Next year I will definitely stay for the entire conference.

3. Trip to LA for WWRS in March 2019

In March, 2019 I went to Burbank, CA for the World Wide Radio Summit. This was the same week as VO Atlanta, so I had to choose between the two conferences. I have been working so hard to grow the radio imaging side of my business and to be there to here the best in the business speak on amazing panels was so inspirational. In 2019, there were not one but two imaging panels, of both voice talents and program directors. To hear folks like Issa Lopez and Ashley Cavalier was a dream come true. These women are role models for us all and they set the bar really high. Their work is incredible and they have achieved so much. I also met people from all over the world, wether they were from across the pond or across the country. To have entire networks like iHeart and Sirius represented was just amazing and the folks that I met were so nice. I have enjoyed keeping in touch with them.

2. Collections are Complete

As a small business owner, it is a pretty major accomplishment to be totally on top of my collections. Just because I am able to mark this is a goal that I have met does not mean that this was an easy feat. It has taken diligence, patience, and commitment. Most clients are very kind and well-intentioned. Some of these kind clients pay right away. Some are just busy with work and life and forget to pay and need a friendly reminder. But you know what else I have learned as a business owner? Not everyone is nice. Some people do not want to pay even when they are happy. Why? Because they are not nice. So they make small business owners jump through a million hoops to chase them down for money in hopes that we would rather just disappear. This year my multi-pronged approach, wich combines friendly reminders from me with an attorneys letter at the 90 day mark was the right combination. I am thankful.

1. Amazing New Clients and Stayed on Pandora’s Roster

I am so thankful that my client roster this year and always. I am proud that when I work with a client I typically keep working with a client. Some of the major brands I have had an opportunity to do voiceovers for in 2019 include Dove, Kyvno, CT Lottery, Michigan Lottery, Cleveland Clinic, Quest Diagnostics, Spoke, CosmoProf, Origins, and the list goes on and on. I am also thrilled that my work for both Pandora and Spotify continued. Pandora has extended another contract to me for 2020 and I am so very thankful for their trust in me year ofter year. This year, a lot of the work I did for them was repeat work because the clients specifically requested me. That means the world to me.

Getting Paid in Voice Over

December 9, 2019 by Laura Schreiber

https://youtu.be/xLQMTmewaSE

Getting Paid By Clients: Laura Schreiber and VO Collections (https://youtu.be/xLQMTmewaSE)

It’s not A Hobby…

What makes a professional voice over actor a professional? Well, besides the years of training, the demos, the home studio, and being a part of the community, a big, big, big characteristic is booking PAYING work at INDUSTRY STANDARD RATES. Not Fiverr. Not bargain basement, but once a voice talent begins earning a consistent, sustainable income they proudly earn the title of professional. If they are booking repeat gigs or lots of gigs, they now have the goods to call them selves a pro. Even in WoVo, our professional organization, once you book five gigs at industry standard rates, you are eligible to apply to be a “Professional” member. Thus, it is the act of being paid for the work that you do that is essential.

So, you wouldn’t think that being paid would be so tricky, right? You book a gig, your record your amazing audio in your professional studio, you deliver your audio, and the client pays you? That’s how it should work. But often, too often, it does not play out that way. This month I was fortunate. Almost all, about 80% of my bookings, were paid within 24 hours if delivery. This is not the norm. This blog post is inspired by a less than kind client who although pleased with the work I did, and cast me in repeat commercials and campaigns in the last two years, acted as though he was giving me some sort of loan when he paid his invoice at about 90 days past due. This is simply not acceptable. His total lack of professionalism is appalling. I should not have to explain myself, and neither should you. So, instead of focussing on the exception, let’s focus on why things typically run smoothly and how to create a system that makes it easy for a working talent and for your clients to pay promptly:

Terms Up Front

When I book a job I send a “Seal the Deal” email. This email is extremely detailed and clear. It has multiple components, all of which are important:

It thanks the client for casting me in the “Name of Project.”
This confirms the casting.
It confirms the details they want including specifics about the recording and any requests for tone, style, etc.
It covers details about guided sessions/phone patch.
It confirms the rate.
It confirms my revision/pickup policy.
The end of it also has legal jargon making this email an agreement. This is how all of these emails end:

Warm regards,

Laura

Acceptance and jurisdiction: Acceptance of this proposal constitutes agreement that usage rights are limited to the medium and region listed in the job description, and expansion would require renegotiation of these terms. Your acceptance of the above constitutes a contract which – in case of a dispute – you agree will be adjudicated in, and according to the relevant laws of, NY, USA. If the booking is cancelled, the session fee will still be paid in full to Laura Schreiber.

Stating your terms in the initial email is essential. The bigger the job, meaning the more money it pays, the more essential it is that you state your terms up front as you have more to lose.

Invoicing Made Easy

AKA “Invoicing for Dummies,” I want to make it as easy as possible for my clients to pay me. I actually spent years figuring this out, so the client is not the dummy here, I had about a five year learning curve. I tried multiple different ways of invoicing, and find that this system is much more user friendly. I use Fresh Books for my invoices. They are clear. They state my terms which are Net 30. They allow me to set 30 and 60 day invoice reminders.

When I send my finished audio, the last paragraph is always all of the invoice information. Always. It tells them the invoice number, what is due, and the multiple ways they can pay me. Different people prefer to pay in different ways. Do I have a preference? Yes. But it doesn’t matter, I need to make it easy for them. So, in the last paragraph of my invoice I tell them:

Lastly, you will receive a Fresh Books invoice #XXXX for the amount of $XXXX after this email. If you prefer another means of payment, I also am happy to receive payment by check at XXXX Road, South Orange, NJ 07079; via paypal at laura@lauraschreibervoice.com, or at Zelle and Chase QP at laura@lauraschreibervoice.com. Thanks so much again for your business and have a great day,

This email is easy to find. The invoice allows them to pay. This allows them to pay. It’s clear. It’s simple. It’s easy to find again. Make things easy for your clients!

Session Vs. Usage in Invoice

This is extremely important: when invoicing, always, always, always differentiate between your session fee and the usage of your voice. Why? Well what if Sally at the ad agency decides after multiple rounds of casting and telling you that you were perfect 24 times that in the end she really wants a more robust male voice? No problem Sally, she just has to pay your session fee. This is industry standard. I repeat, this is industry standard. You have done the work. You have delivered the work. The session fee is the fee that they are paying for you to get behind the mic and turn on your phantom power and record. If you did a live session? Guess what, they are paying for it. The usage is for the usage of your voice for the run of the spot. Do not book gigs in perpetuity. It is a huge problem. That is a separate blog. Just don’t!!

Some People Are just Nicer than Others

At the end of the day, some people are just nice and intend to pay you and some are not nice or are totally disorganized. Some are both. I had a government job this week that had a low budget but payed within an hour of delivery. I was doing my happy dance. I have had similar jobs that take 90 days to pay. I typically find that some clients just cannot pay on time. Some always will. Try not to let the few who are really unkind ruin your state of mind for the rest who really are good folks.