Local transfers, payments from abroad, exchange rates, and the written conditions that prevent unpaid work.
How the money arrives
Three channels, with very different uses.
The local interbank transfer: fast, reliable, used by every company. It is the default channel for a client in the country.
Payment from abroad: slower, with fees and a rate applied by the receiving bank, and sometimes a check that freezes the funds for a few days.
And platforms, useful for a first job with an unknown client, expensive as a percentage on larger amounts.
A useful habit: always ask for the transfer receipt, and compare it with the amount actually credited. The gap, when there is one, comes from fees and the rate, not from the client.
Ask for a deposit on the first job
Three reasons, and they stack.
The deposit tests the payment channel before the work starts: if the transfer goes through, everything else will.
It filters out unserious requests with no discussion.
And it finances the consumables and the travel, which come out of your pocket before anything comes in.
The amount that works: half for a new client, a third for a known one, received before the shoot and not before delivery.
Put the conditions in writing before filming
Six lines, and they avoid nearly every dispute.
The total amount, the currency, and what the job covers exactly.
The payment date of the balance, expressed as a date and not as a number of days.
The number of revisions included.
The duration and channels of use granted.
Who bears the bank fees in case of foreign payment.
And the fact that the rights assignment takes effect on full payment.
Keep the final version for the end
The simplest and most effective protection.
Deliver for approval a watermarked or low-resolution version, which allows everything to be checked and revisions to be requested.
Send the final file, clean and usable, once payment has arrived.
Two precautions. Announce this method in the quote, never at delivery time: presented in advance, it is perfectly accepted. And do not use an editing app's watermark, which makes the file impossible to assess properly.
What protects you at each stage
| Stage | The safeguard | What it prevents |
|---|---|---|
| Before the shoot | A signed quote and a deposit | Work on credit |
| At approval | A watermarked version | A release with no payment |
| After the invoice | A dated follow-up | An oversight that settles in |
What goes on the invoice to get paid fast
A number, a precise due date, the amount, the currency and the payment details written out in full. An ambiguous invoice waits at the bottom of a pile.
What you do after two reminders
Suspend any new order, send a formal reminder with a deadline, then examine the remedies, to be confirmed with a lawyer.
What to do at the first delay
Four steps, kept without emotion.
The day after the due date, a short message with the invoice attached again.
At seven days, a request for a precise date and a status: approved, registered, or waiting for something.
At fifteen days, a halt on all new production for that client, announced calmly.
And at thirty days, a formal written reminder, addressed to the person who approved the order, not only to accounting. In most cases that is the step that was missing, and the payment goes out within the week.
Sources
Checked on 26 August 2026. Thresholds and rates change: where this guide and the official source disagree, the official source is right.
