Handling late payments without losing people

Almost every late payment is a person who forgot, or a person having a bad month. Treating both as the same thing is how funds lose members they will miss.

Short answer. Escalate in proportion: the visible list on the due date, one private message the day after, a direct conversation after a month, and only then anything formal. Public naming and penalties before a private conversation cost more than they recover.

The escalation

Point	Action	Not
Due date passes	The list shows it	A message
Next day	One private message	A group post
One week	Nothing further	A second message
One month	A direct conversation, in person or by call	An ultimatum
Three months	Whatever the written rules provide	Anything not written down

Why private, first

Money trouble is embarrassing, and embarrassment makes people disappear rather than pay. A private message gives somebody a way to say "next week" that they will not say in front of thirty people. Most late payments are recovered in that exchange.

Offer a part payment

Somebody who cannot pay 5,000 can often pay 2,000. Recorded properly as a part payment with the balance visible, that keeps them in the fund and keeps them talking to you. Insisting on the full amount frequently turns a delay into a default.

The genuine hardship case

Every community eventually has a member who should be excused rather than chased. Have a way to record that — as an excused period, decided by named people — so it appears in the history as a decision rather than as a permanent unpaid month against their name.

Common questions

Should we charge a late fee?

Rarely worth it in a small community. It raises little, hardens attitudes, and needs its own accounting. A visible list achieves more.

When do we stop chasing?

Once a written rule says to. That is precisely what the rule is for — so the decision is made in advance rather than about a particular person.

Laqfiz is free, and runs in your browser Start a community, invite the people in it, and every payment leaves a receipt everyone can see. No card, no download unless you want one.