Have you considered using a debt collection agency? On the first consulting gig I ever did, I was owed $10K by a client who refused to pay. After months of pati

Have you considered using a debt collection agency? On the first consulting gig I ever did, I was owed $10K by a client who refused to pay. After months of patience, including offers to let them pay off the debt over time I went to a collection agency and got the lot back in a court settlement less $1k in fees for the agency (which at least was tax deductable). I should mention that this was in Australia and I had a pretty solid contract. So this may not apply to you, but the debt collector took the hassle out of chasing it up and I didn't have to get involved in the court proceedings. It might be worth a look. For anyone who's contracting I'd recommend a few things: 1. Always have a contract and make sure you get advice before you sign it. 2. Don't be afraid to change or negotiate terms if you need to. Look out for excessive IP restrictions and restraint of trade clauses. 3. If you're doing per-diem work, get signed weekly timesheets. They're a legal record of work done. 4. If you're building a product for a fixed price, contractually define milestone payments and ideally get a partial payment up front. 5. If a client can't or won't pay at any point, stop work until they do!