Ask HN: How do you handle clients who don't pay on time?

The usually chill crowd on Hacker News went full collections agent today, rallying behind a simple rule: no pay, no product. The original poster said they refuse to ship more widgets until overdue invoices are paid—and if a client has jerked them around, it’s prepay or nothing. The comments lit up. User dustingetz dropped a clinical playbook—invoice on time, color‑code late bills in red, and send polite reminders. If they ghost you? “Solvent companies respond, insolvent companies ignore,” they warned. bombcar delivered the line of the day: be the utility—cut service if cash doesn’t arrive. Meanwhile, andrewstuart framed it as healthy boundaries: explain the deal, stick to it, and stop work if the bill’s outstanding.

Then came the spicy takes. elmerfud declared, “late payers aren’t customers, they’re thieves,” setting off a mini firestorm between hardliners and the “relationship-first” romantics. fredgrott tried a softer carrot—discounts and perks for on-time pay—while others snapped back: “We’re not a bank.” The vibe was half startup therapy, half courtroom drama, with memes about flipping the “power switch” like an electric company and jokes that a red overdue stamp is the ultimate UI. Final verdict? Enforce terms, use proforma invoices for repeat offenders, and don’t bet on interns promising $500,000 if they can’t push a $500 bill through.