Research
Most freelancers, studios and agencies have at some point delivered real work and never been paid, or waited months for money that should already be in their account. This guide sums up what independent data says about unpaid and late invoices, and how funded steps through Stripe can change the pattern.
Most freelancers, consultants, studios and agencies have at some point delivered real work and never been paid. Even more are paid 30, 60 or 90 days after sending an invoice, sometimes longer than the terms they agreed. This guide summarises what independent data says about unpaid and late invoices, and how a funded step structure with Stripe based delayed payouts can change that pattern.
Unpaid and very late invoices are not limited to one niche. They show up anywhere people do project based work for clients:
Surveys from accounting tools, payment providers and small business groups paint a similar picture, even if the exact numbers differ:
The pattern is not that people send one bad email. The pattern is that the structure lets clients benefit from delays while providers carry most of the risk.
A signed contract is important, but it does not make money move on its own. Common reasons unpaid invoices pile up:
In other words, the usual pattern puts all the risk at the end of the project. By the time you send the final invoice, the client already has the work and you are left chasing.
When people are burned by unpaid invoices, the classic advice is familiar:
These tools have their place. They can help in the short term and in some countries you have strong legal rights. The problem is that they still assume the same basic pattern: you deliver first, then hope to be paid. That structure is the real issue.
Flikker does not try to magically force late clients to pay old invoices. It focuses on changing the pattern for the next project so you do not end up in the same place again.
The goal is simple. You still do the work, but you no longer carry months of risk in one unpaid invoice at the end.
The core structure you can reuse on almost any client project looks like this:
To receive payouts you connect your own Stripe account once. Stripe runs standard onboarding and risk checks before enabling payouts. Flikker stays as the project layer on top, not as a bank.
You do not need to rebuild your whole business at once. Start with one real client project:
The first time you do this, it can feel different from the old pattern. After a few projects, it starts to feel like the normal and safer way to run client work.
When you are ready, you can use the button below to start your first funded project in Flikker and apply this structure on a live client instead of another unpaid invoice story.
Pick one real client project, apply the structure from this guide and then move that project into funded steps inside Flikker. Your client sees a clear explanation, you see which steps are funded and Stripe keeps the money on hold until each step is approved.
The Flikker resources section is for anyone who runs client projects and worries about getting paid on time or paying safely. That includes freelancers, studios, agencies, consultants, professional services firms and also the clients on the other side. Many people who land here have searched for things like unpaid invoices, late client payments, how to structure projects so I actually get paid, how to pay freelancers safely, or how to move trusted clients off marketplaces into my own pipeline.
Some readers are just starting out and are scared of getting burned on their first freelance clients. Others are experienced but exhausted from chasing overdue invoices, underpriced retainers and scope creep. Some are desperate for one large invoice to be paid, others are simply busy or a bit lazy around admin and want a simple structure that makes payment and delivery move together automatically. On the client side, people look for better ways to pay freelancers and agencies without wiring the full project amount up front or relying on vague, end of project invoices.
Flikker is software for project based work, built on top of Stripe Connect. It is not a marketplace, not a bank and not an escrow service. Instead of sending one big final invoice and hoping it gets paid, you break the project into small steps. Each step has one amount and clear "done" criteria. Upcoming steps are funded by card through Stripe; Stripe holds those funds as delayed payouts per step until approval or refund. Flikker never holds client money. It coordinates the contract, the list of steps, the attached files and links, the approval clicks and the payout timing per step.
Across the different guides in this section we answer questions like: why unpaid and late invoices are so common, what to do when a client does not pay the final invoice, how to design steps and acceptance criteria so both sides feel safe, how Stripe based funding and delayed payouts compare to classic invoice after delivery flows, and how to outgrow public marketplaces by moving trusted clients into your own funded step structure. The short version is that Flikker makes client projects safer by tying work and money to many small funded steps instead of one big all or nothing payment at the end.
Flikker is built for global use in the countries where Stripe operates. Whether you work with clients in North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia or Oceania, the pattern is the same. You set up a project as a series of named steps, your client funds those steps by card in their local currency, Stripe processes the payment and holds the funds as delayed payouts per step until approval or refund, and Flikker keeps the structure and audit trail around that flow.
It is designed for solo freelancers, small studios and larger teams in design, development, marketing, product, content, consulting, legal, accounting, architecture, creative services, coaching, training and trades. Any role where you deliver work in projects and want a predictable way for work and money to move together can use the same pattern of funded steps, attached evidence and clear approval events.
Whether you invoice in USD, EUR, GBP, NOK, SEK, DKK, CAD, AUD or other Stripe supported currencies, the principle stays the same. Instead of carrying the risk of one large unpaid invoice at the end of a project, you move to many smaller funded steps where each approval triggers a payout event that can be traced and defended. Flikker uses Stripe Connect for the money movement while it focuses on contracts, structure, evidence and timing so that projects feel safer for both sides.
This page is for people searching for help with unpaid client work and invoices that never get paid. Many freelancers, consultants, studios and small business owners search in their own words after a bad experience, for example: client did not pay my invoice after the project was finished, client ghosted me after I delivered the work, client still has not paid final invoice after three months, freelance client refusing to pay for completed work, agency client not paying second half of project, how to deal with unpaid invoices as a freelancer, how to protect myself from non paying clients, what to do when a client never pays an invoice, how to avoid getting burned by clients who delay or avoid payment.
People also search for late payment patterns in more general terms, like: why are my invoices always paid late, why small business clients pay invoices 30 60 or 90 days after due date, how to stop waiting months to get paid by clients, how to improve cashflow when clients pay late, how to structure client work so cash comes in earlier. This guide speaks to those situations by focusing on structure, not just on sending more reminders or writing stronger email templates.
Common search phrases we want this page to answer include: what to do about unpaid client work, how to chase an unpaid invoice without ruining the relationship, what rights do freelancers have when a client does not pay, how to reduce the risk of unpaid invoices, how to structure projects to get paid on time, how to avoid one big final invoice that never gets paid, software to help avoid unpaid invoices, platform where clients fund steps up front, Stripe based project payments where money is held until approval instead of hoping the client pays later.
This page also helps people who are comparing options and tools: alternatives to chasing invoices on their own, alternatives to relying only on Upwork or Fiverr for payment protection, tools that connect contracts, steps and payouts, project payment systems that sit on top of Stripe Connect, and structure for funded steps that protects both client and provider. Flikker is software around contracts, steps, evidence and payout timing on top of Stripe. Funds are held by Stripe as delayed payouts per step until approval, so the default outcome is much safer than a single big invoice at the end of a project.