Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Check please!

First and foremost, I am happy to say that it appears I do not have a cold--I'm just extra-sensitive to climate changes, and we had a doozy of a change this weekend. So hooray and thanks for the well-wishes.

Now then.

When I started my 20-hour-a-week-not-a-part-time-job gig, I also started using their payroll system to track my hours and the amount of time spent of each of their clients' projects. Logically, I assumed that because I was using their payroll system, and submitting weekly time sheets to accounting, that meant I would be paid via their payroll system rather than invoicing them like I have in the past. Three weeks into the project, the accountant needed me to change "accounts" within the payroll system, and asked me to create an invoice for my first two weeks. I did, and I got a check.

Fast-forward to late last week, when I realized I haven't seen another check since that first one. So Monday I asked the CEO when I could expect to be paid for the rest of October and the first week of November--and boy am I glad I spoke up! Apparently, they were expecting me to invoice for all my hours. They use what I enter into the payroll system for billing their clients, but aren't paying me based on that.

As if I needed further proof what a great client this is, the CEO offered to cut me a check right then and there. I told him that wasn't necessary, and that I'd just go ahead and submit an invoice.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

A great client, indeed! Not all CEOs would be so gracious.

The other thought I had while reading this post is how important it is to speak up and not just assume that things are going as one would hope. For many people, that is a hard concept to adopt ... we feel uncomfortable in speaking up or we think that we will insult someone ... possibly we think we'll appear foolish with our question. None of these are true ... nor are they valid reasons to keep quiet.

I congratulate you on speaking up!

Small Footprints
http://reducefootprints.blogspot.com

Amie said...

Thanks--and since I'm usually one of the "keep quiet" ones, this was a small triumph for me!

Barry said...

Interesting how very logical assumptions can also be very wrong.

Good job you spoke up.

It's always good to get paid.