I've noticed a lot of posts lately about contract terms and how to handle clients that don't pay.

Even though I'm not a lawyer (and this is not legal advice) I picked up a few tips over the years that I think can help.

So I wanted to share how 12 little words can help make sure you always get paid — on time, even if the project stalls.

But before I get there, here's some evidence to show how well these tips have worked for me over the years.

After freelancing for more than half a decade, I have never had a client skip a payment to me. And I've worked my way up from projects for under $100 total to more than $10K a month.

(I'm not trying to brag — I only want to illustrate that I've worked with all kinds of different clients. And that these tips will work for projects of all sizes.)

Like anything, your mileage may vary depending on your industry and services. And you should talk to your own legal person before betting your business on ideas from a Reddit post.

But here are the 12 little words I added to my contract to make sure I get always get paid (on time — even if the project stalls).

There are two parts, and they go in two places in your contract:

PART 1. "Upon full and final payment..."

Every contract should have a part that says the client gets the copyright to the work created. Put these five words at the beginning of that section.

So you'd say "Upon full and final payment [...client gets the copyright]." That way you've made it clear that, until you're paid in full, you keep the rights to your work.

Client doesn't pay? Client doesn't have the right to use what you make. And if they don't respond to gentler techniques, you've got the threat of a legitimate copyright infringement case on your side. That will get their attention — and almost always get them to pay.

And if you really wanted to go "nuclear" — you could threaten to sell the rights for what you made to a competitor. You'd need to have the means to end the contract without giving them the rights, though. And if you can keep some of the money, too, then they will have funded work for a competitor.

No business would want that — so you'd almost certainly get paid — but they'd never work with you again, either. And they might even spread a bad reputation about you in your field. So do not do something like that lightly.

Always, always, always use the smallest amount of force needed to fix client conflicts. You can always escalate more the next time you follow up if you want. But it's almost impossible to deescalate after you've gone in with guns blazing.

With that in mind, here's the next tip...

PART 2. [Payment is due upon completion...] or [MONTH DAY, YEAR], whichever is sooner."

If you've ever had a project get delayed — and your payment along with it — this one is a game changer. At least it was for me.

Seven words can make sure you get paid on time if you charge a flat project fee spread out over a few payments. For example: 50% up front and 50% when you finish.

If you don't get paid until the project is finished...then every time the project gets delayed, so does your last payment. And if you have a disorganized client, the project may never come back...leaving you SOL.

That's where this technique comes in. Instead of saying you get paid 50% up front and 50% when you finish, you say...

"[...and the second 50% is due upon completion] or [MONTH DAY, YEAR], whichever is sooner."

Boom.

Now you've got it in writing that if you don't finish by the date listed, you can charge the client the final payment anyway. That way you can wrap up at the client's pace — however slow — but you've gotten paid when you need it. (You can also set a deadline to complete the work, too. But that's a topic for another day.)

That's it — 12 little words that can help make sure you always get paid — on time, even if the project stalls.