The short answer
Most agencies spend a lot of effort reminding clients to pay and almost none on how the payment is made. The second one is cheaper to fix and it works on every invoice rather than the late ones.
Put recurring work on an automatic method, so nobody has to decide to pay you each month.
Make a one-off invoice payable in 1 click, not by retyping your bank details.
Offer the fastest rail the client can actually use, and name it on the invoice.
Decide in advance whether you accept cards, and what you do about the fee.
Stop accepting anything that adds days for no reason.
The gain is in days rather than in dramatic recoveries. 4 days off the average invoice, across every invoice, is worth more than winning 1 argument with a late payer.
The methods, honestly compared
Method | Speed once initiated | Real cost | How it fails |
|---|---|---|---|
Automatic debit | Predictable, on a set date | Low, usually a small flat fee | Mandate lapses, or the client cancels it |
Instant bank transfer | Seconds to hours | Low or nil domestically | Wrong details, or a manual step nobody did |
Standard bank transfer | 1 to 3 business days | Low or nil domestically | Missed the payment run, so it waits a week |
Card | Immediate | A percentage, typically a few per cent | Limits, expiry, or a finance policy against it |
International wire | 1 to 5 business days | Fees on both sides | Arrives short after intermediary deductions |
Cheque | Days to weeks | Low, plus your time | Posted late, lost, or sat in a drawer |
Read the last column rather than the first. The method that fails least is usually worth more than the method that clears fastest, because a failure costs a full cycle: you notice, you ask, they re-send, and the payment run has moved on.
The highest-impact change: stop asking
For anything recurring, the single best move is to remove the decision. A client on an automatic debit mandate pays on the same date every month without anyone acting, and the only thing that stops it is a deliberate cancellation, which is both rare and visible.
The mechanics differ by region. In the US the equivalent is an ACH debit authorisation; in Europe it is a SEPA Direct Debit mandate; in the UK, Direct Debit. In each case you collect once rather than being paid repeatedly, which inverts the whole relationship: the question becomes whether the client stops you, not whether they remember you.
This pairs naturally with billing a retainer in advance. Agree the mandate at onboarding, when the client is signing things anyway, rather than introducing it to an existing arrangement where it reads as a response to something.
Be straightforward about what it is. State the amount, the date it will be taken, and how much notice you will give of any change. Clients object far less to being debited than to being debited unexpectedly.
One-off invoices: remove the typing
An invoice that requires someone to open their banking app and retype an account number, a sort code or an IBAN has introduced a chance to get it wrong and a reason to do it later. A payment link removes both.
Put the link on the invoice itself, not only in the email body, since the attachment is what gets filed and forwarded.
Keep the bank details as well. Many finance teams will not use a link and will pay by transfer regardless.
Make the reference automatic. A payment that arrives with no invoice number has to be matched by hand, which delays reconciliation and can look unpaid.
Check it works on a phone. Approvals happen between meetings more often than at a desk.
None of this helps if the invoice goes to the wrong place to begin with. Sending from a shared billing address and to the client's accounts payable address matters more than the payment method does.
How fast each rail actually is
Worth knowing, because clients often assume a transfer takes longer than it does, and will use that as a reason the money has not arrived.
In the US, Same Day ACH lets an ACH credit or debit be sent and received within hours on the same business day. Nacha raised the per-payment limit to $1 million in 2022, with a further increase to $10 million taking effect in 2026, so for agency invoices the limit is not the constraint. Standard ACH takes a day or more, and wires are faster but cost more.
In the euro area, instant payments are the standard rather than a premium service. The European Central Bank describes instant payments as credit transfers where funds are available in the payee's account within 10 seconds of the payment order, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, under the SEPA Instant Credit Transfer scheme. The Instant Payments Regulation, in force since March 2024, is pushing availability further.
The UK has had Faster Payments for years, with most transfers arriving in minutes. So when a client in any of these markets says a payment is still travelling, it is worth asking what date it was actually sent. More often the answer is that it has not been sent, which is 1 of the ordinary reasons invoices stall.
Cards, and the fee question
Cards are immediate and convenient, and they cost a few per cent. On a $15,000 invoice that is real money, which is why many agencies take cards for small amounts and ask for a transfer above a threshold. Stating that threshold on the invoice is simpler than negotiating it each time.
Whether you can add a surcharge is a separate question with a complicated answer. The rules differ by country, by card type and by card scheme, and consumer and commercial cards are often treated differently. Check your own position before adding a line to an invoice, because getting it wrong is worse than absorbing the fee.
A cleaner approach for most agencies: price the fee into the rate rather than itemising it. You keep the convenience, the client sees 1 number, and nobody has to interpret a surcharging rule.
Where the client is abroad, the fee question widens considerably, and the piece on cross-border payment covers the parts that actually bite, including the shortfall that arrives when a wire is sent with shared charges.
What goes on the invoice
Whatever the method, the invoice has to carry enough for a stranger in accounts payable to act without asking you anything:
The full bank details for the route they will use, labelled clearly.
A payment link, where you offer one.
The invoice number as the payment reference, stated explicitly.
The currency, in words as well as symbol.
The purchase order number, where one exists.
A named person to contact, with a direct address.
Then keep it the same every time. Consistency is underrated: a finance team that has paid you 6 times the same way will do it a seventh without thinking, and every change resets that.
FAQ
What is the best way for clients to pay an agency?
Automatic debit for anything recurring, because it removes the monthly decision. For one-off invoices, a payment link plus bank details, so the client can use whichever their process allows. The aim is removing steps rather than finding 1 perfect method.
Should I accept credit cards?
For smaller invoices, usually yes, since the fee is less than the cost of waiting. Above a threshold the percentage starts to matter, so many agencies ask for a transfer instead and say so on the invoice.
Can I charge clients a card fee?
It depends on your country, the card type and the scheme rules, and the answer differs between consumer and commercial cards. Check before adding one. Pricing the cost into your rate avoids the question entirely.
How long should a bank transfer actually take?
Less time than most clients assume. US Same Day ACH settles within hours on the same business day, euro area instant payments make funds available within 10 seconds around the clock, and UK Faster Payments usually arrive in minutes. A payment that is still in transit after several days is worth querying.
Should I still accept cheques?
You can, but treat the date it is posted as the start of a week-long process rather than as payment. Where a client insists, agree that the invoice is settled when the funds clear, not when the cheque is written.
Will clients object to direct debit?
Fewer than expected, particularly when it is agreed at onboarding alongside everything else. State the amount, the date and the notice you will give before any change, and most of the resistance disappears.
Not legal or financial advice. Payment scheme rules, surcharging law and direct debit requirements vary by country and change over time. Confirm the position for your own market before relying on any of the above.