What to do if I just started a small business and I have a company that doesn’t want to pay the invoice?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
What to do if I just started a small business and I have a company that doesn’t want to pay the invoice?
They said they are researching the hours they talked to me when I was in the office. Their bookkeeper had asked me to not invoice all the hours if worked more then 55. I was asked to bank the extra hours. Now that we are separating and they are questioning the final invoice which includes the banked hours they are not wanting to pay. Is the bookkeeper liable at all to pay the invoice since she is the one that was acting on the companies behalf? And with HR there is a lot of research that is involved. Can they really tell me that they will only pay me for times and dates that they feel i was in the office? I am a consultant not an employee.
Asked on September 27, 2012 under Business Law, Pennsylvania
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 11 years ago | Contributor
You must be paid as per the agreement (oral or written) between you and the client; that is, whatever you were supposed to be paid for (e.g. only time you met with them? all time in their office, whether meeting with someone from the client or not? all work time? all work and travel time? etc.) is what they must pay you for.
That's the law. Practically, if they will not voluntarily pay you, you will have to sue them for the money. To sue them and win (recover money), you will need to 1) prove the terms of the agreement and 2) prove the hours. You can do this with your testimony, with signed agreements, with timesheets or invoices, with emails or text messages, etc. You will have to be able to prove it by "a preponderance of the evidence"--that is, that it is more likely than not that things are as you say.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.