Hi all, I have just come accross this site purely on accident! Can't believe I have been missing out for so long!! It is a pleasure to meet you all!

On to my problem! My problem is me, lol! I find the subject of payment absolutely agonising! I send invoices out the week before payment is due and I seem to be paid a couple of days late by most people and weeks in some cases! So much so I typed out individual payment rora's for all parents for the next 6 months so they have a reminder as to when payment is approaching.

Before Christmas one of my parents was 2 weeks late with Novembers payment and then decided to tell me that they had changed their bank account and their payrole department had sent to their old account which as it had been closed was not detected and payment was left undetected! I was then told that they were struggling to pay their mortgage that month because of this and could I invoice them for Novembers and Decembers in December. I did this cause I am a sucker for a sob story. In the back of my mind I was thinking "should this really be my problem"? They did pay me the full amount owed in December but it made my run up to Christmas extremely tight and stressful! January's payment was then 2 weeks late again!
Another parent was due on New Years eve and I was paid 3 weeks ago! They are due again today and on dropping off their LO this morning, as expected they did not even mention payment!
When I actually pluck up the courage to tell them their payment is late I end up feeling sick, nervous and generally awful! Just seems so unfair! Is it just me that has these problems? How can I assert myself where payment is concerned without coming accross in the wrong way! Hate this part of the job!
Thanks in advance