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I'm incorporated, so my contracts are corp-to-corp, and certainly no company
has ever agreed to anything quicker than twice monthly billing, Net-30. And
I've had to wheedle and whine at times to even get Net-45 with once-a-month
billing.
So this does shine a more favorable light on agencies who agree to "front"
the money to provide 6-day payment terms to 1099 independent writers. Those
agencies are not only taking on the risk as to whether they will eventually
see the money (I'm sure that their vendor terms aren't appreciably better
than Net-30), but clearly have to have on hand sufficient cash reserves to
pay 1099 workers or be willing to take out expensive short-term loans to do
so.
Given that reality, it does make one think that agencies shouldn't
necessarily be criticized so severely for the cut they take out of the
hourly rate. Although the worker earns less per hour, s/he gains a quicker
paycheck with less hassle.
Of course, YMMV, every industry is different, and there are pros and cons to
small vs. large companies, agency vs. direct, 1099 vs. W-2, etc., etc., etc
:-).
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