Published
December 18, 2024
Julian Lewis, Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Zella Life, a career coaching company, knows what it’s like to have to wait, and wait, and wait to get paid by a contractor or partner. In the worst-case scenario, it means he’ll have to use personal funds to bridge the gap.
“It’s extremely important as a small business to get paid on time because you’re starting with no capital,” Lewis said. “Not all large companies pay on time. In fact, they pay less on time than some of the smaller companies. When you’re dealing with large amounts of money and supporting staff and contractors, having that delay can really hurt us.”
In the worst-case scenario, payment delays from larger partners means Lewis will have to take a personal financial hit.
“It means that the company founders have to press pause on our own personal payrolls to ensure that our contractors and employees continue to get paid on time,” Lewis said.
After signing a contract and delivering the goods and services associated with it, Lewis sometimes waits three to four months to finally receive payment by larger companies. The follow-up calls and emails needed after sending an invoice often fall on Lewis and fellow Co-Founder and CEO Remy Meraz. Lewis’s tactic is to persist in politely reminding the partner that it’s important to settle their payment obligations.
“It's extremely important, no matter what happens to us as founders, that not only our team gets paid, but that they get paid on time,” Lewis said. “Our coaches have to be paid so they can give 100 percent.
Getting Paid in 10 Days or Less
That’s why he and Meraz were excited to partner with Intuit, a key early signer of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Prompt Pay Pledge which asks large companies to commit to quicker payment for invoices to small businesses and to clearly communicate payment policies to their small business suppliers.
“Zella Life is an important contributor to an initiative that will accelerate growth for diverse small businesses in the greater Los Angeles area. It’s critical to us that they’re able to focus on offering their best services instead of chasing invoices,” said Derrick Plummer, Director of Corporate Communications at Intuit.
Intuit has had a long-time commitment to pay small and diverse suppliers upon receipt of invoice, giving them faster access to cash. In fact, Intuit publicly commits paying diverse and small business suppliers within 10 days or less and their average payment time is under five days.
For Zella Life, knowing Intuit was a Prompt Pay Pledge signatory made it much easier to sign a contract with them and get down to work.
“One of the first things that they said to us was: ‘Hey, now that we know what the program’s going to be, the first thing we want to do is make sure that you get paid promptly,’” Lewis said.
“Getting paid quickly the first time working with Intuit fueled us. It enabled us to get right into the work and focus on it, which led to some pretty amazing results.”
Lewis encouraged other large businesses to sign the Prompt Pay Pledge, to signal to small businesses that they are a reliable partner they can trust.
“It’s those types of large companies that are shining through and allowing other small businesses out there to flourish,” Lewis said. “They’re still just too few and far between. The Prompt Pay Pledge could help to identify those diamonds in the rough and could help our economy thrive.”
If your business is ready to begin this journey and join a coalition of businesses committed to helping small business suppliers find economic success by pledging to pay invoices promptly, click here to sign the Prompt Pay Pledge.
Prompt Pay Resources
- Everything you need to know about the Prompt Pay Pledge.
- Sign the Prompt Pay Pledge.
- Read the Prompt Pay Playbook.
About the authors
Thaddeus Swanek
Thaddeus is a senior writer and editor with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's strategic communications team.
