Agreed… I take a 50% non-refundable deposit when the project agreement is signed, and the balance plus shipping upon completion of the job (and before the job is shipped). Clients can use credit card, but I take checks as well so I also included in my standard agreement: “checks must clear before design work can begin and before the final order can be shipped respectively”. I have let that slide once or twice for friends-of-friends, but it’s good to have it there.I think you can write off “bad debts” (unpaid invoices) in your taxes but I don’t have any real idea how that works!