How Payments works with Modelling Agencies

Getting Paid

That is what it’s about, right?  You’ve made all that investment, done the right things, finished a shoot, the client loved you.  So you’re rich, right?

Not so fast, Bucky!

You may have just earned a very hefty paycheck, but this isn’t quite the time to blow your money on a new car.  There is this little, tiny problem.

Your agency will collect the money for you, and will normally pay you right after the client’s check clears (after taking out his commission of course - he has to make car payments too).  But we missed a few steps along the way.

You have to take the completed voucher back to your agent, who uses it to compile and send an invoice to the client.  If we get the next-to-worst-of-all-possible worlds, the agency sends the bill to the photographer, who forwards it to the ad agency, who sends it to the client.  They take their usual 30 days to pay the invoice from the ad agency, which then eventually pays the photographer, who waits until his rent is paid and sends a check on to the model agency, which waits for the check to clear before paying you.  It isn’t always that bad - sometimes the client can be billed directly, and sometimes they pay promptly on receipt of the bill.  But don’t count on it.  It is much more likely to take 60-90 days from the shoot before anyone gets any money.

And there is the (fortunately rare) worst-of-all-possible-worlds:  the client doesn’t pay.  He may go bankrupt, or simply be unable or unwilling to pay for any of a number of reasons.  When this happens the agency will help you collect if that is possible, but that’s all they will do.  If they don’t get paid, you don’t get paid.

A wise model spends money only when she knows she has it.  This business can be tremendously lucrative, but it can also be a feast-or-famine nightmare; even if you just did a huge national job for a huge national corporation, it’s best to remember:  no extravagance before its time!

Getting Paid

That is what it’s about, right?  You’ve made all that investment, done the right things, finished a shoot, the client loved you.  So you’re rich, right?

Not so fast, Bucky!

You may have just earned a very hefty paycheck, but this isn’t quite the time to blow your money on a new car.  There is this little, tiny problem.

Your agency will collect the money for you, and will normally pay you right after the client’s check clears (after taking out his commission of course - he has to make car payments too).  But we missed a few steps along the way.

You have to take the completed voucher back to your agent, who uses it to compile and send an invoice to the client.  If we get the next-to-worst-of-all-possible worlds, the agency sends the bill to the photographer, who forwards it to the ad agency, who sends it to the client.  They take their usual 30 days to pay the invoice from the ad agency, which then eventually pays the photographer, who waits until his rent is paid and sends a check on to the model agency, which waits for the check to clear before paying you.  It isn’t always that bad - sometimes the client can be billed directly, and sometimes they pay promptly on receipt of the bill.  But don’t count on it.  It is much more likely to take 60-90 days from the shoot before anyone gets any money.

And there is the (fortunately rare) worst-of-all-possible-worlds:  the client doesn’t pay.  He may go bankrupt, or simply be unable or unwilling to pay for any of a number of reasons.  When this happens the agency will help you collect if that is possible, but that’s all they will do.  If they don’t get paid, you don’t get paid.

A wise model spends money only when she knows she has it.  This business can be tremendously lucrative, but it can also be a feast-or-famine nightmare; even if you just did a huge national job for a huge national corporation, it’s best to remember:  no extravagance before its time!