Getting Paid – Title Companies are easy. They pay quickly. I usually receive a check within a couple of days. I like those. SAs are different. These guys are all over the place.
Pay attention to your agreement. Some pay on the 15th day of the month following the end of the month in which the Signing was conducted. Some pay on the 7th day of the month following the first full month after which the Signing was conducted. Others pay twice a month. Some pay once a month or once every 2 months, or 3 months and some will try to not pay at all. I even work with one that will send a check the next day.
If you are trying to avoid the bad actors here, I am not going to name names but read the forums and the blogs and if won’t take long to see what other Notaries say about any particular Signing Agency. Most importantly, read your agreements.
Also, sometimes, be prepared to be your own Collection Department. If you know you should have already received payment, reach out. Maybe your check legitimately got lost in the mail or you fell through the cracks or maybe you even misunderstood their payment timeframes.
I don’t assume that the world is out to get me. I assume that if I have not received payment that the reason is far less conspiratorial and will give SAs the benefit of the doubt…the first time.
Many SAs will pay via electronic check, some by paper check and some by ACH and a few even by PayPal. It can be hard to keep track, but I always perform a reconciliation before I reach out. If you have to reach out, be respectful – these are people that might be providing you with future work and there is no reason to make them mad.
At some point you will need to provide a W9 and bank details if they are paying you via ACH.
I guess the bottom line here is that this isn’t a weekly paycheck kind of situation. Payments arrive – sometimes randomly and while generally this can make things difficult, especially, if you’re like me and are used to a twice a month paycheck. Don’t worry though, you will adjust. Good luck.
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