I have a limit of letting people get to 3 cleans then no more cleaning. It's not ideal, of course I'd much prefer to be paid promptly but looking at the big picture, in nearly 21 years, I've only had to write off approx £420, ie £20 a year and that includes customers who have sadly passed away, it's not all messers. I don't fret as much about debt as I used to, still annoying but I doubt there's many self employed occupations where they lose so little a year.