Finally, DearClient is changing when and how creatives get paid

The Brand Identity: After more than 25 years running a design studio, David Tanguy knows the rhythm of late payments intimately. An invoice due in 30 days arrives after 60. Sometimes 90. Occasionally, it never arrives at all. He spent over a decade thinking about how to fix this before Stripe’s infrastructure made it possible. DearClient operates on a simple principle: clients pay to unlock the files, not months after receiving them.

“Why should the creative industry be effectively sponsoring clients with our cash flow?” The statistics support the question – 72% of freelancers have experienced late or non-payment, losing an average of 90 minutes daily chasing what they’re owed. Built in Germany with GDPR compliance and a clear commitment that uploaded files will never train AI, DearClient represents something more than a tool. It’s a direct challenge to payment terms that Tanguy believes were never accepted by creatives, only imposed on them. TBI Hey David, it’s great to chat with you again. How are you? DT I’m great, thank you for asking.

And I’m genuinely excited to be here and to tell you more about this little product we’ve built. TBI You’ve been running your studio, Praline, for over two decades now. What specific experiences led you to create DearClient? DT Over the years, like most independent designers and studios, we’ve dealt with delayed payments. A few invoices that never got paid at all too, which is rare, but it has happened. But the main thing is the long payment cycles. Even when an invoice is meant to be paid in 30 days, it ends up being 40, 60, 90 days. Sometimes longer. I’ve even seen six months. It’s just hard to run a business like that.

Cash flow becomes a constant thing you’re managing around, instead of focusing on the work. A big moment was a conversation with my brother, who is a video editor. He was working with a client in another country, and he had been paid 50% upfront, but to deliver the final video, he basically had to hand over the finished work and then hope the rest would come. And we thought, why is that normal? Why are creatives expected to deliver the final assets and then wait 30, 60, 90 days, or sometimes never get paid at all? So the idea was simple.

There should be a way to deliver the final files, but for the client to unlock them, they pay there and then. Not months later. That’s really where DearClient started. And yes, it’s a tool, but it’s also a culture shift. Why should the creative industry be effectively sponsoring clients with our cash flow? TBI The statistics around freelancer payment are clear. 72% have experienced late or non-payment. You said this has affected your own studio over the years? DT We’ve absolutely experienced it. I’ve been running a studio for more than 25 years, and late payments are very normal.

Non-payment happened more at the start of the studio, and that was genuinely difficult. It can really hit a small business hard. But even when you know you will get paid eventually, the time wasted is huge. You send an invoice, then you have to check if it’s been paid, then you chase, then you send another email, and another. It’s not why anyone started a creative business. If payments can happen automatically, you remove that mental load and all that admin. You just know it’s done. And yes, there’s a lot of talk about the time freelancers spend chasing payments. It’s crazy.

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This article discusses a significant change in payment practices that could greatly benefit creatives and the industry, making it highly impactful and relevant, while also introducing a relatively novel approach to addressing a common issue.