Sometimes, despite your best efforts, you may run into a period where clients are late in paying. Perhaps it's not your fault that clients have paid late and you've been good at giving clients a short credit window. So what do you do when you're faced with a delay in payment?

• Take steps to collect any other outstanding payment
• Get other clients to pay a deposit
• Set up an emergency fund in advance
• Save regularly and use a budget
• Consider a side job if cash flow will be tight for a while
• When times are good, pay down debt
• Look to manage the peaks and valleys in consulting income
• Evaluate your credit options, if you're in a position to manage credit responsibly

What steps do you take to manage payment delays?