{"id":7691,"date":"2026-06-13T22:45:56","date_gmt":"2026-06-13T20:45:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ivci.hr\/2026\/06\/13\/some-are-better-lost-than-found\/"},"modified":"2026-06-14T15:38:03","modified_gmt":"2026-06-14T13:38:03","slug":"some-are-better-lost-than-found","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ivci.hr\/en\/2026\/06\/13\/some-are-better-lost-than-found\/","title":{"rendered":"Some Are Better Lost Than Found…"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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There is a truth that every agency learns sooner or later, unfortunately most often the hard way: not every inquiry is an opportunity. <\/strong><\/p>

Some clients bring revenue on paper but take away profit in reality. They haggle over every hour, change the scope of work on the fly, pay late, and ultimately leave a bad review (or give a poor rating) because they didn’t get what they imagined\u2014even though in reality they couldn’t explain what they imagined themselves. <\/strong><\/p>

This text is not a call to be selective on a whim; it’s about pure economics. The real cost created by the “wrong” client is almost never on the final invoice\u2014it’s hidden in overtime hours, unpaid work, missed better opportunities, and a team that’s burning out. <\/p>

The good news<\/strong> is that almost every problematic client sends a signal in the very first conversation. You just need to know how to read it.<\/strong><\/p>

Why This Is an Economic, Not Emotional, Question<\/h3>

Before we elaborate on the “signs,” here are a few figures that put things in perspective (without any dramatization\u2014these are actual averages from documented research).<\/p>

According to PMI<\/strong>‘s Pulse of the Profession<\/em> report, 52% of projects experience so-called scope creep<\/em><\/strong>\u2014the silent expansion of scope beyond what was agreed, with an increase of 43% over five years.<\/p>

The average budget overrun on such projects is around 27%.And that wouldn’t be so bad if these figures weren’t followed by this continuation: according to agency surveys, only about 1% of agencies charge for all the work done outside the agreement, and 57% lose approximately \u20ac900 to \u20ac4,300 per month on unpaid work<\/strong>.<\/p>

And as if all that weren’t bad enough, this is often compounded by the problem of timely payment as agreed. Research by Intuit QuickBooks<\/strong> shows that 56% of small businesses have unpaid invoices at any given time<\/strong>, averaging around \u20ac15,000 per company, while Atradius<\/strong> reports for Europe that approximately half of B2B invoices are paid late<\/strong>. <\/p>

For a small agency, this isn’t statistics\u2014it’s salary, rent, and the budget for the next quarter.<\/p>

\"Figure<\/p>

Figure 1: Key industry data explaining the cost of a bad client<\/em><\/p>

These are, of course, global averages based on available data. It will be extremely interesting to see the data and statistics in a year or so, now that the use of e-invoices is soon to be mandatory for everyone here, where every payment delay or non-payment can be seen quite precisely. <\/p>

And Now the Most Interesting Part: Red Flags Visible Already in Negotiations<\/h3>

Most of these signs appear before you sign anything. If you recognize two or more, it doesn’t necessarily mean you should refuse the collaboration<\/strong>, but it certainly means you should slow down, set clearer boundaries, and put everything in writing. <\/p>