I wanted to share our procedure for working with offshore companies that some of you may find useful.

We used to have a policy of not accepting any work from offshore companies, but nowadays, we get inquiries almost daily from these firms.  Instead of turning them away completely, we have instituted a pre-payment by PayPal policy.  There are many reasons why we have instituted this policy, but the primary reason is to remove the risk of not being paid.

We selected PayPal (business account) because the fees are low compared to other credit card acceptance solutions, it's easy to use for us and the customer (they don't have to have a PayPal account to pay), and it's simple and free to transfer money to your account after receipt of payment. 

Additionally, we have a separate price list for offshore companies, which takes into account the following:

• PayPal fees (based on % of invoice)
• The hassle of working with an offshore company
• The fact that orders received from offshore companies are typically those that can't be done offshore (thus, more complicated) 

So now, when we get quote requests, we'll advise of our PayPal policy prior to providing pricing, and if they accept those terms we'll provide a quote and services.  The process is quick and easy: upon completion of an order, we generate a PayPal invoice, and upon receipt of payment, the completed order is emailed.  

We've had mixed response to our requirements.  Some will accept the terms. Others will tell us that they're not an offshore company and "have an office in PA" (but you can tell that they are), or others that just won't accept the terms - but we're sticking to our policy because we feel there is too much risk otherwise.

I hope that this is helpful to you all.  I think that if more abstractors have a requirement like this, the offshore companies will get more accustomed to having to pre-pay.