Keep a file on every partner, and set the exit rule early

Keep a file on every partner, and set the exit rule early
Diligence is not a one-time gate. It is a record you maintain, because the partner you signed with is not the partner you will have in a year.
What lives in the file:
— Signed terms and every amendment, including the ones agreed in chat.
— Entity and payment details, with the date each was last confirmed.
— Every payment: expected date, actual date, expected amount, actual amount, difference and explanation.
— Every dispute and how it ended.
— Who your contact is, and when that changed.
Then write down the conditions for walking away, while you are calm:
— Two late payments with no explanation.
— Deductions applied without evidence you can review.
— Terms changed retroactively.
— Any request to move payments off the contracted entity.
Write the exit rule before you need it. In the moment, everyone finds a reason to give it one more cycle.