I charge by hour. Most of the time I write, fix or break software. When I have a new customer, I tell her that I will send an invoice after a few (10-20) hours

I charge by hour. Most of the time I write, fix or break software. When I have a new customer, I tell her that I will send an invoice after a few (10-20) hours of work. She will learn very early what results I can produce in those few hours and whether she likes working with me. I learn very early about her the willingness to pay. I then do my invoicing based on the results of that first test. Usually I invoice my customers once per month. Some only, if they 'used' 50+ hours. It is all about trust. One customer wants an detailed explanation for every hour in the invoice, so I invoice often. Makes it way more easy for me to get my money. Another customer is very relaxed and just pays what I tell him. I invoice him twice a year. About stock options: No clue about how common this is. I got the offer to buy after some month of work with a client. Another gave me shares as a present after 8 years happy hacking.. but I never asked for any stock options. Although I guess I should have done so. I would never work for shares only. I have currently one project where they pay me less than usual but I got many shares. But this project is more about fun than about money.