In my experience (seven years as a freelancer), most clients are good. You need to build up your sense of who is good and who is bad so you can weed out the bad

In my experience (seven years as a freelancer), most clients are good. You need to build up your sense of who is good and who is bad so you can weed out the bad ones early on. Things to look for are: * Have they fallen out with their previous developer / team * Do they start off saying they have no budget * Have they decided it's a short job but have no noticeable idea of how long things will actually take * They only want to pay at the end of the job, when they've received everything * They won't sign a contract On their own, none of these is a deal breaker (apart from the last one.) However, if you start hitting two or three points, that's real warning signs that they're going to be a bad client. In the UK, I and a lot of other developers and designers ask for some money up front (for new clients, long running clients not so much, it depends what they're like.) I started doing this from advice from another freelancer, and it's the easiest way of weeding out bad clients. People who argue about paying 25% to 30% up-front also tend to be the ones who pay late or argue about paying the whole amount. By not working for clients who won't pay a deposit, I've actually saved myself hassle in the long run by not having to chase for payments. The most I've been ripped off for is £300, but I've some freelancing friends who are owned thousands of Pounds by various clients. To mitigate risk, if you're doing a lot of work for a client it's best to break it down in to milestones and bill frequently - at least monthly. That way if they haven't paid a previous bill you can stop working until it is paid, and you have less to lose. [Edit - trying to format list]