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Us freelancers oftentimes live paycheck to paycheck. Getting a delayed payment is more than an inconvenience, it starts a trainwreck of financial consequences.
by dylanhassinger 14y ago
Us freelancers oftentimes live paycheck to paycheck. Getting a delayed payment is more than an inconvenience, it starts a trainwreck of financial consequences. In my experience, if a client can't pay up front then they were going to have trouble paying on time later.
Not to mention that the transfer time can take longer than it takes to get the work done, especially if the payment is via echeck.
Getting partial - or full - payment up front takes a major headache off the programmer/designer, allowing them to concentrate on getting the job done.
- patio11 14y agoUs freelancers oftentimes live paycheck to paycheck. Getting a delayed payment is more than an inconvenience, it starts a trainwreck of financial consequences. Sincere advice said with love: charge more. Not being paid on time is a predictable and natural state for a business. The risk of that should be priced into your offering.
- damoncali 14y agoIf I find myself pricing a deal to make up for the would-be client's flake factor, I usually wind up regretting taking the client in the first place. But if it's all you have and you need to eat, by all means, add the dentist tax up front.
- tptacek 14y agoBuilding in the business cost of unpredictable receivables isn't just a smart idea; it's part of the whole business model of consulting. This is just one of the 25+ business issues that make a consulting bill rate multiples higher than a full-time salary for the same work.
- damoncali 14y agoI just haven't found people's price tolerance to be correlated to their riskiness, so I like to try to keep the client risk low. Good clients pay just as much as bad ones.