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Why would I pay money for someone to withhold my money from me? I ask for 50% up front from clients (and get it) without paying $100/m + 1.5%. If I want easy pa

Why would I pay money for someone to withhold my money from me? I ask for 50% up front from clients (and get it) without paying $100/m + 1.5%. If I want easy payment processing, Stripe is pretty simple to setup on my own site (and I'm sure it wouldn't be hard for other developers, your target audience, to figure out). Does this service perform some sort of automatic notifications/reminders to clients to pay up? I could see that maybe being useful. Often times the problem I have is after submitting an invoice and needing to follow up to receive a payment. Often those emails are stock messages that could easily be automated at set intervals so I don't have to think about it myself. Not sure I'd pay $100/m for it though. For this price-point I'd expect something like Basecamp in terms of features and polish, not something that holds my money for me and skims off the top.

timjahn 13y ago
There is no need for reminders to pay, because the client has already paid. They fund the milestone, you work on the milestone, and once the client signs off on it, we pay you the full payment for the milestone. The whole point of the service is for you to start work only when the client has shown that they have the full amount of money available to pay you. We currently use this system as part of our main matchist product and our network of developers loves it. We're testing the idea of spinning this off for any freelance developer to use with their clients sourced anywhere, besides just matchist.
- robmclarty 13y ago
  What happens if a client cancels a milestone or otherwise simply doesn't hit "approved"? Machinist has my money, not me. I feel a lack of control, and I feel this isn't something I couldn't do with a single phone call and a cheque in the mail (or a payment on my own website). The price point is way too high for the service imho. I don't even engage someone unless I believe they have the full amount of money available to pay me. And I don't start work without cold hard cash in my bank account. 50% up front, 50% on completion balances a client's commitment with a developer's commitment. Each party takes a risk in terms of time and money (big projects can usually be broken down into smaller 50/50 payments for milestones). In terms of this service, I feel the developer is taking a bigger risk in terms of devoting time to a project that may or may not produce money, and in the meantime s/he has nothing to eat with. I just don't understand the logic of paying someone to withhold my money from me when I can ask for real money up front, directly, for free.
  - timjahn 13y ago
    If you don't have the problem of getting paid on time, every time (or at all) by clients, then this product probably isn't for you.
    - robmclarty 13y ago
      I have problems getting paid on time like everyone else. I think this problem is more of a psychological one, one of communication and setting expectations with one's clients. I think this service is overpriced, and I question why anybody, not just me, would pay to use it. Stripe costs 2.9% + 30c per transaction (no monthly fee) and has example code you can copy and paste into your site (for free). I can type email reminders to clients myself, or setup a script to send stock messages automatically (for free). And when I get paid, I get paid directly to my bank account (where I have full control over it, which I can use to pay bills and eat food). https://stripe.com/ca/help/pricing https://stripe.com/ca/help/pricing https://stripe.com/docs/examples https://stripe.com/docs/examples I'm not trying to rain on your parade. I'm just curious what the actual benefits are. Maybe I'm missing something. Please explain it to me. From the little information on the webpage, I currently feel it isn't worth it.

timjahn 13y ago

There is no need for reminders to pay, because the client has already paid. They fund the milestone, you work on the milestone, and once the client signs off on it, we pay you the full payment for the milestone. The whole point of the service is for you to start work only when the client has shown that they have the full amount of money available to pay you. We currently use this system as part of our main matchist product and our network of developers loves it. We're testing the idea of spinning this off for any freelance developer to use with their clients sourced anywhere, besides just matchist.

robmclarty 13y ago
What happens if a client cancels a milestone or otherwise simply doesn't hit "approved"? Machinist has my money, not me. I feel a lack of control, and I feel this isn't something I couldn't do with a single phone call and a cheque in the mail (or a payment on my own website). The price point is way too high for the service imho. I don't even engage someone unless I believe they have the full amount of money available to pay me. And I don't start work without cold hard cash in my bank account. 50% up front, 50% on completion balances a client's commitment with a developer's commitment. Each party takes a risk in terms of time and money (big projects can usually be broken down into smaller 50/50 payments for milestones). In terms of this service, I feel the developer is taking a bigger risk in terms of devoting time to a project that may or may not produce money, and in the meantime s/he has nothing to eat with. I just don't understand the logic of paying someone to withhold my money from me when I can ask for real money up front, directly, for free.
- timjahn 13y ago
  If you don't have the problem of getting paid on time, every time (or at all) by clients, then this product probably isn't for you.
  - robmclarty 13y ago
    I have problems getting paid on time like everyone else. I think this problem is more of a psychological one, one of communication and setting expectations with one's clients. I think this service is overpriced, and I question why anybody, not just me, would pay to use it. Stripe costs 2.9% + 30c per transaction (no monthly fee) and has example code you can copy and paste into your site (for free). I can type email reminders to clients myself, or setup a script to send stock messages automatically (for free). And when I get paid, I get paid directly to my bank account (where I have full control over it, which I can use to pay bills and eat food). https://stripe.com/ca/help/pricing https://stripe.com/ca/help/pricing https://stripe.com/docs/examples https://stripe.com/docs/examples I'm not trying to rain on your parade. I'm just curious what the actual benefits are. Maybe I'm missing something. Please explain it to me. From the little information on the webpage, I currently feel it isn't worth it.