How not to get caught up in freelancer drama.

Let’s talk about expectations and deposits for freelancers and clients. Here are a few basic tips to start and end a project on good terms. How not to get caught up in freelancer drama.

GET IT IN WRITING

Online work, work from home and contract work is becoming the norm. Therefore making sure that you have a plan in place to make sure you get paid for your work is vital. Likewise, making sure that you have a plan in place to make sure that you get the work that you paid for is also vital.

This article is relevant to any small team or person who may work as an independent contractor or work for hire. I’ve done a lot of freelance work myself but I am not a lawyer or even close to one and don’t pretend to be. If you need legal advise about contracts , please hire a lawyer.

First of all, when discussing the project with the client, make sure that both parties clearly discuss everything from the project guidelines, project process, project rate, scope, and deadline. When you’re both on the same page, have everything in writing as a proof of agreement so that everyone is protected. Even if you have been friends for years, if there is a transaction of money, goods or services it should be put in writing, typed up, email or hand written for all parties to reference and avoid confusion.

• 

• 

Honor the project scope and agreement by NOT doing “extra” or “off the book” work where “extra” compensation was not discussed unless you are willing to do it for free as an added value. Some freelancers charge per project where there is a deposit to start the project and a final deposit made upon approval and completion of the project. Other freelancers charge per hour. Make sure that your payment agreement is clear.

If you start work without a written agreement you’re client isn’t respecting you and frankly you’re not respecting yourself.

Tips For Freelancers:

Ask For A Deposit

It’s normal for a freelancer to ask for a deposit of 50% upfront and 50% at the end, or even ⅓, ⅓. and ⅓ or milestones, those are standard industry practices. Most freelancers ask for money or a deposit upfront to start the work. The number 1 reason why is because it ensures that you have the money coming in to pay all of your expenses and overhead especially in the case when you have a long-term project that may take weeks or months to complete.

Sometimes projects come with additional expenses like third party software as services or addons that are needed to complete a project. Most of the time you’ll be reimbursed for these out-of-pocket expenses, but this is another reason to ask for a deposit, you could pay for them with the money received from a deposit.

Be transparent with billing.

Again, by honoring the agreement that you and your client has agreed upon, there shouldn’t be any payment surprises. Everything should be “on the books” documented and your client should know up front what they will be billed for to avoid freelancer drama. Furthermore, if there are out of pocket expenses that you did not anticipate in the beginning of the project, like a third party add on, let your client know right away so that they can prepare and account for this fee.

Most employers have worked with freelancers and small business owners before and are accustomed to deposits. They might even practice this themselves in their own  business.

So, if a freelancer doesn’t request a deposit, a client may wonder why and question your experience and aptitude. Ask for a deposit, show your new client that you are confident, experienced and in-tune with the industry norms.

Building Trust With Your Client

One of the worst feelings in the world is completing a project and not getting paid by the client. A deposit, partial payment ensures at least some of your time and hard work will be compensated. Plus asking for an upfront payment can show that you are a professional and that you can be trusted to deliver the project to their satisfaction to receive your final deposit. It builds trust on both ends between you and your client.

Make sure that you have a professional website with your portfolio, testimonials, your rates, and your contact information. Also, it’s helpful to add a page dedicated to your terms of service and an FAQ page that outlines your payment policies. And, have a social media presence to validate who you are, put a face to the name!

Be Transparent And Flexible

During the consultation about a potential project make sure that you have the systems, technology or third party software services required to start and complete the project.

Once your client has the recommended tools in place confirm with your client that you are able to use this tool and start the project. If you are unable to move forward for any reason, pause or cancel the project until there is a resolution. Being flexible and communicating with your client this way also builds rapport and keeps clients in your sales/project pipeline.

Another way to build trust among you and the client is being honest with them about your own timeline. For example, when you’re first contacted about a potential project, be honest about your availability. If you have personal reasons for why you can not start right away don’t accept the project then use your pre-existing personal problems as an excuse for not being on point with your service. We all have family and other things we would like to do in addition to following our dreams. Why would anyone pay you upfront on a project that you won’t be able to start until a few weeks from now?

Also, be honest about what you can deliver.  Do not try and sell them an adjacent service that they didn’t ask for if it doesn’t bring value to their vision. If you don’t fully understand the needs or vision of your client why accept the project that you can not deliver to their standard? It will only conclude in multiple iterations of what the client DOESN’T want.

It’s okay to decline a project, it’s part of the freedoms of being a freelancer.

Tips For Clients

Choosing A Freelancer

It all starts with your job post or RFP, which should be:

• Well written and proofread
• Concise, with clear objectives and examples
• Detailed, including the specific deliverables you need and any deadlines

After posting your RFP, and choosing a freelancer candidate, you should have examples of what you are looking for ready to share with them and your potential freelancer should be able to show you examples of their work and show you examples of similar features or works that resemble what you are asking for to communicate that they understand your vision and what you are looking for. If a freelancer replies to your post and they are unfamiliar with your posts description details, they probably didn’t read it. Red Flag.

Choosing a freelancer isn’t always easy. After all , you are looking for a freelancer who you can trust to get the work done with quality and efficiency. The freelancer can be an extension of your team short term or long term. If you are looking to recruit a freelancer to to add to your team long term you may want to consider whether or not they are a culture fit.

Do your due diligence. Look at their skills, related experience and client feedback. Although a freelancer may have great reviews also, look at your freelancer’s responses to feedback. This will give you an idea of what it will be like working with this person. Negative feedback to a client in response to constructive feedback can be a red flag.

Pay attention to your potential freelancer’s communication style, attention to detail, subject matter acumen and professionalism when communicating with them.

If A Freelancer Is Asking You To Make A Full Upfront Payment

One of the worse feelings in the world is when a freelancer with no intentions of delivering your project asks for a full upfront payment of the project total and then never deliver on their end of the project.

To protect yourself from such instances be very clear about the outlines of your freelancer’s process, deliverables, time frame, payment structure or cost of project and have this in writing.  Frequently communicate with your freelancer asking for status updates but also be responsive and available by responding to them in a timely fashion when clarification is needed. Maintain a professional relationship with your freelancer. Offer feedback as soon as you notice your project is heading in a different direction from what was agreed upon.

 It’s normal for a freelancer to ask for a deposit of 50% upfront and 50% at the end, or even ⅓, ⅓. and ⅓ or milestones, those are standard industry practices. To be safe, make sure your written agreement includes the opportunity to review the final deliverable, the conditions and requirements to be met before a final deposit is sent.

If You Are Using A Platform Like Upwork Or Freelancer Beware Of The Freelancer Who Asks You To Send Them Money Offsite Through Paypal/Skrill/Bitcoin

If you use platforms like Freelancer or Upwork, beware of freelancers who insist on contacting you offsite. Some justifications for wanting to contact you and doing transaction directly through Paypal include “the platform fees are really high”. Resist having empathy to help your potential freelancer save money on platform fees – you both have to pay the fees.

The platform fees are justified as a service, you get access to tons of freelancers, the ability to make phone calls directly through the platform to freelancers/clients and access to the platform’s escrow capability. Therefore, all transactions for a project or contest should be completed onsite via the respective platform. The reason for this is to protect you and the freelancer.

The Milestone system works as an escrow to guarantee that you have the funds to pay the freelancers. Also, it protects you in the way that the payment is only released to the freelancer once the project requirements have been met and you are satisfied with the final results. In Addition, milestones are reversible in occasions where the freelancer is unresponsive or if either party decides to end the project. Paypal, Skrill, Bitcoin or any other payments are very difficult to reverse once the freelancer has received it.

If Your Freelancer Accepts The Project And Original Deposit But Is Now Demanding More Money Or He /She Will Write A False Review

If a freelancer has accepted your project and agreed upon a project total and accepted a deposit and deadline but is demanding more money before the project is complete in exchange for not leaving a false review, then avoid making any other deposits. This is blackmail and is in breach of your original agreement.

In Conclusion, a quick online search for “contract template” will pull up good ways to start. Ive been a freelancer and a client at times and have had great experiences . I’ve also had not so great experiences.

I shared this learning experience with you to emphasize the importance of being clear and detailed in your contract! Keeping record of your agreement cannot be stressed enough! A well worded contract assures that both the client and freelancer are on the same page, gives you some legal recourse and keeps you out of freelancer drama… I am not a lawyer or even close to one and don’t pretend to be. If you need legal advise about contracts , please hire a lawyer.