Comments on: Should You Request a Deposit from Your Clients?

By: Rebecca Laffar-Smith

Rebecca Laffar-Smith — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 21:56:08 +0000

I ask for 25% upfront simply as security. I’m putting considerable time into their project and stand to gain nothing from the outcome unless they pay me. The 25% advance gives me the security I need to give my all to their project.

On my last job after asking for a 25% advance she paid 100% in advance. Talk about a way to ensure your freelancer works her heart out for you. For that woman I would have bent over backwards to complete on time and to specifications. Perhaps potential employers should consider that side of things when they talk about payments and advances for their freelancers.

By: Elisabeth

Elisabeth — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 17:54:26 +0000

Deb,
Thanks for a great topic. I do copy writing and work with manuscripts. Typically, I charge 50% up front and the remainder upon receipt of the finished product. For larger projects I have set up a system where I get a third up front, a third at receipt of a specific deliverable (ie an edited MSS and standard query letter), and final third after the last deliverable (ie book proposal).

By: devon ellington

devon ellington — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 19:49:34 +0000

PS This also bring up a topic, Deb, you might want to address — the need for freelancers to have templates of contracts or letters of agreement. I find that cuts a lot of the hassle and getting stiffed.

For instance, the commentor who worked on the book proposal and the client didn’t pay the rest because she was going through a divorce and someone else published a similar book. Too darned bad. The writer did the work, and a contract would have clearly stated that the writer is paid no matter what the client decides to do or not do with the proposal.

By: devon ellington

devon ellington — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 19:46:27 +0000

It depends on the project. For most business writing gigs, it’s the norm, either 1/3 or 1/2 upfront. For critique/editing, it’s 1/2 up front, the remainder when the work is complete. For articles, it depends on the contract offered by the publisher.

I would NOT fax my license to a client. If it’s a high paid gig and they’re putting me on payroll for a period of time and taking taxes out or plan to 1099 me, I’d give my social security number, providing their accounting dept. sent me the appropriate form. But I don’t toss around ID lightly. Too many cases of identity theft for me to be comfortable with that.

By: Brooke

Brooke — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 18:14:59 +0000

I do editing rather than original writing, but I try to get a 50% deposit on large projects and on smaller projects from new clients. This sorts out the legitimate clients and has given me an excellent track record of collecting in my Internet-only business. I would be very leery of a prospective client who didn’t see the need for a deposit so that the risk of nonperformance can be shared between the client and the service provider.

By: Paula

Paula — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 16:43:57 +0000

Wow, this is so timely right now. I have a client who I did a relatively small job for and she paid me in a timely fashion with even a small bonus because she liked my work.

Then she asked me to help her with a book proposal that a major pub house was waiting for. I asked her for half up front and she paid it. Then I worked on the proposal over the summer and returned it to her in September. She complained in an email that I had changed the book and that she would call me. She never did. I sent follow-up emails about how I had only changed the order of some of the stories and it would be easy to change them back and that I had added info in the marketing section that could be left out. No answer. Another email. No answer. Finally before Christmas, she emailed me to say she had been going through a divorce, someone else had come out with a book similar to hers, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to do it any more.

I guess she thinks that because she isn’t going to use the proposal, she doesn’t have to pay me the rest of the money. I haven’t given up yet but I am sure glad I got half up front – especially since I took less than I normally would have since she was a repeat client.

And, of course, I live in New York, she lives in CA.

By: Star

Star — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 16:36:36 +0000

I would never fax a license. What is that telling the person? I once had a guy say he would never pay a deposit unless he “came over and saw my house.” I said, “Uh…forget it.” It creeped me out. I don’t mind meeting with clients, thought it’s unusual these days–but for that to suddenly be a condition made me think he was trying to see if I was broke, worth the money, needed the money, I don’t even know–but my work should stand for itself.

By: Ann G.

Ann G. — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 12:05:54 +0000

@Tamara-for the two times I’ve not been paid. I threatened small claims or a trip to the Better Business Bureau (which only works with certain companies). That threat worked this week. For the other company, it was harder because the guy I’d written the articles for took down his website and deleted his email after I turned in the last of the articles. I did go to his webhost provider, but they couldn’t do anything because he’d yanked his website and had also given them the fake email. In the end, I took the $150 loss with him and then kept copyscaping those articles. Eventually they did appear and I went to the website that posted them and told them to either pay up or remove the articles. In the end, they removed the articles.

In your case, you might want to see if Angela Hoy can help you.

By: Ann G.

Ann G. — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 12:00:52 +0000

@Saad,

I posted about a month ago in a different discussion that I’d been asked to fax a copy of my driver’s license and I wasn’t willing to take that risk. I’d specifically told the “client” that if I had to provide that information, I wanted to black out my driver’s license number, signature and month and day from my date of birth, I didn’t feel this person needed that information at that point. As soon as I emailed that response, he never contacted me again. It would have been a really decent job – $25 for every 100 words for music reviews from CDs provided to me. They claimed they needed the license as proof of my age in case there was mature content on the CDs. I understand their need to protect themselves, but there are too many scam artists out there.

By: Melissa Donovan

Melissa Donovan — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 08:24:21 +0000

What a great topic! I charge a deposit for jobs over $100, and I rarely take jobs for less than that. I will waive a deposit for a client I’ve worked with previously, or if I have some other reassurance (like they are well-known). But for new and unknown clients, no deposit, no work. Period.