Then when you completed up to their requirements,

They say, “I forgot to inform you that I asked my friend to do it, and he did a better job, but thanks for your efforts.”

I get a lot of “can we pay you out of the grant money that we get” kind of thing – of which I turn them down! There is just too much grant fraud going on now and I CERTAINLY don’t want to be a part of it!

“We want you to do it for a share of the future profits. This is a great idea which will make a lot of money.”

I just point out I’m not a bank and don’t make loans. If their idea is so good, they should be able to get a loan.

I’ve experienced all but numbers 4 and 8, though now I will be very aware…

I learned the hard way, believe me…

I now ask for a 50% deposit. This covers me financially and I refuse to start even clicking in Photoshop before I receive it. Those that are genuine are willing to pay, and I am not completely unreasonable at all and will knock it down to 20% if there’s a good reason, but I still odnt do any work until I receive the deposit.

I do do the occasional cheap job, but only if it has strategic interest for me or is something that is particularly creative. Otherwise, cough up chump ;)

(Uh, yeah, I’m not much out of the “I can’t use Mum’s credit card” stage.)

Also thankfully, though I do have clients try to add onto my assignments, they have (so far) paid me for it.

Thank you very much for these reminders!

-Misti

Including ‘there’s a bug, go fix it’

And you’re like….”Whoa, if YOU don’t know what you don’t like, you’re asking me to shoot around in the dark in hope of finding out what you don’t like?”

Ggggrrr…..

A lot of what you say rings true

1. Have both parties sign a contract before you begin any work
2. Charge by the hour

(2) isn’t always available for every client, but (1) should be. If the client isn’t capable of drawing up contracts, provide one yourself.

With a little research you can find some boilerplate contracts that you can customize to fit your needs. I also recommend spending the money to get a lawyer to proofread it before setting it loose on someone for the first time.

A full-time freelance programmer needs minimal legal protection, at the least. It’s worth every penny, and really does obviate half or more of the situations in this list; you’ll worry a lot less about your client doing these lame things if you both know that they’re legally bound not to!

In short: Being an independent contractor > being a developer who doesn’t use contracts.

A great read, Cheers :)

Is there really a nice way to say “you get what you pay for” to a client?

1. Never start work without a contract.
2. Never do work without a deposit.
3. Never do spec work.
4. Maintain regular contact and clear communication.
5. If you don’t feel right about the work and don’t trust the customer, don’t do the project.

The first three are really saying the same thing: don’t work for free.

Another great article Jay, keep em coming. I have to say that your blog is one off my daily stops now :).

Darius

Also you can lodge complaints against the firm or individual through the area you found them if they are truely ripping you off once you’ve sent them a preview of the design.