A Question To Freelancers HEre

Hi,
I have Just started appling for freelance projects. Currentlly I am working on one Seo project. As I am new to freelance world can any one please tell me what should be payment criteria like .
The Client says that he will be paying in my paypal account once the project is over..
Whjat are normal Trend That freelancers Follow in case of payment.
Please Reply Fast so that i can instruct the client about the policy.
This is my first freelance project so i dont want to take any risks.
Please Reply,
Aakash

 

Ususaly we take 50% upfront and 50% after completion. But in your case, it is your first time, and If I was your client I wouldnt want to pay you upfront either. Once you get established, and build a nice portfolio, 50% upfront is pretty much fair in all cases.

 

aspidov is right. The general rule is 50% up front the other half at the end of the project. Some people will haggle with you if you are new to freelancing. Be sure to stand firm on what you are worth and how you want to be paid.

 

I agree as well. 50% down, 50% upon completion is typical. However, I've never taken a project without a down payment of sorts. I've posted it in other forums before.

If you don't walk and talk like a player, why would anyone ever treat you like one. So if you need the loot real bad, then do what you have to, but I would be wary of 2 things with this potential client.

1. Paypal sucks in our industry. PayPal makes it too easy for someone to charge back on the payments if they end up not beeing happy. The burden to prove you are right falls on you where as with a regular merchant account, the client would have to prove your services were crappy before they issue the charge back. PayPal gives them their money back first and then asks questions later and.

2. In my experience any client that says they won't pay you even a small "good faith" deposit is shady to begin with. Any serious business owner knows that services like these are never provided without some sort of retainer or DP.

So beware and good luck.

 

Thanks For Your Valuable Suggestions. I will Take Care Of this.

 

Honestly it's your call..

You may scare off clients with the 50 / 50 deal, but you are sure to get some money.
What is your situation? Do you have clients banging down your door or are you scraping to find work? If you are in the scraping situation, it's time to just bite the bullet and take it when you finish the project just for the work..

If not, well, use the 50 / 50 bit.

 

I never pay anything up front, especially if it isn't someone I know.

I usually post the job up on GAF, send them the link to bid the agreed to amount, accept them, put the money in escrow, then they work away.

I was ripped off too many times to pay anything up front unless its a freelancer I have a relationship with.