Billing for images, etc.

[karicredits]

Hello,

How do I invoice my client for purchases outside of our contract. For example, I'm a designer and I had to buy 2 photos for my client's website. I told him I would invoice him.

If there si a way to invoice him through Uwprok, that means that I will be invoicing him for the cost of goods and Upwork will take their customary 10 - 20% cut on the contract, which means that I will be out that amount... doesn't make sense.

Can I invoice my client for the goods outside of Upwork or is that a violation of contract?

Thanks!

[petra_r]

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@Kari L wrote:

Can I invoice my client for the goods outside of Upwork or is that a violation of contract?

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 No, you can't, and yes, it would be a violation of the terms of service.

This leaves you with essentially 2 options:

1) Get the client to buy the pictures with his own money

2) Build the fee into the price you charge the client.

[luminouslemon]

Just had this issue myself.

1) The job is through a middleman who advised the client to purchase the images but has been waiting for ages and they just don't have the time to sign up to Shutterstock, work out how to buy credits for 10 images when they only need 7, download the images then send them to the middleman and then he sends them to me. I want to complete my work quickly, not faff around waiting for assets to be delivered.

2. It seems frankly ridiculous that Upwork want 20% commisson on assets that don't involve any billable time. In some cases this is even in violation of the asset company who do not allow assets to be resold for profit, only reimbursed, under the license you purchase.

I can only think that the reason for not adding a facility to attach fees for assets to jobs, is because Upwork is afraid that it would be ripe for fraudalent claims to get around the 20% commission. In the creative industries, it's extremely common to charge for third party assets either without additional charge, or at most a 10% handling fee (because you are taking the time to make the purchase on behalf of the client). Upwork is not handling the assets at all.

In my case the middleman asked if I could purchase on the client's behalf so that we could get on with the job. Surely I'm not supposed to say no, and not be able to get on with the work? And it feels wrong to charge around 130%+ of the cost of the assets to cover the 20% Upwork fee, withdraw charges and the lower than real exchange rate that they use.

[VladimirG]

Hi Jan,

Thank you for sharing your feedback. Our team will follow up with you to clarify Upwork ToS and directly address any questions you might have.

[prestonhunter]

Whether it seems ridiculous or not, Upwork has its rules, and Upwork has often suspended or terminated people who violate their rules. Don't risk it. It is not worth losing your account.

If you don't want to pay fees on money paid through Upwork to reimburse you for your photo purchases, then do what I do:

- have the client buy the photo and provide you with the file

or

- pay for the photo yourself and charge rates high enough to cover incidental purchases like that.

[luminouslemon · Accepted solution]

Obviously I'm not that stupid to violate the rules, hence when I am unsure about something, I check this forum and ask a question if I am still needing a clarification.

I now believe the correct way is to ask the client to add a payment for expenses - which I've read is hidden away and not obvious to find.

Ideally the client could do this easily, then the freelancer would upload a receipt for the purchase. Upwork could make spot checks where appropriate to check for fraudalent claims (as I'm sure they no doubt do with messages). However I'm fully aware that this won't happen. It is not a feature that will be anywhere near the top of what most freelancers want implimented.

We just have to make it clear that if the client wants us to purchase third party assets on their behalf then they will be paying a very high premium:

- 20% Upwork fee

- 10% Handling fee (the usual when you do this for a client)

- 5% to cover exchange rates

In my own personal experience (which is an 18 year career so far), I've encountered many clients who would rather I just do everything for them. I've charged them around 10% for this service. If the client is from Upwork, then it's going to cost them 35%. That's quite a huge difference.

[heroscompanion]

This is the smartest reply I have read so far. I'm 53 and have been at this a long time before I retired from corporate America. That is why my rates include Getty Image, Adobe Image and Shutterstock fees. If you let the client know this upfront and let them know this is far more affordable that hiring you to shoot product or models not to mention the modeling fees. Some clients want you to shoot every thing instead of using stock houses and thats fine also, but remember, "Your time is your biggest asset, never give it away unless it's for a good cause." I'm curios to see how Upwork pans out. May fonts be with you...lol

[karicredits]

Thanks for th eprofessional insight. I haven't charged clients an extra 10% on top for handling fees... what does that mean exactly? 

In most cases, my clients want me to do everything for them, including finding images. If I'm billing per hour, this cost is covered. But if not, it's a good idea to tell them in advance that I'll have to tag on extra fees for this service and to cover Upwork costs.