Adding monthly milestones after completed work

[finnlancer]

A couple of weeks ago a client hired me to perform small recurring tasks on a fixed-price contract. The first two times we set up an individual milestone ahead of time and the client released the funds soon after I submitted the work. Then the client wanted to set up monthly milestones to avoid the hassle of adding and approving multiple milestones every week. I agreed that it would be much more convenient. However, the client wants to add the milestones in the end of the month after I've already completed the work, citing fees and not having the money in advance and not knowing the exact amount of work.

If the client was new on the platform, I wouldn't hesitate to decline and report them. However, they are a company that's been a member for several years with over $200,000 spent and a high rating of 4.91 stars. My question is whether it's against the rules for me to accept this proposition (I already did so provisionally but said I'd check if it's ok), or if it's just a risk I'm free to take or leave based on my own judgment? I would also appreciate hearing from anyone who has experienced this situation.

[petra_r · Accepted solution]

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Julius R wrote:

A couple of weeks ago a client hired me to perform small recurring tasks on a fixed-price contract. The first two times we set up an individual milestone ahead of time and the client released the funds soon after I submitted the work. Then the client wanted to set up monthly milestones to avoid the hassle of adding and approving multiple milestones every week. I agreed that it would be much more convenient. However, the client wants to add the milestones in the end of the month after I've already completed the work, citing fees and not having the money in advance and not knowing the exact amount of work.

If the client was new on the platform, I wouldn't hesitate to decline and report them. However, they are a company that's been a member for several years with over $200,000 spent and a high rating of 4.91 stars. My question is whether it's against the rules for me to accept this proposition (I already did so provisionally but said I'd check if it's ok), or if it's just a risk I'm free to take or leave based on my own judgment? I would also appreciate hearing from anyone who has experienced this situation.

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No, it is not against any rules, just a bit risky. That said, if he does that with other freelancers and any of them had not been paid, that would be visible in the feedback for the client.

Maybe do a compromise and do it every 2 weeks so you limit your risk.

[finnlancer]

Thank you for your advice, I will do that for a start and see how it goes.