Client reluctant to complete payment for work done

[geraldarchitect]

My client split a job on two milestones for adjusting a floor plan which we agreed initially on $500, he split the contract into two milestones intending for the second one to be for revision. However i made three samples of the required plan which he was satisfied with and approved the first milestones but now he has refused to complete payment for the remaining. I have sent him a message explaining that since he doesn’t require any adjustments and is satisfied that he should process the remaining payment so we can conclude on the contract but he has chosen to ignore it. What can i do?

[feed_my_eyes]

A 50% up front, 50% upon completion payment structure works fine in real life, but on Upwork, you should only work on a milestone that's been funded. If you told the client that the remaining 50% payment was for revisions, and he doesn't want any revisions, then you have no basis to make any further claims - you can only dispute payments if the money is in escrow.

Next time you're working on a fixed price contract, ask for a larger percentage as your first milestone payment (or better yet, get the whole thing funded if it's only a $500 project).

[geraldarchitect]

Yes that’s valid but there was no such agreement between i and the client about revision terms, the agreed upon price was $500 was for the completed work. I have worked on several other projects in the past which i have successfully completed with the same system once a client is satisfied with the work he/she completes the second milestones payment.

[feed_my_eyes]

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Gerald A wrote:
Yes that’s valid but there was no such agreement between i and the client about revision terms, the agreed upon price was $500 was for the completed work. I have worked on several other projects in the past which i have successfully completed with the same system once a client is satisfied with the work he/she completes the second milestones payment.

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Yes, an honourable client would have paid the full amount, but unfortunately, not all clients can be trusted. If this client said, "I'll pay you 50% when you deliver the first drafts, and the other 50% for revisions" and you agreed, then that's the end of it, I'm afraid. He technically held up his end of the bargain. All you can do at this point is to leave an accurate review saying what happened, so that the client can't repeat this trick with another freelancer.

[wlyonsatl]

Gerald A.,

Under Upwork's procedures, you should never work on a milestone that has not been funded.

If you do, there is a possibility you will not get paid for it, regardless whether you complete the work for the milestone.

As has already been mentioned, in the future think about setting up multiple milestones so the earliest milestone(s) cover(s) most of the work (and payment) you have agreed to do and little is left for later milestones (at a much smaller amount of both expected work product and payment from the client).

There is some strategy to designing fixed price projects on Upwork; you'll have to learn as you go to try to better ensure you are always paid what you expect to be paid for your hard work. There is a learning curve here.

[tlbp]

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Gerald A wrote:
Yes that’s valid but there was no such agreement between i and the client about revision terms, the agreed upon price was $500 was for the completed work. I have worked on several other projects in the past which i have successfully completed with the same system once a client is satisfied with the work he/she completes the second milestones payment.

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Now, you have met the client who will abuse the system. Upwork will not help you pursue payment for unfunded milestones. So, you are stuck with half the payment and the client is walking away with the completed work. 😞

[g_vasilevski]

Hi Gerald,

I'm sorry to hear about the bad experience you've had. Please keep in mind that our fixed price protection does not cover promised funds or unfunded milestones. To learn more about how you're protected, check out this Help Article. Thank you.