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almeida-aline
Community Member

Hourly contract - client requires cloud paid components but client doesn't want to provide / pay

Hourly contract. Solution must be developed using specific cloud SDK and respective paid components. It is not possible to run offline; it requires execution on cloud computing instances (which are usually the most expensive items on clouds).

 

The final solution must run on Enterprise cloud environment of the client. For security reasons, it was explained that I would not have direct access to the Enterprise cloud. 

 

It seemed obvious to me that the client should provide the environment, whether the final Enterprise, or a testing one, specially considering a hourly rate contract.

 

Along the work, when the cloud components became more critical, I  offered to set up all the components at the cloud, and have a separate subscription for the project, for proper billing to the client (via bonus, or something like this at Upwork). The client said that he/she will not pay for cloud costs. And because I am an expert, I should be able to design and code without it. I think it is non-sense. Implement under an SDK that you cannot run. 

 

I worked in other hourly-contract projects regarding specific paid components of clouds, and in all cases the client provided the environment. I did not explicitly asked who would pay for these cloud components before accepting the contract, because it seemed so obvious.

 

I want to make sure we find the best way for both sides. Otherway it might not be sustainable.


Has anyone run into a similar situation?


Tip from a beginner at Upwork: explicit all the conditions before starting a contract, even the obvious ones. Yes, this is an obvious tip, too.


Best regards,

Aline.

3 REPLIES 3
prestonhunter
Community Member

Of course you are not required to pay for this client's cloud resources.

 

You should provide the client with information about the expenses he will incur for this system, which are expenses that you will not pay for.

 

But I think you should ALSO be open to the possibility that you are not the right freelancer for this project. Maybe there ARE freelancers who know how to create this without incurring any expenses.

 

I recommend that you tell the client that you do not personally know how to create this system without using cloud computing resources, and that you do not personally provide cloud computing resources, and that if he is looking for somebody to do that, he will need to find somebody else.

 

You may be locked into one way of looking at this problem, when there actually are THREE ways to approach this:

a) Freelancer provides solution for client, a solution which requires cloud computing expenses

b) Freelancer provides solution for client, a solutiion which does NOT require cloud computing resources

c) Freelancer provides solution for client, and freelancer also provides free cloud computing resources to the client

 

There IS NOTHING WRONG with you as a freelancer if you only provide one of these options. But there ARE freelancers who provide options (b) and (c).

Hi Preston. Thanks for the prompt reply. By architecture and definition, the SDK required by the client runs only on the cloud computing instances. It is not possible for anyone to run code under this SDK offline. That's why I thought it was so obvious that the environment/cost should be provided by the client, specially because it is hourly contract.

Aline:

I am NOT available to hire through the Community Forum. So neither you, nor that client, nor anybody reading this can hire me to work on this project.

 

But by way of providing information, I provide premium cloud computing hosting for free for clients that I do hourly work for. So it is not unheard of or impossible.

 

But it is MORE common for clients and project owners to provide their own cloud computing resources. If this is not something that you provide already, then you definitely should NOT feel pressured to do so with this client.

 

You need to communicate what you can and can not do, and what you do and do not provide, and let the client decide what to do with that information.

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