🐈
» Forums » Freelancers » Initial Payment
Page options
7527f05a
Community Member

Initial Payment

Hi,

 

Is it still allowed to ask for initial payment from the client on a fixed price project? 

I had worked on oDesk before and it was a common practice to ask about 10% initial payment on starting a small project. If we communicate clearly to the client about the same and they agree, am I in violation of new upWork terms?

 

2 REPLIES 2
petra_r
Community Member


Vishak N wrote:

am I in violation of new upWork terms?


No, but you will likely find that clients won't go for that. Why should they send any money to a complete stranger on the Internet with no chance of ever seeing that money again when Upwork provides Escrow for just that reason?

 

Unfortunately there are simply too many posts from clients who have paid such a sum and never heard from the freelancer ever again as well.

 

7527f05a
Community Member

The reason being, apart from tangible deliverables as files, there is a concept of technical consultation. If the clients have got extensive technical consultation on how to imlemnt thier ideas and designs technically via calls and chats, they generally pay an initial payment to the freelancer to actually start working. Many a cleints pay like that and I still got paid similarly on another project when I had asked with a honest client.  Also i have been freelancing for 10 years now and have met many sesious client who want to build relationships for long term work who follow the practice. 

This question was regarding a single client who said that it was in violation of TOS. 

But thanks for clearing that up.

Latest Articles
Featured Topics
Learning Paths