New to Upwork - Endless contract

tmspats · ‎01-08-2020

I need some direction on a fixed price contract (my first one).

Although I enjoy working with this client, it seems that he thinks I am his full-time employee. I am providing documentation for software that is not not ready and is being updated constantly. I have delivered a milestone that he wants to keep changing and adding to as they change the software. Three milestones should have all been completed by January 5, but since the software is constantly being updated, he keeps extending the deadline and asking for changes to what was already delivered. I have one milestone yet to do, which may takes weeks at this rate.

The client keeps telling me he will give me wonderful reviews, but right now, I am pretty much working for nothing considering the hours I have put in.

Any advice on how to deal with this would really be appreciated.

petra_r · ‎01-08-2020

I'd tell the client to end the contract and rehire you on an hourly contract for the rest of the work, then he can have (and pay for) as many changes as he likes.

tmspats · ‎01-08-2020

I tried that and he doesn't want to do it. He said he would consider the next time around and wanted to know if I would still be interested in completing the third milestone when they get the software ready. He said he could extend the date.

I told him I would fulfill my commitment and that one more day should do it. I also told him that the hours I have put in far exceed the agreed upon rate, so I could not commit to an indefinite end date. I don't know how this is going to end up, but I hope he gives me a good review.

This has been a hard first lesson, but I have learned that fixed contracts are not the way to go. You end up working for pennies.

a_lipsey · ‎01-08-2020

Mary P wrote:
I tried that and he doesn't want to do it. He said he would consider the next time around and wanted to know if I would still be interested in completing the third milestone when they get the software ready. He said he could extend the date.

I told him I would fulfill my commitment and that one more day should do it. I also told him that the hours I have put in far exceed the agreed upon rate, so I could not commit to an indefinite end date. I don't know how this is going to end up, but I hope he gives me a good review.

This has been a hard first lesson, but I have learned that fixed contracts are not the way to go. You end up working for pennies.

Fixed price contracts can be extremely lucrative, actually, if you know how to set them up and put your foot down to endless revisions. The reason you are making pennies here is because you have allowed scope creep.

There is an extensive thread in which the community discussed fixed-price contracts here: https://community.upwork.com/t5/Freelancers/Why-you-should-avoid-Fixed-Priced-And-use-multiple-platf.... It might be good to read through it and see how other top earners set up fixed-price contracts to their benefit.

tmspats · ‎01-08-2020

Thank you for your input and information link. Since this is my first actual contract , I have a lot to learn. I will look at the thread provided and next time, I will be more specific when accepting a contract.

For me, getting that first contract was exciting because I felt like I finally got my foot in the door: Someone was willing to give me a chance even though I don't have a track record with Upwork yet. I was also trying to accommodate the client. I didn't really know what to expect and I certainly didn't want to burn any bridges.

Live and learn.

data_divas · ‎01-08-2020

Mary, all is not lost. Even if you didn't earn a lot on this project, you learned quite a bit about how to avoid this in the future so don't dispair.

Finish this one off and then on to better negotiated contracts. Hang out here frequently, you'll learn best practices from your fellow freelancers.

a_lipsey · ‎01-08-2020

Mary P wrote:
Thank you for your input and information link. Since this is my first actual contract , I have a lot to learn. I will look at the thread provided and next time, I will be more specific when accepting a contract.

For me, getting that first contract was exciting because I felt like I finally got my foot in the door: Someone was willing to give me a chance even though I don't have a track record with Upwork yet. I was also trying to accommodate the client. I didn't really know what to expect and I certainly didn't want to burn any bridges.

Live and learn.

Don't be discouraged. I'm going to guess at least half of us have a similar first experience, then realize we need to read up more on how to protect ourselves using this online platform. And of course we are chasing the good review and "job well done" so we all want to go above and beyond to please a client. Just remember, some clients can't be pleased unless they got expert work for free. And even then, it wouldn't be good enough.

prestonhunter · ‎01-08-2020

Among my first few fixed-price contracts there were some nightmares, primarily due to scope creep.

Fixed-price contracts really need to be managed by the freelancer, and not left to chance.

With some thought, practice, and maybe a little reading in the Forum, any freelancer who really wants to can get a handle on the process. One develops effective ways to properly scope out the milestones beforehand, and then tell clients "no" when they ask for out-of-scope work.