Paying a 20% fee on jobs with old clients when switching to agency contract

[voronoi]

I just had an old client (already broke the 500$ mark) hire me through my agency. Now I have to pay the 20% fee all over again. This is the second time this happens, and I'm pushed to decide to keep working with my regular clients as an individual freelancer, just to avoid losing money. While I do see some (really bad) logic in this, I think this is very unfair, especially since the agency is owned by me. Instead of an incentive for growing a business, I am forced to pay a bigger fee. Can I get a reasonable explanation of why this is the way it is? I am determined to give my clients a wider array of services, but I see this as a push in the opposite direction (it's not a lot of money, but still).

[g_vasilevski]

Hi Ivan,

Thank you for your feedback, I will share this with our team.
The reason that you have the 20% fee again is because you`re hired on two different accounts, despite the fact that your the owner of agency.

[voronoi]

Thanks for the reply Goran! Like I said, I see the logic there, but the way I see it: the account is the same. I don't have two accounts on UpWork, and I can't understand how this work is viewed as separate from my work outside the agency. I'm keen on building my agency, so I'll just have to go along with what UpWork throws at me, but I seriously think this should be reconsidered! Sincerely, Ivan Vuković

[tlbp]

Your maximum additional cost is $50. You could ask the client to cancel your agency contract and hire you individually. Or, just charge enough that $50 doesn't matter that much. 

[voronoi]

1. My maximum additional cost is 50$ per client. Having 10 clients whom I wish to convert to agency contractors, this sums up to 500$. Some people might part with that money easily, I don't. 2. Charging a client extra so that I cover expenses that are not work related is kind of unprofessional. Also, what happens if we pass the 10% mark? Much larger sums are involved (not at the moment, but could easily be). Your advice doesn't really sound like an answer to my question. I am a freelancer with a single account, why does it matter if I get hired through an agency or as an individual? The agency itself doesn't collect any fees for funneling work, if my freelance workers bring their clients to work through my agency, they are instantly demotivated. Just imagine someone brings a 10000$+ client to extend the service range and gets back to the 0$ mark with that client.