Policies for illustration work

[986eb616]

Hello fellow freelancers!

How do you deal with constant edits from clients? I need to add some kind of policy for numbers of edits to a design allowed prior to starting a contract. Do you have a template or something that  I use as a starting point? 

I know I need to add at least:

-Working hours

-Numbers of edits

- Approval of drafts

Best regards,

S

[prestonhunter · Accepted solution]

Simple. Clearly state what you offer in your original task agreement. I recommend doing what I do, which is to offer zero edits. When I work on a fixed-price contract, I am the professional. I know when the task is done. When I say it is done, it is done. The client is expected to release payment, not ask for changes to be made to something that is already done.

Otherwise:

Hourly contract.

[986eb616]

Thank you so much! 

I will do this from now on. It is very frustrating when the scope of the project changes as it progresses. You are totally right, I will need to state everything very clear on the "approve this propsal" space. I just have stated the deliverables and technical details.

I will add my work hours and national holidays + added revisions are considered a new project for fixed-price contracts. Edits will be a new milestone or hourly contact. 

I'm so used to working in an agency that I'm spoiled having customer representatives taking care of "issues" and "concerns".

Thank you so much. When you said it it was so clear to me - this is the way to go. 

/S

[prestonhunter]

Personally, I consider fixed-price contracts to be a "privilege", which is NOT the "standard" contract that the Upwork platform was built around. Upwork as a company, following in the footsteps of its predecessor oDesk, was literally built around the value-added prospect of letting clients hire remote freelancers who work while running a time-tracker to demonstrate they are really working on the client's projects.

For me, a client who asks for changes or revisions is "burning their fixed-price card." I quickly move them to hourly contracts only.

In the end, my clients BENEFIT from moving to HOURLY contracts. Because they can ask for whatever they need, at any time, without needing to set up new milestones or contracts. It is more flexible for them and their projects benefit from it.

But Upwork DOES allow and support fixed-price contracts. I'm not at all against them doing so. Using fixed-price contracts effectively simply requires that the freelancer really retain tight control of the process and not let a client get away with scope creep of any kind. Just a tiny bit sets a bad precedent and trains the client the wrong way.

My work is very technical. If a task is done, it is done. I understand that there are creative professionals who may legitimately want to offer more than one draft or revision. But those freelancers - if they are effective and successful in using fixed-price contracts - have learned to very explicitly state how many revisions they offer, how much time may be spent on those, and a time-frame during which such requests may be made.

[jaycrutcher]

I typically offer one revision for line art, and one for color which is a quick change as part of whatever I'm charging. Most of my clients want to know how much they are paying up front so I price in the unknown as well as I can.