Nov 29, 2022 06:35:53 AM by Will L
I just had a new client send me a message that included the request, ""Please do not invoice me until we have had a chance to review the final" version of the work
It is always surprising to me that so many freelancers and clients make so little effort to understand the basics of how Upwork works. I understand that Upwork's voluminous documentation can be daunting to someone whose first language is not English, but even the English-speaking ones don't bother to learn the basics.
This particular client has set an informal limit of 10 total hours and I have told him that should be doable and I'll let him know if the billable time gets close to that limit. But he hasn't even tried to figure out how Upwork's own reporting allows him to do the same thing.
I absolutely respect budgets and tell prospective new clients my estimate for time needed to complete their work. If that doesn't fit their budget, I recommend they find someone else to do their work. But I can no more precisely know ahead of time how much time a project will take than a referee will know at the beginning of a game precisely when the game will end.
If I knew exactly how long a project would take I'd be as happy to do a project on a fixed price basis as on an hourly basis, except for the fact that fixed price contracts have no enforceable payment protection.
Nov 29, 2022 07:01:16 AM by Preston H
re: "Please do not invoice me until we have had a chance to review the final version of the work"
Silly client.
Nov 29, 2022 07:12:34 AM by Will L
Yeah. I told him to set the weekly maximum work hours at 5 for his own peace of mind. I expect to finish the work he's so far told me he wants done within that remaining time.
Nov 29, 2022 05:29:18 PM by William T C
Hey Will, all of my projects are fixed-fee so these types of issues are avoided and I have $850k in billings. Try doing fixed-fee because you can determine what is needed in advance with some interactive discussions with the Client. Have a great day!
Nov 29, 2022 06:51:45 PM by Will L
William T C,
Thanks for your advice, but I have been on Upwork/Elance for seven years. I would never even consider doing fixed price projects on Upwork.
Nov 29, 2022 07:39:51 PM by Jeremiah B
I agree. If a person can make fixed rate projects work for them, by all means go for it.
Personally, I can't stand the fixed rate contracts because of the sheer volume of scammers and opportunists that abuse them.
Nov 29, 2022 08:09:56 PM by Tiffany S
Payment protection is only a problem on small fixed price jobs. For more significant projects, arbitration offers protection.
Nov 29, 2022 08:47:47 PM Edited Nov 29, 2022 08:48:21 PM by Vishnu S N
I Love Fixed-price projects, all my hourly jobs caused me headaches. But Fixed-fee will give us peace of mind and we can work as per our mood. The only thing is to meet the deadline.
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