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doonyatrans
Community Member

How to set milestones when applying for a job?

Hi! I want to apply for a translation project. It is paid by a word and weekly word count is defined in the description. 

In the application I am asked to choose if I want to be paid in milestones or by project. Since it is a year long project I choose milestones, but I don't know how to define them.
There is a description tab, Due date tab and the Amount tab.
If I want to be paid monthly should I add 12 milestones and then write the deadline for each?
And why I am asked to choose the amount if it is defined by the project?

There is a screenshot in the attachment.

Thank you ❤️

6 REPLIES 6
michael_skaggs
Community Member

For lengthy projects, milestones are always a good idea. As to how to define them, that would be something you would discuss with the client if they want to hire you. Whatever you put in your proposal will be just a suggestion unless the client keeps it that way when actually sending an offer. Keep in mind, however, that once you submit your work for a given milestone, the client has up to 14 days to request changes. If they take no action, the payment is automatically released, so keep in mind that whatever you submit, you could be waiting up to two weeks to get paid. Once you get a few milestones in, that lag time should be negligible, but just be aware of it going in.

 

Also, make sure you're on the same page with the client as far as approvals go. Once you submit work for a milestone, then they shouldn't be asking for (and you shouldn't be submitting) anything else until that milestone is approved and the next one is funded. If you WANT to work ahead, that's up to you, but you should only submit for what's currently funded.

 

Just going off of what you've said, a monthly milestone seems reasonable in my opinion. The first month will probably suck since it could be a month and a half before you see any payment, but if you're delivering on time and on quota every month, it should even out in the long run. But that's definitely something you can both figure out during the negotiation phase.

Hi Michael,

 

Thank you so much for your prompt response.

However, I am interested in how to fill these requirements, i.e. tabs mentioned in my query.
For example, if I want to be paid monthly, does that mean I have to add 12 milestones and

choose due date and amount for each? (It is allegedly a year-long project with a fixed budget).
Or, should I just write "monthly" or "weekly" in the description?
In that case comes the question what should I write under "Due date"?

I am attaching again the screenshot of that part of the application.

 

As for the process of receiving payment for the work done you described, I fully agree. That is why I was

even thinking of making weekly milestones, I just don't know how to 🙂

Thank you

The system doesn't really do a whole lot with due dates. The clock starts when you submit your work for that particular milestone.

 

With that in mind, what I'd do is set one milestone per month, but set the due date to 14 days prior to when you want to get paid, and just make sure you submit by that date. Once you submit, the clock is running, and if the client approves of the work, they don't have to do anything and you'll automatically have the funds released 14 days later. They can always release earlier, but they don't have to. And they'd still have to fund each milestone after that, but the automatic release means one less thing for them to worry about.

 

So say you want to get paid on the 15th of every month, you would set up a due date of the 1st, and make sure you submit on that date. Then if nothing is wrong, you get your funds released on the 15th.

 

Essentially, it would then go like this:

1) Submit work for a milestone on the 1st

2) Start working on the second milestone

3) First milestone gets automatically released on the 15th

4) Continue working on second milestone

5) Submit second milestone on the 15th

Repeat for the year.

 

Just be aware that any change in the days you submit will affect your payment date. And if the client requests any changes, resubmitting your work will reset the 14 day timer. And during that 14 days where you're working on the next milestone, you're essentially working without any guarantee it will be funded.

 I would forget about due dates and monthly / weekly altogether.

 

Just do word-count milestones based on your per word rate and be done with it.

 

Say you take 10 Cent per source word, set the milestones to your expected weekly / fortnightly output and leave the due date blank.

 

Like this

 

milestones.jpg

Thank you so much for this. Heart It is exactly what I am looking for too with regards to what I should put on the description - due date - $ to be paid.

This is helpful. Am always confused about what to write on the milestones. So how would you plan your milestone if you're given a social media management role, and you want to be paid per milestone?