how do you guys handle the money transactions? Like do you sign a contract with the client before you start doing anything. Do you collect the money after your done or what?
Eh, so basically what I’m asking is what do you guys do to make sure that you get paid.
I collect 25-33% up front. Do about 3/4 the project then collect another 25-33% then finish it off and collect the rest.
As far as I’ve seen the standard is 10 - 25 % up front, the rest upon completion. (I’ve only asked a few people though so I guess that’s not really an industry standard. 
)
If a company has given you something however, they are much more likely to pay you the rest.
payments can be handled quite nicely through paypal.
Keep in mind that if the company is a professional one, it will be declaring the money paid to you as an operating loss for tax purposes. That means that you do have to keep track of that money and declare it at the end of the year on your taxes. I’m not clear how that works if you are in a different country.
yah - I usually get 30 - 50% up front (sometimes it’s hard because you dont know exactly what is going to be the final price of the site) But if you go of your estimate you are usually pretty close. Then I collect the rest at the end of the deal - BUT BEFORE the site goes live, that way you dont risk having your work stolen. If you are showing a client work that you have done, try and host it on your own server or somewhere that he/she doesnt have access to an ftp so all your work cannot be stolen.
Also Upuaut is right - whatever moneys you make, you have to declare. Chances are the business you do it for wont get audited by the gov, but if they are and they see they have payed you and you havent paid the gov - you will soon be getting your own visit 
cooomplicated stuffffffhh!
Note that Paypal cannot be used in many counteries! …
::sniff::sniff::like in Estonia::sniff:sniff:sniff:: :*(
Easy… i dont collect anytin untill it is done, basically create it … take a screenshot, if they like it i wait for the money and if not then they dont pay they dont get site and i sell it off as a template…
You will end up doing a lot of work and not seeing anything out of it. If the client doesn’t have an interest in the project (part of their money) then they won’t give a crap about it and scrap it.
Yup. DP’s got it.
I always collect
%50 up front, %50 when I’m done. However, I also always offer them the option of hourly billing, broken down by HTML development, Flash development, Graphic design, etc., with the caveat that it is always more expensive for me to bill hourly.
Needless to say, everyone opts to pay %50 up front and the remainder when it’s done.
I prefer the by the hour thing. That way clients don’t think your hours are endless and you can go “No problem we can change that e-mail link to a spinning whirling piece of crap art” all with a smile on my face.
I charge by page usually depending on complexity. After I have a very tentative layout, they get a screenshot or a meeting as well as an invoice of a page by page breakdown. Paypal or cash.
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