Advice on how to respond to private client Thread poster: Eleni Makantani
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Hello everyone!
I am desperate for some good advice on a pressing matter.
I have been freelancing in collaboration with agencies for several years now, but today I was contacted via Proz.com by an individual offering me a massive project for the beginning of next year. The volume and the money are tempting, the field is one I know well and would be happy to work in, however, not having ever before heard of this individual, I am sceptical as to whether I will eventually ... See more Hello everyone!
I am desperate for some good advice on a pressing matter.
I have been freelancing in collaboration with agencies for several years now, but today I was contacted via Proz.com by an individual offering me a massive project for the beginning of next year. The volume and the money are tempting, the field is one I know well and would be happy to work in, however, not having ever before heard of this individual, I am sceptical as to whether I will eventually get paid for my work. As the proposed project concerns more-than-full-time work for one month and the prospective reward would be of several thousand euro, I dread doing the job and not getting paid for it.
Have you ever found yourselves in such a situation? How would you advise me to respond to this prospective client regarding the salary "safeguarding" (ok, I know that freelancing isn't combatible with safeguarding...)? When you negotiate large projects with individual clients, what agreement do you usually get into as regards the pay terms?
Any answer would be much appreciated!
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| | | | neilmac
Spain
Local time: 19:31
Spanish to English
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| Advance payment | Dec 4, 2013 |
You could always try asking for a down payment, perhaps up to 50%. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
If you're able to state your case to the client as clearly as you have here, you should be able to explain that this is common practice for professional translators and work something out with them. Just make sure that you establish the deadlines and all other essential details before starting the project. If I were you, I would also try to leave space for other work/clients.
... See more You could always try asking for a down payment, perhaps up to 50%. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
If you're able to state your case to the client as clearly as you have here, you should be able to explain that this is common practice for professional translators and work something out with them. Just make sure that you establish the deadlines and all other essential details before starting the project. If I were you, I would also try to leave space for other work/clients.
[Edited at 2013-12-04 20:52 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | | some checking | Dec 4, 2013 |
some checking are
1. get his company details. and the search the net to get more details about the company
2. Tell him you need a purchase order and phased payment, say every week.( say 20%, 40%, 60%, etc levels of work
3. check for any blue board entry.
4. If he is outside US, then paypal fees will take a great % ( 8 to 10%).
| | | | | Ask for a partial advance payment | Dec 4, 2013 |
Hello Eleni,
I was approached by end customers directly on several occasions and so far had no problem. If it is a person, not a company/business, I try to research and get to know as much as possible about him/her, including info @ social and professional networks, forum profiles, etc. It is a good idea to search not only by the person's name, but also by email address, phone number and logins/nicknames if available. Last time it happened (I was to translate a collection of short p... See more Hello Eleni,
I was approached by end customers directly on several occasions and so far had no problem. If it is a person, not a company/business, I try to research and get to know as much as possible about him/her, including info @ social and professional networks, forum profiles, etc. It is a good idea to search not only by the person's name, but also by email address, phone number and logins/nicknames if available. Last time it happened (I was to translate a collection of short poems, quite a challenging and time-consuming project with the budget of over EUR1000), I asked for 60% downpayment of the agreed total, and the customer wired the required amount the very next day. We had fantastic collaboration and ended being good friends too. )
[Edited at 2013-12-04 21:03 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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Hi, maybe you can negotiate that you do X amount of work and get paid for that every time you deliver that X amount, or as has been suggested, a down payment. I would go for a down payment and then payment and work in stages. make sure you agree on everything before- what info they need, if by PayPal, bank transfer, any VAT or tax details before you undertake this work and see you are able to contact them and they really exist. If you manage it, leave some time for other work for other agencies ... See more Hi, maybe you can negotiate that you do X amount of work and get paid for that every time you deliver that X amount, or as has been suggested, a down payment. I would go for a down payment and then payment and work in stages. make sure you agree on everything before- what info they need, if by PayPal, bank transfer, any VAT or tax details before you undertake this work and see you are able to contact them and they really exist. If you manage it, leave some time for other work for other agencies too, so you do not cut them out completely, serves you as a break and you are not left in the lurch if something goes wrong halfway through. GL ▲ Collapse
| | | | John Fossey 
Canada
Local time: 13:31
Member (2008)
French to English
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| Watch out for scams | Dec 4, 2013 |
Just don't accept anything in the way of terms other than seeing some cash actually in the bank, deposited by wire transfer, not by a paper document such as cheque or bank draft which can be a forgery!
If the client is genuine, they won't have any difficulty with paying you in this way. Any hesitation should raise red flags.
| | | | Eleni Makantani
Greece
Local time: 20:31
English to Greek
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TOPIC STARTER | Thank you all! | Dec 5, 2013 |
Thank you all for your answers!
What I proposed to the client is to agree on a weekly schedule of partial assignments on my part and partial payments on their part. Beforehand, I had made an online search, which showed that, even if they don't have a BB record (no proz.com profile at all), they are highly esteemed businesspeople in their country of origin and they seem quite reliable.
Anyway, I keep my fingers crossed and I thank you all for your precious advice!
... See more Thank you all for your answers!
What I proposed to the client is to agree on a weekly schedule of partial assignments on my part and partial payments on their part. Beforehand, I had made an online search, which showed that, even if they don't have a BB record (no proz.com profile at all), they are highly esteemed businesspeople in their country of origin and they seem quite reliable.
Anyway, I keep my fingers crossed and I thank you all for your precious advice!
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| | | | Kevin Fulton
United States
Local time: 13:31
German to English
| Make a phone call | Dec 5, 2013 |
Eleni Makantani wrote:
they are highly esteemed businesspeople in their country of origin and they seem quite reliable.
E.
Try to speak to the client directly. With very little trouble I could create an e-mail address for [name your favorite plutocrat] and commit fraud. If this client is well-known, certainly a corporate telephone number should be available. If the client gives you a number with a country code other than expected, you may have cause for concern. Calling and speaking to the prospective client would be a means of verification.
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Sheila Wilson
Spain
Local time: 18:31
Member (2007)
English
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Kevin Fulton wrote:
Try to speak to the client directly.
Another thing to do would be to check where the emails are coming from. I believe you can do that by checking the IP address of the originating computer (in the message details/header).
Identity theft is rife at the moment and you could be scammed by a third party posing as these upright businesspeople.
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I entirely agree. Just try to reach the person with the excuse of asking for some detail you need. This way you will quickly know whether there is anything fishy.
Do not use the phone number given by the person: look for the company in the Internet and use contact details from there, so that you can ask for this person at the switchboard. Tell the switchboard operator that you are a translator, that you are dealing with so and so about a translation, and could the operator be so kin... See more I entirely agree. Just try to reach the person with the excuse of asking for some detail you need. This way you will quickly know whether there is anything fishy.
Do not use the phone number given by the person: look for the company in the Internet and use contact details from there, so that you can ask for this person at the switchboard. Tell the switchboard operator that you are a translator, that you are dealing with so and so about a translation, and could the operator be so kind as to connect you to this person. If the person you are dealing with does exist but should not be dealing with external suppliers, chances are that the operator will know and will connect you to the right department, with which you can clarify any issues. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | I'm in a similar position too | Mar 23, 2014 |
That is some very sensible advice about checking out a new client and ensuring payment is made.
After years of working with agencies I have been approached by an end client directly and it has suddenly occurred to me that although I have everything in place for a purchase order I don't actually have any General Terms and Conditions. I usually have to accept those from the agencies.
How do I go about getting some General Terms and Conditions in place?
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