Working self employed. Can I guarantee payment?

Concerned75

Hi.
I'm thinking of going self employed, but doing work for someone, other than being a sole trader.
Is there anything I can put in place to make sure I'm paid for any works done, that is legal or amicable?
When you make something bespoke, you can't always set a figure straightaway, so you have to do the job first and expect to be paid on receipt. Apart from a hefty deposit, is there anything else that works automatically, other than chasing the person for payment.
Thanks.

theoretica

Some freelancers use escrow services where the client pays the money to a holding account, but it is only released once the work is done. I don't know the details.

Concerned75

I've used that in the past, but it didn't generate any contacts for my kind of work. Ideally, I would want a payment/delivery within a 2day turnaround, as is possible with private work, not with online 'go between' work sites. They take too long to release funds.

sangie595

Other than the suggestion of escrow, or payment in advance, no you cannot guarantee that someone will pay you, and especially not if you reserve the right to change the amount of money! "Bespoke" or not, customers expect to be told what something will cost in advance of work, not after the job is completed. You won't get many customers on that basis- it's effectively writing you a blank cheque to charge them anything you want.

Owain_Moneysaver

Concerned75 wrote: »

Hi.
I'm thinking of going self employed, but doing work for someone, other than being a sole trader.

If you are self-employed then you are a sole trader.

If you mean you will only have one client rather than working for a variety of clients, then that might not be genuine self-employment and you may legally be an employee.

fewgroats

Is this furniture design or something? I wondered what is bespoke. Unless you can guarantee paid clients you can't ensure payments. If it was easy everyone would do it.

trailingspouse

We generally use a contract...

But seriously, we build a bit of wriggle room into our quotations - we take a best guess at how long something will take, add a bit for luck (it's called 'contingencies' in the contract), and that's the figure we quote them. We then add a proviso that the final figure could be +/- 10% of the quoted figure - we may finish quicker than anticipated, or it might take longer.

You could allow 7 days for payment, or insist on 'payment on receipt of invoice'. After that, yes it is a case of keeping on top of who has paid and who hasn't, and chasing the non-payers.

And if you think someone might not pay, don't do any work for them. Just say no.

MacMickster

If you are selling goods rather than a service then you might want to google a romalpa contract. That way you retain title to the goods until they are fully paid for.

TELLIT01

An interesting concept where you contract to do work for somebody by they have no idea how much they are going to be charged. I accept that in some instances only an estimate can be provided, but do people really accept the idea of effectively handing over a blank cheque?
The only situation I've seen of that is a programme I was watching about full vehicle restoration where the work required couldn't be fully quantified until after the strip down. Even then, an estimate was provided to do the work to that stage, and costings for work beyond that point.
Back to the original question, you can have a contract with the customer that payment is due within 48 hours of receipt of the goods but what are you going to do if they don't pay immediately?

Concerned75

They are given a figure at that time for the labour. Not materials for or postage as that can change, including what the client wants. The bespoke is making bags/cushions, which are all individually made.
I hope that covers replies of not giving a full quoted price beforehand.

bargainbetty

Once the client has determined their requirements, you provide a quote based on that - including the materials and postage which you should have already sourced for costs if you wish to make a go of this. You should produce a list of your own material costs and courier costs to prepare for your business, so you can tell people. It makes you look much more professional if you know your offering properly.

50% down, 50% upon completion for a bespoke piece is entirely reasonable, but you will have to deliver the goods to get the money.