walked away from the job.
It sounds like the company have essentially taken every step to ensure that
they have almost no contractual obligations to you, but you have a lot of
contractual obligations to them.
I've been in that situation a couple of times in the past and it's not a
nice place to be.
My rule of thumb these days is that I won't accept any work from a new
client that is going to take up more than a few days time before I get paid.
If all goes well with that approach for the first few contracts I'll accept
larger contracts and I'll generally reduce the rate because I've already
established that the risk is lower with that client than a stranger.
I also explain all of that clearly to the client up front.
I find that works well for both parties. The client is not risking the
success a large project with an unknown third party and I'm not risking many
weeks of work that might never be paid for.
This approach doesn't work in all situations, but I find that more often
than not it softens the negotiations for larger contracts if a small part of
the work can be done as a pilot project to establish a baseline for the
relationship between myself and the client. Both parties are free to walk
away after the completion of the pilot project if they don't like the
working relationship.
The fact that I'm a one man band heavily influences the reasons why I take
this approach. I simply don't have the resources to get into a protracted
legal discussion and potential action with a client who does not pay when
they should.
my 2 cents
Spike
--------------------------------------------
Stephen Milligan
Code poet for hire
http://www.spike.org.uk <http://www.spike.org.uk/>
Do you cfeclipse? http://cfeclipse.tigris.org <http://cfeclipse.tigris.org/>
_____
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On
Behalf Of Jeffry Houser
Sent: Monday, August 23, 2004 2:38 PM
To: CF-Jobs-Talk
Subject: Re: :grumble, grumble: clients...
At 05:17 PM 8/23/2004, you wrote:
> > Unfortunately, this client had their own contracts, so we didn't use
> > mine.
>
>There is only 1 contract here...ours ;-)
That approach appeals to me more every time I have to use another
contract.
As a sub-contractor, I don't usually get that option, but for the most
part subcontracting is a low percentage of my business. I'm usually
first-level vendor. This particular client took a harder stance than
yours.. since they were very hard on the negotiation.
The clause I hate is:
"My invoice will be paid 10 days after they get paid by client."
I don't like to enter into agreements that are contingent on some other
agreement which I have no say or part in. Also, that doesn't tell me if I
get paid in 30 days, 90 days, or 10 years.
In addition to "payment 10 days after completion", this particular
contract committed me to "immediate delivery upon completion". Fun stuff,
right? In contracts where I have to wait for payment (some undetermined
amount of time) I will usually hold off delivery until payment is received
in full.
--
Jeffry Houser, Web Developer, Writer, Songwriter, Recording Engineer
<mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
--
AIM: Reboog711 | Phone: 1-203-379-0773
--
My Books: <http://www.instantcoldfusion.com>
Recording Music: <http://www.fcfstudios.com>
Original Energetic Acoustic Rock: <http://www.farcryfly.com>
_____
[Todays Threads] [This Message] [Subscription] [Fast Unsubscribe] [User Settings] [Donations and Support]
