How Can a Freelancer Receive Payments
Unfortunately, the advent of technology does not mean that a freelancer will never have problems getting money from clients. Once a freelancer has the right tool to get paid, they need to apply the right methods to get paid for freelancing. So, how to get paid as a freelancer?
How to Avoid Non-Payment?
There are freelancers who can’t get paid for work done over time and those who keep a lot of money in their accounts. There are several ways how a freelancer can increase their chances of doing unpaid work.
Prepayment
How do freelancers get paid? Asking for an advance payment from the customer is completely normal and often the key thing in cooperation. It can be a partial payment or a full payment for the order. Prepayment may sound intimidating because it imposes certain obligations on the performer, but this is a fairly common practice. In the case when the customer does not feel confident about the prepayment, then you can compromise and offer him a deposit – if the freelancer does not complete the task, he is obliged to return the specified amount. Experts recommend educating clients about all the points of work, about the cost of money and time – gives the customer a complete picture of what he pays for. Also, freelancers should soberly assess their work and filter out clients and add a deposit to the contract so that the working environment is safe and pleasant.
The Сustomer Must be Able to Evaluate Creative Work
It is important for a freelancer to understand that the stage of finding a client is already half the work – there are more chances to get paid for work if the customer understands the importance of the work done by the performer. Working with people who are not used to paying for creative work is a fairly common problem. This means that they may not be used to paying for illustrations on a regular basis and they don’t have a system in place to help them do it systematically. Freelancers should work with people who respect creative work and become professionals themselves through commissions – this is the best way to get paid as a freelancer on time.
Correctly Invoiced
It can happen that a client whom the freelancer has never seen or spoken to can send an invoice to their accounts payable department. It is important to correctly and clearly issue an invoice for the customer – as soon as this is done, the payment will arrive on time. In addition, you need to track them and send them to the customer on a regular basis – this is just the beginning because then it is worth maintaining constant communication with customers. To date, there are special applications and add-ons that allow you to automate the process of sending regular payments to the customer.
Freelancer Payment Forms
The following will describe how to accept payment as a freelancer. Some methods are widely used, but some will become a discovery. In any case, the freelancer should be careful in any provision of data for the client.
Checks
This is one of the oldest and easiest ways for freelancers to get paid. The advantage of this payment is that you do not have to pay a commission for depositing a check into the freelancer’s bank account. This makes checks an attractive payment option.But when accepting checks, delays are common, as you have to wait for the check to be delivered to the post office or for the money to be credited to the freelancer’s bank account. If you want to get paid sooner, it is better to use the electronic payment option.
PayPal payment
People around the world use PayPal as a freelancer payment method. Opening an account will cost nothing, and clients will have access to electronic payment for freelancer services. The money goes to your PayPal electronic account, and from there you can already withdraw to your personal bank account. Money transfers to the bank can often be subject to a fee, so you can also use a PayPal debit card for further payment. Cons: fees. PayPal charges a 2.9% transaction fee based on account size. This figure does not seem like a lot, but in the long run, and performing large orders, a freelancer can lose thousands.
Payment with credit cards
This is a fairly common way to make payment by the customer and the freelancer to accept it. These types of payments are processed through different digital payment systems. If a freelancer works at a high professional level, then he can also purchase his own equipment and accept payments from clients himself: wireless terminals, a trading account, or special software that processes credit cards. For example, there are manufacturers who offer equipment that works with a mobile phone. Many freelancers who get paid by credit cards have such applications.
Electronic payment
EFT is a well-known way to receive and send funds not only between a freelancer and a client but also between ordinary individuals. Applications or a third-party company are not involved in the process of transferring from account to account. This process may take 2-4 business days. But unlike PayPal, for example, there is no need to transfer twice. But one of the problems that arise when paying for a freelancer’s work through a bank is that the request must be satisfied by one or two banks on both sides. Transferring from one bank to another can sometimes be difficult or expensive. For this reason, customers prefer checks or use online applications to pay freelancers. But if we are talking about a client with a reliable payroll provider, then setting up payments is not difficult.
Accounting software
his technology is designed to track income and expenses, as well as to facilitate the freelancer payment options. When one service performs services for a freelancer for a long time, the income will be automatically updated and notify the customer about the billing. Such programs can even send notifications that a customer has viewed an invoice. It is likely that such accounting programs will not be free, but they are definitely worth it.
There is also one more way to get payments if you are a freelancer and want to open bank account online Europe. It is PayDo that offers an electronic wallet, a European IBAN and other useful features in one account only.
Tips for Prompt Payment
It’s not enough just to open an account or pay for software to get regular effective payments. A freelancer should follow some rules that will help avoid delays or even refuse to pay. It is always important to understand what kind of customer a freelancer does business with and what kind of person he is.
Make it Easier
A freelancer needs to read the work contract provided by the customer before starting work well before starting work. One of the main rules to getting paid on time is to do everything necessary to make payment methods as simple as possible for the customer – add as many types of virtual wallet as you have. Providing several options to the client helps him to choose which one impresses him the most, or with which he is already familiar. Good advice would be to offer a digital payment option, add check payment instructions or a “Pay Now” button.
Send Invoice Regularly
A freelancer should take into account that a delay in an account means losses and discomfort, first of all, for himself. Billing is a guarantee of getting money and one of the main parts of the job, so it should not be taken as a distraction, but rather as income support. The freelancer may give the impression of being slow to receive money or that he is not complacent when he waits too long, giving clients additional reminders of himself. The billing system and frequency vary depending on the length of the project, but monthly billing is usually a perfectly normal practice and will ensure that billing is organized.Payment terms for freelancers are really important.
Keep track of everything
Even sending invoices regularly does not always guarantee that the payment will go to the freelancer’s account. It is necessary to set up the system so that it will be noticeable that the client regularly makes payments. In the unpleasant case of communicating with clients who delay payments, it is still worth showing courtesy, since the reasons can be different – from employment to an unwillingness to pay salaries. Tracking the process is important to understand, or the client is just playing for time, or he really has problems with the service for sending invoices that the freelancer provided him, or maybe there was a problem with the invoice from the freelancer. In any case, it is important to communicate with the client how to get paid for freelance work so that the situation is kept under control. As mentioned earlier, in such a case, there are also special services that provide billing services. You can set up a reminder to be sent every 30 days so that the client does not forget about the payment.
The freelancer has a certain obligation – making arrangements to receive payment. Also, one of the most key rules of any freelancer is to change and improve, and then the payment will always be on time. Receiving money for a freelance job can be easier with a PayDo account. Feel free to register and ask any questions.