Re: Larger clients?

ALWAYS no matter what the other details of your agreement are, make sure
that you are paid IN FULL before you turn over the code or move the code to
a server not under your full control.  I'm not sure of the exact legal
wording you should use in your case but make sure that your
agreement/contract states that you retain full ownership and copyright of
the site until the payments are made in full and specify the amount.

But as to your exact question, you could do it in thirds.  One third upon
the contract signing, one third when the site is in "beta-test" and the then
the final third when the site is ready to go "live". If the project is huge
where it is going to take close to a year you could do it in monthly
payments. But again make sure that you retain full control over all the code
and the server it is on until you are paid in full.

Also be aware of late payments.  My largest client for the longest time had
a bad history of not paying me on time.  Finally I stopped doing work for
them after the payment was due and not received.  They got the hint, and now
are *very* prompt about paying.  Now I'm in a long term contract with them
and it has been a very happy situation.  Just don't put yourself in that
situation (of letting people get used to paying you "when they feel like
it").

That's just my 2 cents worth. I'm sure some of the legal types here will be
able to give you a more exact answer to your question.

Jo Pop



From: "Adrienne H. Cregar" <acregar(at)nr.infi.net>

> Hello all. I am quoting a prospective client for a significantly larger
> site than we usually work on. I don't want to ask a question that will
> break the rules of this group regarding pricing, so please do not
> respond with any price information, but (here is the question...): We
> usually collect a 50% deposit up front and the balance due on completion
> of the site. With such a large project, I think other arrangements would
> need to be made. Could any of you that regularly do large-scale projects
> respond to me privately about your payment schedule/terms? Thank you in
> advance...

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