Stage 4 · Lesson 3 of 7
Payment costs and deposits for direct work
Direct work has no platform fee, but moving money still costs something. These include transfer fees, receiving fees and a hidden one: the gap between the real and the rate , Wise, PayPal or your bank gives you.
Check your total cost on a typical payment. Then include it in your price, or state in your agreement that the client pays transfer fees. Direct work also has no platform holding the client's money for you.
So ask for a before you start, an upfront share of the price. A third to a half is common, with the rest paid at (agreed checkpoints) or on delivery. A deposit also filters out clients who are not serious.
Common trapstarting because the client "will pay on Friday" before any money has arrived.
A question to check yourself, an AI practice session and 2 cheat sheet entries come when you add the roadmap to your account. Add it
Resources for this stage
Practise
Keep handy
- Contract KillerPaid
A paid plain-English contract template for web work, if you want a ready draft to adapt