Freelance Marketplaces Can Guarantee the Client Pays You

In 2009, about 40 percent of Freelancers Union's members had issues receiving payment for their work. News articles over the past few months have reported on this startling trend from the Wall Street Journal, CNN and Business Week. Most of these articles give advice on how to collect payment for services rendered. But what about making a preemptive strike? Discover how freelance marketplace websites can help minimize late or non-payments by clients.

Why Use a Freelance Marketplace Website?

The first thing that comes to a freelancer's mind when they hear "marketplace" is offering their skills by bidding on assignments, projects, and jobs available on the web. However, these websites have another untapped use. Many freelancers do not realize they can direct prospective clients to freelance marketplaces such as Constant Content and Elance to propose projects specifically for them to fully utilize and take advantage of all their services.

In general, the freelance marketplace provides a venue for freelancers to define the terms of service, store documents and correspond; the website then accepts money from the client and passes it on to the freelancer for a fee. Typically, this fee is a percentage taken from the payment you receive for service. Fees can range from as high as 35 percent (Constant Content) to as little as 6.75 percent (Elance).

Elance Offers Guaranteed Payment for Freelancers

Elance offers one the safest client/freelance platforms on the Internet. When the client and freelancer/provider agree to work together through the system, Elance offers guaranteed payment to the freelancer once the project is logged as complete. This guarantee is offered for both fixed price and hourly work projects.

The Elance Hourly Work Guarantee

Elance's hourly work guarantee is offered when the client and provider agree to use two tools called Work View and Tracker. Tracker is a timer that tracks the billable hours you work and automatically fills in those hours on your timesheet that you submit to your client. Additionally, Tracker uploads snapshots of your work and your comments about your work directly to your client through the Work View feature on Elance.

When used together, Elance guarantees payment for up to 10 hours of work per day for a 50-hour workweek. The client has five days after the timesheet is submitted to review the work, timesheet and screenshots. At the end of the fifth day, Elance will deduct the billable hours from the client's chosen method of payment and the freelancer will be paid. If there are corresponding images for the time worked, Elance will guarantee that you get paid for time worked.

The Elance Fixed Price Guarantee

When the client and provider agree to use Elance escrow and adhere to additional criteria, Elance guarantees payment. Escrow gives you the security of knowing that the client has valid payment sources and secured funds to pay for work completed satisfactorily. Once complete with the work, the freelancer gets paid by either the client releasing the funds from escrow within 30 days, or Elance will automatically release them to the freelancer if the client does not act.

The benefit of a freelance marketplace website like Elance is the protection they add for you and the client. You are paid for work completed according to the terms you and the client agreed upon. The client has the option to dispute paying you, with companies like Elance, if you do not provide the service as agreed.

For you, using websites like Elance helps to reduce the risk of not receiving payment from clients. If you have a freelance website and an account with Elance, you can request clients to submit projects for you there. Do not forget to take advantage of Elance's payment features to ensure payment for work completed and a safe working environment online.

SOURCES

Coté, A. (2010, May 5). Freelancers Unite to Get Paid. Retrieved May 13, 2010, from Cortera: http://blog.cortera.com/2010/05/05/freelancers-unite-to-get-paid/

Howard, C. (2010, May 4). Pay me for my work! Retrieved May 13, 2010, from CNN.com Blogs: http://tips.blogs.cnn.com/2010/05/04/pay-me-for-my-work/

Klein, K. E. (2010, April 27). Independent Contractors: Get Paid On Time. Retrieved May 13, 2010, from Business Week: http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/apr2010/sb20100426_562725.htm

Light, J. (2010, April 27). More Freelancers Fight to Be Paid. Retrieved May 13, 2010, from Wall Street Journal: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703709804575202781030091748.html?mod=WSJ_WSJ_US_News_6