

Ask HN: Contractor payment issue - hector_ka

After I finished  a 30 hour contract (I worked more like 50 hours on this)the guy keeps calling me to fix different issues but for free.
How should I handle this?
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JoeCortopassi
If he's calling you to fix something that you gave to him, that was broken
because you messed up: -Fix it for free. You sold him a bill of goods, and
it's your responsibility if it's broken. Broken _does_ _not_ include things
like a new feature that they feel should have been part of the original spec,
but never told you about. It also does not include changes in the design that
they had already approved.

If he is calling you to _add_ something (or change something) that he thought
should have been part of the spec, but never actually told you about: -Charge
if it's more than a few hours. Tons of clients sell a developer/designer on a
spec, only to change their mind once it is all done. _This_ _is_ _not_ _your_
_fault_. Just because they don't like _their_ idea once they see it, doesn't
mean you should eat the cost.

All that being said, some clients (read: most clients) will always try to get
some work done for free. If they are a good client, that has a proven track
record of being understanding when you need more hours, or listen to your
recommendations, then go ahead and do a few hours of free work to make them
happy. But if this is your first project with this guy, you _need_ to stand
firm. Work is not free. New features are not free. Changes are not free. These
are all things that take you away from the things you love in life, and you
need to be compensated for. If they don't understand this, than they are free
to search for someone who will work for free. My old coach (boxing) used to
say, "Only a fool gets punched for free".

Don't let a client bully you into becoming a volunteer worker.

~~~
hector_ka
I should send this link to the client

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gallerytungsten
What does the contract say? Does it say 30 hours, then you charge by the hour?
Or a 30 hour flat fee and certain results?

You need to look up the term "change order" and start sending them.

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tocomment
If they're actual bugs then you should fix them. If it's new features then
explain that you'd need to allocate additional funds for additional work.

~~~
hector_ka
The guys seem to be clueless and they blame me for whatever issue comes up

~~~
caw
How would you classify these things? Bugs that are resulting from
"undocumented features"? Or is it PEBKAC and they're calling you to be
personal tech support?

If it's 1 you can point to the spec, and if it's 2 you might have to sit down
and explain why it's not your domain? Or if it is, how you would bill to fix
it?

In either case I'm thinking this client fits in the "Thanks but no thanks" for
future work.

~~~
hector_ka
Well the guy is asking me if an integer is 32 bits .

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j45
You have to draw a line. If he's changing what he meant or something was mis-
interpreted that's not entirely your fault so it's not entirely your time for
free.

When you launch something, give him 15-30 days to find anything, that's it.
Anything after 15-30 days is billable.

Make sure you have every feature clearly defined before building things. Get
signoff at every step of "What are we trying to build", "How are we going to
build it" via email so there's no room for misinterpretation or
misunderstanding.

Customers will always be clueless, thats why they hired you. Educating them on
how software works, interacts and affects things takes time, unfortunately.

