
How can freelance software developers save chasing payment? - marisolchallen
I&#x27;m trying to decide whether to implement a monthly fee or a % around a new Saas payment product I&#x27;m building.<p>I&#x27;m after your opinions as you are the ones I&#x27;m trying to help as both founders and freelance developers.
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jakejohnsen
You stop chancing payments by getting paid upfront.

I book in monthly blocks and get 30% on work agreement signing, that books my
time (non-refundable). I take the full cost - 30% / time booked. Then start
billing 2-weeks before the project starts with payment due on receipt of
invoice. That way, I'm on the hook. If we keep going, I just keep billing, I
don't put them on the hook again for a new depisit—that is only to keep them
from doing something like postponing or so I have some cash in case they
cancel and I have to go find a new gig.

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pedalpete
I'm not sure how you got from the title to the question. How are these
related?

I can tell you from my current experience with pricing, businesses seem to
hate variable pricing, even when the fixed price (monthly fee) is greater than
they would pay if paying a percentage (though my pricing was usage based not
as a percent of x).

Percent feels like a tax, and nobody likes taxes.

You're probably thinking of it from the perspective of "the more money you
make, the more money I make, I'm only charging you for the service". But that
is likely not how the business is thinking of it. They're thinking that they
do all the work, and you can't even give them a price of what they are going
to pay. You'll just "take" more for everything that they work so hard to
build.

If what you are providing is something they can't live without, like the App
Store, then you can probably get away with charging a percent, and your
customers may hate you for it.

