Freelancer question
Hey IH community,
I have a question for all you freelancers/consultants out there, and would greatly appreciate any feedback you have.
When doing work for a client, have you ever been put in a position where you've had to purchase XYZ Service / Subscription for them? How did you handle that?
Thank you
Add on it onto the invoice, or absorb it into your rates. Often people will hire freelancers because they invest in and pay for certain tools that they don't necessarily want to do themselves.
Does this not become confusing when dealing with multiple solutions?
I guess it might depend on the situation, but I've always required that the client purchases the service and worked into the contract that completion is pending their timelessness in doing so.
For example, I've had a lot of clients need hosting and domains for their websites I built. All this I tell them they need to do, but I'd be happy to help them through the process. I don't want to be on the hook for their domain stuff after the fact, nor do I want to be responsible for reminding them to renew it.
I mean I understand not purchasing domains on behalf of your clients, transferring ownership is a long task.
Would you typically sign up for say: a Dropbox account for your client then give them access?
Thanks
I wouldn't want to do this either. A service like this I'd still have them sign up and then give them instructions on how to provide the access I need. This would go for any service the client owns at the end of the project.
The whole transferring at some later date is a hassle that I'd just rather avoid. There's also potential for problems if somehow the account gets hacked and the client has uploaded sensitive data there. I'm sure they could argue some sort of liability on my part; not a likely scenario but why risk it?
Overall, I see very little benefit to doing this for the client, and a bunch of issues that could arise.
The only times I do setup my own services is for things I intend to use personally after the project. The dropbox example above I might setup a shared folder for the duration of the project that I share access, but then revoke that access when it's done. The difference being that at no point is it the client's dropbox, and they go into it understanding access will only last for the duration of the project.
Sorry for the long response, how that all makes sense.
I appreciate the long reply. Gives me context.
The issues come with the manual side of things I understand that. I think you’re right there is issues and the providers a freelancer would use hopefully has some kind of “freelancer seller eco system”
I prefer having them sign up for it themselves. Some products have referral programs that allow you to get a commission on it, and then you avoid the headaches of dealing with transferring it over and making sure they reimburse you for the expense. It's definitely not as quick as setting it up yourself, but hopefully they're incentivized to unblock you so you can finish the project.