Comment by gregjor | Hacker News Reader

Comment by gregjor | Hacker News Reader

US companies of all sizes generally pay by check, direct bank deposit (ACH), or wire transfer. They almost never pay with credit cards.

Freelancers, and by extension any intermediary billing and collecting payment for freelancers, have to accommodate the customer and their payable process. Don’t introduce friction or force the customer to use a specific payment method or platform.

I have freelanced for US companies for 15 years. I accept payment by paper check, direct bank deposit (ACH), wire transfer to my bank, Transferwise, and PayPal (for credit cards). I add PayPal’s fee to mine, but almost no customer pays with card anyway. Since 2014 I have worked through an agency that bills for me, I believe they have the same payment options I listed and then pay me by bank deposit.

Stripe or Plaid may seem easier in technical or process terms, but when it comes to getting customers to pay you have to optimize for zero hassle with their payables system, not for yourself or an online platform.

Very good points and I appreciate you sharing your experience if it would be possible for you to share the name of the agency it would be great. Do you know if they offer anything like a net90 to your customers but you get your money sooner? Are you a contractor for the agencies or an hourly? Asking about the hourly because every freelancer I’ve spoke with admitted that if there was something that would make them come back to be employees would be the steady paycheck and the colleagues… and I think there’s a way to have freelancers as hourly, manage payroll, offer benefits, bill clients and offer freelancers the possibility of withdrawing money as reporting billed hours… but still on early concept

10X Management represents me. I write my own opinions, I don't speak for them.

Net 90 seems way too long. When I freelanced solo I specified net 15, expected my customers to read that as net 30. Various solutions address the cash flow and slow pay/no pay problem such as up-front deposits and escrow. I prefer retainer arrangements rather than hourly or fixed-fee, but not every customer will do that, and it doesn't suit every project.

Freelancers and their customers should avoid getting into the situation where one side owes the other a lot of money, or time/work. Breaking the project down into small, measurable tasks with clear deliverables and prices prevents conflict at the end of the project, when problems surface.

One of the big players in the contracting agency business is Toptal. You might want to see how they handle the details. I have never worked for/through them but I know several people who have.

Excellent! Thanks a lot!

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