Should We Request Payment Upfront For SEO Services

[markseouk]

Hi,

I would like to hear how people work their billing for SEO work. I have previously been charging month in arrears to my clients but now have had a couple of companies run into financial difficulties and not be able to pay there bills.

I would like to know how many of you choose to charge clients up front for work or send them a bill after a month etc.

Thanks

[Cocoonfxmedia]

Always take a deposit and also get them to sign a contract outlining what your going to provide and what you expect from them.  It then stops any issues over service levels and also it makes sure you get paid.

I always get 50% upfront for once of projects and then first payment upfront for any monthly work.

Contracts are the key and also your terms and conditions are key.

[Marcus_Miller]

Hey Richard, for us it all depends on the kind of work. For audits we generally charge up front for smaller jobs and 50% up front and 50% on delivery for medium to large jobs.

If it is a monthly arrangement, then that is generally a monthly billing cycle but I would always make sure the client is serious about the project and has enough going on to ensure they can pay and if payment stops, so does the work.

For content creation we will often do a 50% up front and 50% on delivery as well.

No hard and fast rules really - you just have to figure out what is fair and what works for you and your clients.

Hope that helps

Marcus