Part III – Document Everything

It’s tax time already. Do you have those little receipts compiled for your deductions or do you have to hunt them down (or “make” them up)?

Well we won’t go there, but if this is you, you may want to listen up. Here’s a little tip when dealing with clients,  something that tends to be taken for granted among freelancers. That is, to document all the work you do for any client when your client sends you tasks to do. Usually these tasks are small enough to where it takes too much time drafting a long project agreement and having the client agree to it. No task is too small, though, to have a record for billing purposes.

What happens is that a client may appear to give you the green light to keep the meter running. This may be true in some cases, but it usually is a sign that the client wants things done now and then pays attention to cost later. Freelancers often assume they are free to work away and tack on the hours, eyeing those dollar signs on the next invoice.

When it comes time to pay the bill, however, you might be surprised to get an objection if you cannot provide the detail of everything you did and the time/cost involved. Believe me, they will fight you every step of the way if you can’t. That’s why it is important to assume this will always happen and prepare yourself accordingly.

Therefore, get in the habit of documenting these minor tasks by doing the following:

1. Prior to doing anything, write an email noting each task and the total cost involved. Have the client approve it by responding with a “go ahead” and your email copied in the email body. Save these emails in a folder so you can easily find them later.

2. Create an Excel or Word document and note the date, each task and the total cost. Add to this list if there are more minor tasks done and send this document with an invoice upon billing the client.

3. If billing is done on a monthly basis, you may want to send the client a copy of the above document on a weekly basis just so they are aware of the work you have done up to that point.

These small documenting tasks even take relatively little time to do. It can save you the time, however, of retracing your steps in the event the client decides that he wants to know exactly what he is being charged for.

This is much the same way you can save time on taxes by having all your receipts in one place.

See also:

Part I: The Search For Stability
Part II: The Phone Call

Category: How-To

Tags: freelance advice, freelancing

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Part II: The Phone Call

This is the second post in a three part series of some of the most simple, overlooked things that are important to freelancers. This week, I’ll explain an important building block in the freelancer-client business relationship: the simple phone call.

For starters, it is probably safe to say that the majority of freelancers out there work over the internet. In fact, it is pretty common to never even see the face  nor talk to your clients… ever! Communication is done almost exclusively through email and instant messaging. Sticking to this level of rather impersonal communication right from the start is not a healthy way of building client relationships, though.

Before writing this, I thought about all of my clients that I still have today and all of those “one-hit-wonders” who I did a project for and never heard from again. What I did notice was that for all of those that I still retained, I had talked to them at least one time by phone. I had never talked to the one-hit-wonders at any point. While not talking to a client is probably not the single smoking-gun reason why I was not retained, I did notice that bridging that communication gap with a call was a big part of why I am still retained by some of my other clients today.

All that has to be done is to have a single conversation, by phone or Skype, with any new client before starting any project. Don’t get me wrong, you don’t have to BS about the weather, sports or look for common ground, but lay down the framework for your business relationship. For instance, explain yourself, methods, deadlines and reassure the client that you can do the job they ask of you. Then ask of their expectations of you (if theydont’ tell you first).

It is also possible that clients have had bad experiences with other freelancers in the past which they will definitely let you know about. This knowledge paves the way for you to fill in where others couldn’t. When the client finally has a trustworthy freelancer in you, that is where a business relationship begins and steady work starts to flow.

One common fear of talking with clients over the phone is that they might continue to call knowing you are always available by phone. The truth is that most clients are busy individuals like freelancers and would rather email or IM in future communications.

What I’ve noticed, too, is that future calls are usually for important matters and the client respects your time and keeps these conversations to a minimum anyway. For the client that does get chatty, however, all that has to be done is politely explain that you are busy and have to keep the calls short, which they normally oblige to.

Taking the one extra step of getting to know your client before you start working with them can prove useful in establishing a long-term relationship. It is not necessary and not a deal breaker, but it is a little step that can go a long way.

See also:

Part I: The Search For Stability
Part III: The Search For Stability

Category: How-To

Tags: freelance advice, freelancing

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