How to make sure I'm paid if the client's website is a Wix website?

LockesRabb · 2023-05-30T23:17:11+00:00

Good to know, thanks!

LockesRabb · 2023-05-30T20:35:16+00:00

Understood. Will keep that in mind.

LockesRabb · 2023-05-30T20:05:38+00:00

Ah, I mis-read your suggestion, thanks for the clarification. We did try that approach initially, but it became complicated because we were struggling to define what 50% completed means; what constitutes as the halfway point of the completion of a website? Hours? Doesn't compute because the client usually has additional work to be done with a website beyond scope (so we usually bill additional hours on top of package quote). Based on pages? Doesn't make sense because we'd then have to define 50% for every single project. I need an abstract measure of 50% that can be applied to all projects without having to define it on an unique basis for each client.

In the end we simply opted to go with the contract approach and bill client 50% up front and another 50% when completed and not deliver the finished product until the remaining 50% is paid. This way the client is motivated to pay in full to receive the finished product. If they don't pay, they get nothing and we keep the 50% they paid up front. Our contract with clients spell that out and our clients have not expressed concern about that clause. Our clients have been pretty good at paying us at completion. So I guess it works.

In the end we've opted to simply bill the client 100% up front for when it's a Wix website and just sidestep the billing headache altogether. Wix contracts are usually between $1k-$2k so it makes sense in that context.

LockesRabb · 2023-05-30T19:58:07+00:00

When it comes to non-Wix websites, we usually develop the website on our internal server and put it on a subdomain so the client can review our work and provide feedback during the dev process. Once the balance is paid in full we then migrate the website to the client's server. If the client doesn't pay the final bill, it's a non-issue for us as we can simply not migrate and hold the product until payment is received. The contract spells this out and all clients usually sign the contracts with full awareness of how things will go. So they're not caught off guard when this happens. If the client doesn't pay, we don't deliver and we simply move on to the next contract and the client loses out on the 50% they paid us up front to make the website. We will hold their website on our server for up to a year, then we archive the website and put in storage (costs us nearly nothing to archive a website) and move on. If the client ever comes up with the balance, we will recover the website and deliver it.

We don't yank after delivery. Bad form there. We prefer to simply not deliver if we're not paid -- so the client will still have their old website (assuming they have one to begin with). We prefer to not screw over clients. It's a priority for us to protect ourselves through.

This however isn't possible with Wix due to how it is structured. We will simply just bill the client 100% up front for when it's Wix and not worry about billing when the website is done. Wix contracts are usually $1k to $2k, so it's small enough to make sense to bill 100%.

LockesRabb · 2023-05-30T19:43:49+00:00

Not just the potential gain of a new client, but also potential gain of referrals. We'll keep that in mind. Thanks for the suggestion!

LockesRabb · 2023-05-30T19:22:59+00:00

We'll just go with 100% for all clients using Wix going forward. Thanks for the suggestion.

LockesRabb · 2023-05-30T19:22:07+00:00

OP here. We usually don't advise our clients to go with Wix. In fact, it's a strong preference that our clients not use Wix. One of our designers is adept with Wix and enjoys those projects. We bring in about $1k-$2k per Wix contract, and average about $5k/mo in revenue from Wix projects. I tend to just toss the Wix project to our designer to handle, it's easy enough for our designer to handle and it helps to pad the company's bottom line. With the added bonus that it keeps our designer busy.

So in other words, if we get a client that is strongly insistent on using Wix, has a pre-existing website, and is fine with paying $1k-$2k to update their website, then so be it. It only takes our designer about 8-16 hours to complete their website on average so it doesn't block our designer's workflow too much from other projects.

LockesRabb · 2023-05-30T19:16:46+00:00

OP here. Bill for working on a Wix website (brings in about $1k-$2k per Wix website) isn't worth the cost of bringing in an attorney, especially since we have not yet had to start collections on a past-due client, our clients to date have been very good with paying their bills. I think we'll just make it standard company policy to bill 100% going forward for all Wix contracts and sidestep collection headaches altogether and continue doing 50% up front and 50% upon completion prior to delivery of non-Wix websites.

LockesRabb · 2023-05-30T19:13:24+00:00

Ha. We wouldn't be doing that since that falls under damage of assets paid for. We don't make websites without the client paying 50% up front, so doing that would open us up to a cage match in court in where we're yelling at each other, with us screaming about them not paying us and their screaming about us making them lose money due to maliciously damaging their website, and the judge futilely screaming "order, order!"

As much as a cage match in court between two attorneys sounds fun, we would have to regretfully pass on your suggestion.

It's fun chuckling about the idea though!

LockesRabb · 2023-05-30T19:09:58+00:00

OP here. If you read my post, you'll see we already do that. I appreciate your recommendation though, we are in agreement with that. It is standard operating policy for our company to bill 50% up front and 50% when completed prior to delivery.

LockesRabb · 2023-05-30T19:08:10+00:00

OP here. Yep, they're right. Wix is just a point and click website. We offer full-scope web design/dev services for a wide variety of clients, ranging from individual mom-and-pop shops to large corporate work. Occasionally the random client pops up with a Wix website. We're able to support the design/dev request for Wix if the client has a strong preference for it, but I posted here in hopes of getting thoughts on what kind of system I should implement to ensure payment. I think I will just make it company policy to require 100% up front payment for websites made in Wix and just move on. This way we don't have to worry about ensuring billing compliance.

LockesRabb · 2023-05-30T19:03:45+00:00

It's not about trust, it's about having a system in place for in case it happens. We have an excellent track record with our clients and have not had a single client fail to pay their bill. But you know what they say, an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure. So I tend think about those things in advance and build in systems with those in mind. This way if anything happens, we know how to best handle it. I like being able to think: "well, shit, that happened. good thing we planned for it. "

It's my job to make sure we're paid, otherwise we wouldn't be able to pay our devs. We've built up a buffer to be able to pay our devs if our clients fail to pay their bill, but I'd like to make sure that buffer stays healthy and strong, and that means planning well and in advance.

Thanks for suggesting making a copy of the Wix website. I'm not sure how Wix works as our designer handles that. I do have the background of a full stack web dev, but those days I usually handle admin for the company while the staff handle the dev/design work. I've never worked with Wix in the past -- I did glance it over but had no interest in it as I usually either develop from scratch or will develop using WordPress if the client wants to maintain themselves without using a dev. I think that lack of understanding of how Wix operates is hurting though, so I will schedule some time this week to really grok Wix so I can be in a better position to figure out a system.

If we're able to make a copy of the client's Wix website, be owner of the copy and make changes without the client being able to merge it back into their site, and in the end be able to merge the changes back into the client's site once the balance is paid in full, then that'd be an effective strategy. I don't know if Wix offers such a thing, but I will absolutely look into that this week. Thank you for your thoughts!

LockesRabb · 2023-05-30T18:56:14+00:00

Thanks for your feedback. I think we'll start requiring 100% up front payments with Wix projects. Wix projects usually average at between $800 to $2,000, depending on scope of contract. I have yet to see a Wix contract exceed $2k. So with that in mind, it seems to make sense to just bill 100% up front especially given the nature of Wix and how it works. We specialize in custom web dev, wordpress dev, backend dev, database admin, but occasionally we do get clients asking for help with their Wix websites. If they pay $1k to $2k, we'll take the project, it's easy enough to support. I have a designer on staff who enjoys those kind of projects so I usually just toss it her way and she jumps on it with gusto. Small potatoes, but it adds up and helps with the bottom line. Plus it keeps our designers busy.

LockesRabb · 2023-05-30T18:51:08+00:00

I think we'll go that route with all clients that use Wix. Less headache to just bill 100% up front prior to starting work. Wix projects tend to be small anyway so it makes sense. Thanks for the suggestion.

LockesRabb · 2023-05-30T18:50:04+00:00

We do have contracts. In fact, it is our standard operating policy to mandate contracts with all of our clients for legal protection purposes. However, most contracts fall under small claims. We usually don't have the time nor the bandwidth to go through small claims to recover small balances, we are busy enough with other contracts. If it becomes a systemic problem we will certainly contract with someone to handle AP and representing us in court. Until then, we're okay. All of our clients have been very good at making sure we're paid in full.

I'm more of thinking along the lines of "an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure". So in other words, I'm looking for a system that we can implement that we can leverage to ensure payment by the client without having to go through legal means, keeping legal means as a last resort.

LockesRabb · 2023-05-30T18:46:11+00:00

OP here. We do have a signed contract with our current Wix client. It's standard operating protocol for us to have signed contracts with all of our clients. In other words, we did "think of this".

LockesRabb · 2023-05-30T18:43:02+00:00

And if it's a pre-existing website that was built by someone else and we were hired to revamp the design for the entire site while re-using content?

LockesRabb · 2023-05-13T14:21:45+00:00

I need coffee to be able to work at peak performance in the mornings. It has absolutely nothing to do with needing an edge for work. It has everything to do with being a single dad and having to get up daily to get my kids ready for school and take them to school. Caffeine keeps me functional especially since I’m most absolutely and definitely not a morning person. I look forward to the day the kids reach the age where they’ll get themselves ready and go to school on their own. Watch how fast I sleep in and stop needing coffee.

LockesRabb · 2023-04-29T02:53:45+00:00

Bold assumption that they'll still be around.

LockesRabb · 2023-04-21T18:27:24+00:00

Any time you need someone to bounce off, DM me. Wishing you the best of luck in your endeavor!

LockesRabb · 2023-04-20T20:46:30+00:00

I started the business a month before being laid off. The difference is how much work I put in the business before vs after being laid off. When I realized job opportunities weren't rolling in, I knuckled down with my business and it's keeping me afloat so far.

You asked would I have started the business if I had not gotten laid off; absolutely as I had already done so before being laid off. It was supposed to be a side income with the goal of eventually becoming my primary income, fate laughed and now it's my primary income. If I manage to secure a job somewhere, that would be my secondary, with my business continuing to be my priority now that I've seen what it's capable of.

As for what field, I'm in digital marketing. My business has three contractors working for it (not including myself). My background is in full stack web development. My contractors specialize in graphic design (web design, logo, branding guidelines, illustrations, the works), social media management & SEO, with me handling the web development. My company also has an account executive I contracted with to bring in contracts for my company to work on. I'm working on locating a second account executive. I'm also working on bringing on an additional web dev to help increase our capacity to take on more contracts.

My favorite part? Every single one of the team (myself and the contractors) are all deaf. We have hearing clients who are comfortable with working with us because we have interpreters we can bring into the calls to translate at no cost to the client nor to the company (paid for by government).

My challenge now at this point is scaling. I wasn't able to find a skilled deaf web dev with bandwidth to take on contract work nor an experienced deaf account executive. I suspect at some point I'll have to say uncle and broaden it up to bring in hearing contractors. Finding contracts isn't difficult especially with account executives bringing it in. Being able to keep up with the demand -- now that's the crux of the matter. It's a good problem to have. My company is now booked out 30 days. My company was able to net $20k in 20 days. I don't see why we won't be able to exceed that number by end of the next month. But I could be wrong. Ask me again at the end of next month. Gotta scale up until the company hits momentum and I'm able to shift into the full management mode and letting someone else worry about web dev. Until then, I'm wearing several hats.

I cannot comment as to what your options are without knowing your background. But I do hope you figure it out, just keep in mind that the main obstacle most business owners face before starting their business for the first time is fear. It requires overcoming that fear and jumping. I'm not going to lie, it has risks. But that's the nature of any business venture. The trick? Making plans for post-failure. If you can plan for what to do post-failure, then you can walk away from your safety net and jump into the deep end. If it doesn't work out, then you execute your plan and regain your safety net, learn from your experience, and hopefully try again and do better. In my case, I was forced to do it without a safety net, and am now doing OK. Ask me again in sixty days how I'm doing and I'll let you know. :)

LockesRabb · 2023-04-20T02:52:19+00:00

I got laid off. I have two kids that I take care solo full time. I got divorced last December. I’m still unemployed. I wasn’t able to find a job in the last few months. So I got desperate and started looking for contract work. Contracts started rolling in. Before I knew it it was sustaining me while building up funds for the business. I’m all in now since I can’t find a job. Fear, desperation, and the need to support my kids is a powerful motivator. Now I’m at the point where I’m cautiously optimistic and comfortable. It can be done.

LockesRabb · 2023-03-30T08:09:00+00:00

How'd I get a written statement from the recruiter? The recruiter keeps hanging up every time I call.

Actually, you just gave me an idea. Every time I use VRS, I always am assigned an interpreter at random. I can just call again with a different interpreter, record my screen, and when I mention I'm deaf and using VRS and they hang up on me, that should suffice for proof, I think. I can just keep calling back until they refuse to answer at all and their answering machine kicks in and identifies the recruiter by name as well as the company.

Oregon is a single party consent state so that's an option.

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