5 Steps to Make Sure Your Client Pays You for the Logo Design Project

Have you ever come across a client who does not want to pay for your designs? If not, you are lucky, but there are those who will tell you what a pain it is to extract money out of non-paying clients! So, before you take up any further logo design projects, it won’t harm to take some precautions. Read on…

As a logo designer, you do a lot of hard work to create a unique logo, but sometimes, may get clients who don’t want to pay you at all. There are plenty of such fraud companies who will ask you to design a logo, and, when you deliver the same, come up with responses like, “I’ll pay you in a few days.” Unfortunately, that day never comes and you lose your money.

Now, every client is not a cheater, but prevention is better than cure!

Check Client’s Financial Condition- When a client contacts you for a logo design project; don’t get impressed with his Armani suit! What appears may not be true. A client can run a small company or a large corporate house. Notwithstanding, you should do some market research about him to know if he will be able to pay you.

Knowing the financial condition of your client will also help you to decide how much you should charge for the logo design. If the client runs a stable and wealthy organization, you can perhaps charge a little extra.

Sign a Contract- Whenever you accept a logo design project; create a contract mentioning your responsibilities, the payment structure, deadline and terms and conditions. Never start a project over oral agreement. You can’t sue the client later, if he does not pay you. But if you have a written and legal contract, the client can’t go away without paying you. Maintain a separate contract for every project you handle.

Ask for Advance Payment- Before starting to design, negotiate payments with the client. When a price is decided, ask for an advance payment, anywhere between 30% and 50% of the total payable amount. This ensures smooth project work; the client will not ask you to stop the project midway and pay you nothing for the unfinished work.

Often, a client refuses to pay because he feels the logo’s design is not shaping up the way he wants it to. With an advance payment however, he will think twice before canceling the project. Even if he does, you at least get part payment.

You contract makes sure of that.

Installment Payment- Some clients may not have the financial strength for a huge down payment. You can go for installment payments in that case. Break the total cost into small parts and ask the client to pay as the project progresses. Make sure the payment structure is written in detail in your contract.

Don’t Show the Final Design before Total Payment- This one’s tricky. If a client refuses to pay before seeing the final design, he’s justified in his demand. As for you, where’s the guarantee he’ll pay you after the final design has been submitted?

Although a contract secures you against fraud, if a client refuses he received the final design from you, you can’t do much about it. Showing copies of mail correspondence does not help. The client can always say he did not receive it, his mailbox crashed, etc, etc.

The solution therefore is to show him the draft of the main design you are planning to achieve, or provide it to him in a password protected file.

In conclusion…nobody knows how much a logo actually costs and you don’t want to give away a logo for free. A logo is a symbol of trust and brand value that will help your client earn billions of dollars. Make sure you get paid for your creative genius, if not a percentage of the billion!