Poll: Do you accept a second assignment from a new client before being paid for the first? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Do you accept a second assignment from a new client before being paid for the first?".
This poll was originally submitted by Mariam Osmane
View the poll here
A forum topic will appear each tim... See more This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Do you accept a second assignment from a new client before being paid for the first?".
This poll was originally submitted by Mariam Osmane
View the poll here
A forum topic will appear each time a new poll is run. For more information, see: http://proz.com/topic/33629 ▲ Collapse
| | | | Jocelyne S 
France
Local time: 03:34
French to English
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| A few factors | Sep 2, 2009 |
It depends, I suppose, on the amounts in question.
I would consider doing a second assignment for a client if no alarm bells went off with the first job - and granted no more than thirty days had passed before the second job was offered (i.e. the first payment was not late).
I would probably not accept a large job if I already had a large payment pending. I would explain that I would prefer to wait until payment for the first job cleared.
That said, I gener... See more It depends, I suppose, on the amounts in question.
I would consider doing a second assignment for a client if no alarm bells went off with the first job - and granted no more than thirty days had passed before the second job was offered (i.e. the first payment was not late).
I would probably not accept a large job if I already had a large payment pending. I would explain that I would prefer to wait until payment for the first job cleared.
That said, I generally ask for a down-payment when accepting large jobs from first-time customers. Most customers understand this request and don't mind doing so as a show of good faith.
I've accepted subsequent assignments from first-time (well reputed) agencies several times and I've thankfully never yet had a problem.
Best,
Jocelyne ▲ Collapse
| | | | Jack Doughty
United Kingdom
Local time: 02:34
Russian to English
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In memoriam | Depends how late the first job payment is | Sep 2, 2009 |
If I haven't been paid for the first job for two months, maybe a bit more, I'll do it. But I was recently asked to do a job by an agency whose payment for the previous job was outstanding after over four months. After failing to get a straight answer from the project manager about this, I refused the job. But I was paid for the other job very soon after that.
| | | | Interlangue (X)
Angola
Local time: 03:34
English to French
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Because I work only for trustworthy customers. "New" clients are an exception and I always enquire before I accept any "first" job.
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My "historic" clients have excellent payment records (just one or two exceptions, over the last 25 years) and I always enquire before accepting new clients (anyway most of these come from referrals).
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but if there has been any payment issue previously, i would be cautious. So far, i've been fortunate. One of my regulars pays 45 days but they ALWAYS pay. I'm a bit more reluctant to wait 60 days, which i consider to be kind of ridiculous.
| | | | Rebecca Garber
Local time: 21:34
Member (2005)
German to English
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| depends on timing | Sep 2, 2009 |
If the first payment is not late, *and* they have a good record of payment from the Blue Board, then yes.
It also depends on the size of the job. I have completed several small jobs for clients before the first one was paid.
It also depends on how the agency wants jobs billed. One agency wants an invoice for each project, another would prefer a montly invoice listing all projects for that month.
Mostly it depends on the way the PM handled the first job. <... See more If the first payment is not late, *and* they have a good record of payment from the Blue Board, then yes.
It also depends on the size of the job. I have completed several small jobs for clients before the first one was paid.
It also depends on how the agency wants jobs billed. One agency wants an invoice for each project, another would prefer a montly invoice listing all projects for that month.
Mostly it depends on the way the PM handled the first job.
The only time I've been burned was by a direct client. They didn't accept the amount of time the translation took (it was short, however, they wanted their marriage statement translated into a specific medieval German dialect), so they refused to pay the full amount for my time. That *really* cheesed me off, since I fooled one of my medievalist colleagues, who thought I had actually found marriage vows in a manuscript. ▲ Collapse
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| Life is too short to be overly cautious | Sep 4, 2009 |
That said, back in the 1990s I accepted a string of jobs from a prestigious international organization and they ended up owing me $9,000 that didn't get paid for over a year.
It's like renting to tenants: you might have one bad experience and 20 good ones. But after normal precautious are taken, I think we have to take certain chances in life.
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