Elance Questions

[Angelicbaby1313]

A private client of mine suggested maybe using elance as the medium. It's a rather large job and requires frequent submissions of pages.

They mentioned that we could set it up to be paid every 10 pages and such. My question is this. Does elance take a percent of the money from me? For example if I am making 7 dollars an article would they take fees out of it or is that the employers part?

I have no elance account and it was a bit unclear on their site. I may just see if the person will go through paypal as it seems to be better for both of us in the long run.

[Word Genie]

Yes there are fees that Elance takes from payments you receive from clients there.

[Angelicbaby1313]

That's what I thought. It sounded like they take fees from both the client and the worker but I wasn't sure.

I think Paypal would be the best alternative to this situation.

[Word Genie]

The one thing that I do like about Elance is that they have an Escrow option. I only work with clients that use this option. They fund the project through Escrow and then when you have completed the work you can simply ask that it is released.

Elance also has a dispute resolution process incase there are issues with payment.

Those things make the fees worth it to me.

[Alaskawriter]

yes, elance does take a small percentage. The escrow feature and dispute resolution are some nice features. They also have a time tracker program that takes random screenshots and send them to the client for hourly type jobs.
Basically, they can be good about protecting both parties. If there is a fair amount of money on the line, Elance can be a good option.

[Angelicbaby1313]

I need to sit down and see how much is really at "stake" here. The client paid me via paypal for a down payment and mentioned if we want to move to elance we can do that. However I gave a price based off of not using it so I might have to re-think this.

Some of the features you mentioned are really good. I think that's why the client wanted to use it. They mentioned they could program it to release funds when such and such is submitted and then we're both covered. I have a phone convo with the client in a few days and I'll bring it up.

[skcandles]

The definitely advantage to Elance is the Escrow option, as you do not have to worry about whether you will be paid. But if this is someone you have worked for already, then you likely do not have to worry about it.

[marleymauve]

It's typically an 8.75% fee so you may want to work that out. On Elance, providers pay, buyers don't.

I've had scenarios where I've felt comfortable absorbing that fee in order to use the escrow option on a larger gig or a client I was unsure of. If a client has requested it because they were unsure of me and/or didn't like my 50% up front deposit requirement for new clients I've also offered to split the fee with them by raising my rate only slightly. It is comforting to use the milestone payments, provided they release payment promptly at each milestone. It can be frustrating when you've done your part and the money just sits there because the client doesn't hit the 'release payment' button.

[imwriterblog]

I am actually an Elance veteran and have done well on Elance and I really think that your client's agreement could work but Elance does charge for their services (I think 8.75% at this point). However, there are some perks to using Elance. One you can establish a reputtion there and receive positive feedback from your client, you'll be able to snag other writing jobs on Elance which could positively impact your income also.

[RACNicole]

Hi Angelicbaby1313,

As others suggested, Elance is okay to use for its escrowing service however you really have to keep an eye on the fees it charges. If something goes wrong with the project for example, and you have to take the project to arbitration, Elance will charge an additional $66.66 or $133.33. The majority of sites (like vWorker) don't charge for what is really, a simple right to payment.