Working Freelance Session 7 - Adding To The 'Self Employment' Guide Section with some info on GETTING PAID.

OK, so - you've found out about what freelancing is like and explained to me the contractual and self-employment obligations you'll face as a freelancer. Time to get down to what's crucial in surviving as a freelancer - getting paid. Firstly dealing with exactly how much you should charge.



Go to the bit of your assignment when you've told me the basics about registering as self-employed and paying tax, insurance, claiming expenses etc.

Add a new part to this section called 'Getting Paid'.

Firstly add the subheading - 'What Can A Freelancer Charge?'

Look at the following links and give me a breakdown of the different charges a freelance web designer can offer.

Tell me how can you work out how much you can charge? 

Tell me about charging hourly, by the project, or by the page. What kind of rates of pay can you expect? 

Tell me why might someone think of hiring a freelance web designer rather than a company? 


Quote from the links provided or find your own. If  you freelance, how would you charge, and how much?

https://skillcrush.com/2014/03/11/how-to-charge-rates-web-design-freelance/

(this is quite a detailed link but does, if you scroll down, contain a list of average rates of pay for web designers)
http://www.njcreatives.org/how_much_should_i_charge/

http://webdesign.expertmarket.co.uk/how-much-do-freelance-web-designers-charge-per-hour

https://careerfoundry.com/en/blog/career-change/pricing-freelancer/

(this is short on info but will generate you a price you should charge for your services)
http://thenuschool.com/how-much/#/start

http://blog.teamtreehouse.com/calculate-hourly-freelance-rates-web-design-development-work

https://www.nutsandboltsmedia.com/how-much-should-you-charge-to-build-a-website/

http://www.creativeboom.com/tips/tips-on-how-much-to-charge-for-freelance-work/

https://css-tricks.com/how-much-should-you-charge-for-a-website/

Then add another section to your 'Self-Employment Guide' part called 'INVOICING'. No need to look for links - just sum up what I've said here in your own words telling me what your invoice should include and the exact wording that will ensure prompt payment.

If you’re a freelancer you need to send all your invoices for all the work you have done to the person or company who will pay you for that work. These will usually be sent either to the person who commissioned the work or to a 'purchase-ledger' or 'accounts payable' department, sometimes postally but more often via e-mail these days. These should be sent as Word docs or PDFs. 

Invoices should contain

·       Date the work was completed on

·       Who the invoices is for/ who needs to see it

·       Who the invoice is from and full contact details

·       It should also include payment details where the money should go. Bank account details (account number & sort-code) or a PayPal address

·       Full amount of the fee to the work

Invoices should be signed by the person invoicing and it's a good idea to create a numbering system for each invoice so you don't get them confused (particularly important if you'll regularly be invoicing a company, or are invoicing lots of different companies at the same time). 

It was often the case, and still is tbh, that freelancers are among the last people to get paid. Companies frequently favour paying their paid-staff and people within the company first, and leave freelancers to get paid somewhere down the line, often late. For freelancers this can really make survival a struggle - you can often be at a point where you've done tons of work but spend ages chasing pay for that work. 

The government has made it easier for freelancers to get paid on time. They recommend using the following wording on invoices and in e-mails. 

"Payment is due within 30 days. We understand and will exercise our statutory right to interest and compensation for debt recovery costs under the late payment legislation if we are not paid according to agreed credit terms." 

WHAT YOU SHOULD END UP WITH

2 new sections in your Self-Employment guide about how much to charge, and how to invoice.