Some business & money questions...

[thedoner]

I'm curious how you experienced remotesters handle some of these money related issues:

1) When do you require payment from the client? (Day of gig? 90 days? etc)
2) Do you ask for an up front deposit of any kind? If so, how much? (25%, 50% etc)
3) How do you deal with cancellations on the part of the client? (Keep or refund the deposit...depending on how much notice?) Does the reason for cancellation factor into this? I.E. Lead singer had a death in the family.....vs......Lead singer went on a meth binge..... vs. ......Lead singer has been abducted by aliens.
4) Do you vary your daily rates based on how long you're on site? I.E. Do you charge the same if Phish plays 3 songs at Donald Trump's birthday party, as you would if they played 3 sets for 8 hours at Bonaroo?

Thanks a bunch

-Doner

[bishopthomas]

Originally Posted by thedoner

4) Do you vary your daily rates based on how long you're on site? I.E. Do you charge the same if Phish plays 3 songs at Donald Trump's birthday party, as you would if they played 3 sets for 8 hours at Bonaroo?

3 Phish songs = 8 hours.

[Remoteness]

1) When do you require payment from the client? (Day of gig? 90 days? etc)

Well, it depends on the relationship. Our standard practice is 50% deposit up front with the balance on the day of the gig -- Sometimes before we start the production venture, but usually sometime during the recording date. There are other clients that are on NET30 terms.

2) Do you ask for an up front deposit of any kind? If so, how much? (25%, 50% etc)

See my answer for question number one

3) How do you deal with cancellations on the part of the client? (Keep or refund the deposit...depending on how much notice?) Does the reason for cancellation factor into this? I.E. Lead singer had a death in the family.....vs......Lead singer went on a meth binge..... vs. ......Lead singer has been abducted by aliens.

It's all about how much notice, but the client relationship plays a big part in it too.
Cancellations within 72 to 48 hours of the recording date yields a 50% charge.
24 hours to "day of" the gig is a 100% charge to the client.
Multiple date gigs are more enforced than single one off dates.
Like I said it really depends on the client relationship and if we lost other gigs because of it.

4) Do you vary your daily rates based on how long you're on site? I.E. Do you charge the same if Phish plays 3 songs at Donald Trump's birthday party, as you would if they played 3 sets for 8 hours at Bonaroo?

We base our rate on a day rate with an over time hourly fee after the day rate hours have expired.
If we're doing a top dollar gig, all our extra charges apply.
We sometimes eat these extras when we feel the client or artist truly needs the economic help.

With that said, you must set your own standards and practices.
You need to feel good about the rules you set making sure you're taking care of your client without being taken advantage of your position and situation.

.

[thedoner]

Sound (pardon the pun) policies and advise Steve. Much obliged!!!!!
-Doner

[Barnabas]

Put it all in writing and make sure your client understands everything before you do any work.

[Gerax]

Originally Posted by Barnabas

Put it all in writing and make sure your client understands everything before you do any work.

I could't agree more: being clear on every aspect of service you'll be providing upfront and the money/timing involved is crucial if you don't want to get into tiring and time consuming arguments with clients. This way of working is particulary difficult wehn your kind of a newcomer and trying to establish yourself in a market, so I think that some good sense and flexibility do pay off in the beginning; just don't give yourself away because its' not a sign of good professionalism. Making clear deals and standing behind them is IMO what a pro should do.

It depends al lot on the relationship with the client: if it's a new one I usually ask a 50% upfront and give him/her some time for the balance (usually no more than 15 days..then it's phone calls...).
If it's a returning one I ask to provide the more urgent expenses (like gas, accomodation if needed and eventually additional gear rent costs); since I usually handle most of the editing/mixing/post works on the gigs I record I have some kind of guarantee. I usually ask for cuts on the total as work progresses, usually every 30days. Lately I started to provide some kind of contract that I insist to have signed, that makes me feel a bit more comfortable with new clients (and even with returning ones), because I'v been almost screwed once (lawsuit going on) and I don't want to be there anymore. A signed piece of paper makes it a bit more like you got them by the balls in case they have some reason not to pay...
My standard practice is a daily rate and an extracharge for the time past my standard hours.
I try to offer different solutions for different levels of clients: simpler for lower budget situations or full bore for the more high money gigs.
So far I haven't had a gig that's been cancelled so late that I lost another gig because of it; in case I'd keep the 50% cut and that's it.

Hope this helps

L.G.

[Remoteness]

Also remember an important concept when you're not tight with your client or artist...

No ticky, no washy!

In other words -- You must hold all media until the payment has posted your account!

[thedoner]

Originally Posted by Remoteness

Also remember an important concept when you're not tight with your client or artist...

No ticky, no washy!

In other words -- You must hold all media until the payment has posted your account!

Absolutely! I learned my lesson with this one a long time ago. Possession being 9/10 of the law as the saying goes, nothing removes a client's incentive to pay their balance like having their tracks in hand!
But I agree it is also about the client relationship...for certain clients who've proven themselves to be reliable and trustworthy on many occasions. I wouldn't hesitate to bend the rules to some extent (maybe not so far as to release files...) with regard to timing of payment or burning some ruff mixes....