Drop this nightmare client?!?

[Studio Advent]

Hours projected have quadrupled, while original payment has only been doubled the original amount. On top of that, back-end tech I can't do and needs to be outsourced will come out of MY portion of the contract. Huh?

The project is nowhere near completion and I see myself losing a lot of money here in the long run...has anyone experienced legal action when breaking a contract? My contract states that either party can break the agreement at any time...help!

[idaho]

Have you been paid yet? You'll probably lose some or all of the money if you break the contract. If the amount of work has gone beyond the original scope of the contract then you need to go back to the client and renegotiate. If the client won't pay more then eliminate some of the work. Don't break the contract if you don't have to. It'll make you look bad when it comes time to get new clients. They won't hire a quiter.

Just my $.02

-Idaho
'You want it when? Ok, no problem. Excuse me while I pull the magic wand out of my ass!'

[coconut]

Ah, is this not our... Creed? This is a lesson learned and a contract that will be revised in the future, no? I would, myself, finish the project. Outsourcing will always come out of your pocket, and should be considered when projecting a price. All I can say is hang in there and GET ER DONE. I know it bites, but what can you do, your reputation stakes on it. This is the first time this has happened? I can almost predict it won't be the last. Good time managment, and thinking thru a project completely is key. For me it helps to get the information for the project before hand, take it and come up with a pricing, have someone els take a gander at it, think it thru all complications, research, and then give them a quote. I know time is money and it's frustrating, but it sometimes turns out this way. Get a portion up front, maybe an option for a drawl if it's a long project and then a 'this amount due at completion unless additional work comes out of it, then billing will reflect. Something about pay makes the work more enjoyable.


What do I look like a smoken monkey?

[YellowDart]

I agree w/ coconut. I'd just suck it up and finish the project as quickly as possible. If you really feel that you're not able to finish the project on your own, then you should probably schedule another meeting with the client to explain to them that you'll be needing additional costs to compensate for outsourcing. I can understand your pain there... especially if your 'back-end outsourcing' includes a lot of server-side coding. Just keep at it. Try to finish by yourself... if you can't, then it's probably a good time to schedule a meeting and renegotiate your fees.

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[morea]

you break my contract = I break your knees.

That's the GDF Mafia creed. Unfortunately, all I can afford right now is a wiffle bat, and it's going to take a really long time to break much of anything with that!

I haven't lost my mind... it's backed up on disk somewhere.

[pixellogo]

Very good post yellowdart and coconut.

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[YellowDart]

morea said...
you break my contract = I break your knees.

That's the GDF Mafia creed. Unfortunately, all I can afford right now is a wiffle bat, and it's going to take a really long time to break much of anything with that!

Fill it with sand! That'll help! /emoticons/wink.gif

Thanks pixellogo!

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[coconut]

Yea, thanks, I think experience proves the points we made. This field can be frustrating in many aspects. You got to love it to stick with it.


What do I look like a smoken monkey?

All I can say is I agree with coconut cause at the end your reputation as a professional comes into play. As a rule of thumb your estimate should be just that an estimate not a fixed quote cause we run a service business. Since the key word here is service no matter what the contract states it has to outline that the estimate is not fixed to leave room for scope ideas or technical problems. Just as your mobile phone bill adjust so should your service invoice. This will keep you working professionally and will certainly ground your clients.

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