Kill/Cancellation Clause

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  • ben_1

    In my experience a Cancellation Clause and a Kill Fee are kind fo two different things that get mixed up often.

    Scenario 1 - Client cancels abruptly in the middle of your project. Cancellation fee applies.

    I break the project into milestones with percentages of the $ total and the relevant deliverables tied to them. i.e. first concepts, rev round 1, 2, etc. Final delivery. if the client decides to cancel in the middle of one of those, after trying to figure out why... I send them a bill for half of the amount owing on that stage of the job. It's kind of a compromise but I rarely have any issues with it unless the relationship is sour or if something has happened to them and they can't pay at all.

    Scenario 2 - Client kills project before first presentation - Kill Fee applies and this is why we have the 50% deposit (or whatever) - Grafician is 100% right. Many clients feel they should get some money back "but you've only worked on it for 4 days and you said it was a 3 week project" - "yes, but your 50% secured my time on this, and I had to say no to other work". Fortunately I've rarely seen myself in this scenario other than with big companies who do it all the time and are used to pissing away money.

    Or, (and this has only ever happened a couple times for me) - a client is in receipt of final work but decides to not publish the project for one reason or another and refuses to pay the outstanding invoice - Kill Client applies. Client is tracked down and murdered while family (or dog) watches. Or I just make sure they have a clear letter from my lawyer stating the money owed and we kind of hope for the best.

    ben_ 1Permalink
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    • I've seen blanket 20% cancellation fees before (and different numbers) but feel like it depends on the scale of your client.ben_
    • a certain shoe brand I've done a lot of work for over the years just pays my final invoice even if they kill the project in phase 1.ben_
    • Most smaller companies and people have a real hard time understanding paying you for time you "might" have spent. God I'm glad I don't do much freelance anymoreben_
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