Ask HN: How do you handle clients who ghost after receiving deliverables?

Been freelancing for 3 years, mostly web dev. Lost about $7,400 to clients who received final deliverables and then just... vanished. The worst was a $2,800 rebrand where the client approved every revision, praised the work, then stopped responding the day I sent the invoice.

I switched to a model where the client sees a preview of the project but files only unlock after payment clears. Eliminated the problem entirely - the clients who were going to pay don't mind, and the ones who push back were never going to pay anyway.

Curious what approaches others here use. Deposits? Escrow? Something else?

3 points | by launchstack_dev 2 hours ago

3 comments

  • kylecazar 2 hours ago
    The two large projects I've worked as a consultant were structured in milestones.

    The first client had a structure they'd used previously that I just inherited -- I believe it was agreed amount / 4, each paid for delivering 1) full spec, 2) wireframes/ux, 3) MVP and QA, 4) Beta that addressed major issues identified from 3. After each stage I did the presentation and invoiced.

    I borrowed their same structure for the next gig. It worked well in both projects.

    However, it was very clear going in that both of these companies were going to pay me.

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    • plockdev 31 minutes ago
      (quick note: i'm the OP, original account launchstack_dev got locked so posting from this one)

      yeah milestone-based billing is solid when both sides are acting in good faith. the tricky part is exactly what you said... "it was very clear going in that both of these companies were going to pay me." that's the luxury. a lot of freelancers don't have that signal upfront, especially early on when you're taking whatever work comes in.

      the gated delivery thing isn't meant to replace milestone contracts for enterprise clients. it's more for the situation where you're working with a smaller client, no procurement department, no established payment culture, and you need some structural protection without making it weird. appreciate you sharing the milestone approach though, that's genuinely the gold standard when you can get it.

  • rman666 1 hour ago
    You thank them for the lesson of always collecting at least half up front.
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    • plockdev 31 minutes ago
      (quick note: i'm the OP, original account launchstack_dev got locked so posting from this one)

      ha, yeah the "expensive lesson" framing is real. 50% upfront helps a lot but you still have the other 50% hanging out there after delivery. i've talked to freelancers who collect 50% upfront religiously and still get ghosted on the back half. it's better than nothing for sure though. the real question is what happens between "files sent" and "final payment received"... that gap is where things go sideways.

  • colesantiago 2 hours ago
    If you have something to sell, just do Show HN.
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    • plockdev 31 minutes ago
      (quick note: i'm the OP, original account launchstack_dev got locked so posting from this one)

      fair point. i actually tried Show HN first but new accounts get redirected to /showlim, apparently you need some karma before you can post those. learned that the hard way lol. will definitely do a proper Show HN once this account has enough history. thanks for the nudge.

    • razingeden 2 hours ago
      They already came out swinging with this about 30 seconds after making an HN Account

      https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47483211

      51% of freelancers experience non-payment – payment-gated delivery as a solution (proposallock.vercel.app) 2 points by launchstack_dev 12

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