1

I've recently picked up a client in Australia, while I am US based.

  • When outlining the work to be done and setting up the contract, is there any differences that need to be made?
  • Will the contract be binding at all since we aren't under the same government systems?
  • Finally, does anyone have any other info on this in general (articles, links, etc.)?
Andrew
  • 1,931
  • 1
  • 11
  • 33
aaronmcavinue
  • 13
  • 3

2 Answers2

0

When outlining the work to be done and setting up the contract, is there any differences that need to be made?

No. Service based means that you are supplying goods in your country.

Will the contract be binding at all since we aren't under the same government systems?

Yes, tort law is fairly ubiquitous

Finally, does anyone have any other info on this in general (articles, links, etc.)?

Having never worked with AUS, I do not

JohnHC
  • 1,030
  • 1
  • 6
  • 13
0

If you are writing the contract, then it'd probably be best that you specify that legal venue -- in the case of any disagreements that may occur -- be YOUR location. That way, you can bring legal action without having to travel to Australia or having to hire an attorney there.

Make sure you're billing by the hour and invoicing in SHORT durations (no more than two weeks, but weekly is even better); or, if you're doing fixed-price, sell the project in "milestones" (you can search this site for related posts).

Xavier J
  • 5,333
  • 13
  • 23
  • Do you have a recommendation for how the money is transferred? Do you use EFT (electronic funds transfer) with your bank(s)? – aaronmcavinue Mar 27 '17 at 21:17
  • Any means used between two different countries with two different currencies is going to create an overhead cost. You have to factor this overhead cost into your price OR agree that said cost, which might even vary over time according to the method you use, will be a distinct line item. Checks, wire-transfer, and Western Union might be a red-flag for your client as they offer little chance of recovery if you were to "disappear". Paypal (or similar) will keep things simple. – Xavier J Mar 27 '17 at 21:24
  • Is Paypal what you usually use? Paypal's fee is 2.9% + 0.30 which is pretty ridiculous just for transferring money. If it was a flat fee I'd be happier with that but that's not what it is. Anyone else have opinions on this? – aaronmcavinue Mar 27 '17 at 21:36
  • If you had a merchant account - allowing your client to give you a credit card # to process - then you'd pay basically the same rate for ANY card-not-present transaction. – Xavier J Mar 27 '17 at 21:43
  • I guess the risk is 50-50 right? I mean I could do the work and they might not pay. Paypal's fee isn't going to protect me with this. So it's a matter of trust on both party's part. I can't imagine that asking for a wire transfer is going to be a huge red flag bc of it. – aaronmcavinue Mar 27 '17 at 21:44
  • You'd be surprised how many businesses AND freelancers get "burned". If you ask for wire xfer, you're asking your client to go stand in line at the bank for every single payment to you. Think this through. – Xavier J Mar 27 '17 at 21:47
  • Well you can just log on to your bank account online and do the EFT. It takes about 3 mins and is free. – aaronmcavinue Mar 27 '17 at 21:48
  • From the comments on this article: millo.co/getting-paid-as-a-freelancer it seems like a lot of freelancers recommend what I'm suggesting. There's no such thing as a risk-less transaction but I'm confident that the form of payment isn't going to cost me the project. – aaronmcavinue Mar 27 '17 at 22:00