The Milestone system is a peace of mind system. The fee for the project is paid into an
escrow account up front and released in instalments at predetermined project
milestones.
It allows the freelancer to know that they will be paid at
regular intervals for the work they have completed, and allows the client to
know that the freelancer will only get the money once the client is happy that
the work has been completed to their satisfaction.
This eliminates the risk of the client paying for work up
front, not knowing if it will be done properly or at all, and allows the
freelancer to be ensured that they will be paid for the work provided.
Milestone are configurable per project. The number of Milestones and percentage of
the job value is specified by the freelancer in his quote, and accepted by the
client.
GoFreelance
recommends that the final Milestone is a smaller Milestone, around 10%. This minimises the risk of disputes at the
end of the project, and is usually a final hand over and acceptance, as the
Milestones have been marked as complete and accepted by the client over the
duration of the project.
Some examples of how this works…
IT Example
John is an IT engineer and is quoting to set up a small
office network. John knows there are
various tasks to the project and decides on 5 Milestones split based on the
order he will be completing them.
Milestone 1: Purchase servers and networking
equipment (40%)
Milestone 2: Set up Internet and networking (10%)
Milestone 3: Set up server operating systems and
applications (20%)
Milestone 4: Set up Client workstations and train
users (20%)
Milestone 5:
Final site hand over including passwords (10%)
At each milestone, John marks the task as complete on the
GoFreelance
portal, the client gets a notification and accepts the milestone as completed
on the portal once they have confirmed the task has been completed to their
satisfaction.
As there is equipment to be purchased in Milestone 1,
this is made the biggest Milestone at 40%.
John delivers the equipment to the client, and marks Milestone
1 as complete. Once the client
accepts, GoFreelance
releases 40% of the project fee.
John sets up the internet and networking, showing the
client that it is working as expected.
John marks Milestone 2 as complete. Once the client accepts, GoFreelance releases 10% of the
project fee.
John sets up the servers and applications, showing the
client that it is working as expected.
John marks Milestone 3 as complete. Once the client accepts, GoFreelance releases 20% of the
project fee.
John sets up the Client workstations and trains the users
to the clients satisfaction.
John marks Milestone 4 as complete. Once the client accepts, GoFreelance releases 20% of the
project fee.
John does final hand over of the site to the client,
providing passwords to the workstations, server, networking equipment etc.
John marks Milestone 5 as complete. Once the client accepts, GoFreelance releases 10% of the
project fee.
Bookkeeping Example
Jane is quoting to do the books for a small company, she
knows that there are tasks that need to be completed, in order, for the
submissions to be correct. She splits
these tasks in to 4 Milestones
Milestone 1: Identifying transactions, Recording
Transactions in a journal, and Posting (20%)
Milestone 2: Worksheets and Adjusting Journal
Entries (30%)
Milestone 3: Management Accounts/Reporting and Closing
the Books (35%)
Milestone 4: SARS Submissions (15%)
As with the IT example, after each Milestone, Jane marks the
task as complete on the GoFreelance
portal, the client gets a notification and accepts the milestone as completed
on the portal once they have confirmed the task has been completed to their
satisfaction. GoFreelance then releases the
payment for that milestone
Disputes
Milestone and project disputes can be referred to disputes@gofreelance.co.za. Please note that GoFreelance
highly recommends clients and freelancers attempt come to a mutual agreement,
and do not involve GoFreelance, as this incur a
mediation fee**, and will likely result in
a bad rating and review.
*Milestone payments will
take 24 to 72 hours to reflect in the freelancers account. GoFreelance will not be held liable for lost payments due to incorrect Freelancer bank details under the Freelancer profile.
**Mediation fee will be
determined based on the dispute. GoFreelance’s decision is final. Gofreelance will
not be liable for any money lost in a dispute by either party.