Before the sale

[Baharra]

I am working with a computer support professional who wants me to design a site for one of his clients. I thought he already had the sale when I agreed to help him, but today I found out he's still trying to get the sale. He wants me to go to a meeting with him and show the client a couple layouts for her to choose from. I usually don't show clients layouts until I have a deposit check. I do this to protect my designs. I'm interested in hearing what others policies are. Thanks in advance.

[alvo]

Doing the work before getting a commitment is designing on "spec" and professional designers don't work that way. The AIGA guidelines point this up. For me there's a 1/3 deposit of the agreed upon price due before any work begins; another 1/3 is due upon acceptance of the design; the balance upon completion of the job. This keeps us ahead of the game, as we're always received the money to cover ourselves before we do too much work. The final payment is the only one that would put us behind in the profit area (but never at a loss) and if a client balked at paying they wouldn't get their finished job and would have already spent 2/3 of the total non-refundable cost.