How do you handle clients who ghost after receiving deliverables?

Question

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?

kylecazar · Accepted Answer

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.

colesantiago · Answer

If you have something to sell, just do Show HN.

rman666 · Answer

You thank them for the lesson of always collecting at least half up front.