Freelancing tips for professionals

Freelancing gives you control over what you work on and when. It also makes you responsible for things an employer used to handle: finding work, setting a price, agreeing what is included and getting paid. Most freelance problems start in one of those steps, long before any work is done.

This guide walks through them in order, and shows how each one works when you take tasks on Internetivo.

Scope before anything else

A clear scope protects both sides. The client knows what they will get, and you know when you are done. Before you price a task, write three short lists.

Write all three before you name a price. The third list prevents most delays.

Make the "in scope" list countable: "five product pages" is a scope, "a website" is a wish. If the brief is vague, say how you read it in your proposal. A client who reads "I assume you will supply the text and photos" and accepts has agreed to it.

Split larger work into milestones that each produce something the client can check, such as a working page or a draft design. Our guide to choosing a development method shows how to plan work in stages.

Price your time

Start from what you need to earn, then work out what an hour has to cost. Remember that much of a freelance week is not billable: finding work, writing proposals, admin, learning, and gaps between projects. Plan for holidays and sick days too.

Income you want in a year (before tax)   36,000
Weeks you can work                      /     44
Billable hours per week                 /     20
                                        --------
Hourly rate                               ~ 41

These numbers are an example. Put in your own, and check what similar professionals charge for similar work.

Then price each task by estimating the hours and adding a margin for the unknown. Small, clear tasks need little margin. Work that depends on someone else's system or a vague brief needs more. On Internetivo, you receive at least 85% of the price of every milestone, and the client sees how the price is shared before accepting your proposal. If you want €255 for a piece of work, a price of €300 gets you there.

Raise your price when you are busy. A calendar that is always full is often a sign that your price is low for the market.

Write a proposal that answers the brief

A client comparing proposals is looking for one thing: evidence that you understood their problem. Lead with that. Restate the goal in your own words, say how you will reach it, and show one or two pieces of similar work. Leave out general claims about yourself; specific examples do the job better.

On Internetivo, a proposal has your price in euros, the hours you estimate, a pitch with your approach, experience and timeline, and an optional portfolio link. The client can accept, decline or counter with a different price. A pitch structured like this is easy to read:

Approach
  I will rebuild the booking form in React, connect it to your
  existing API and add tests for the three booking paths.

Milestones
  1. Form and validation, working on a test page     (8 hours)
  2. API connection and error messages               (6 hours)
  3. Tests, handover notes and a 30-minute call      (4 hours)

Not included
  Changes to the API itself, design work, hosting.

What I need from you
  API documentation and a test account by day 2.

Relevant work
  A similar form for a dental clinic (link)

Only paid, open tasks appear on the Market, so the client has paid for a task before you write a proposal for it. That lets you spend your proposal time on real work. There are no user reviews on Internetivo. Clients compare profiles, rankings and Career Passports, so keep your profile current and your portfolio links working.

Communicate early and plainly

Most client frustration comes from silence. A short update when you start, at each milestone and whenever something changes keeps trust high, even when the news is a delay.

Confirm the scope in writing at the start, in a few lines.
Raise a problem as soon as you see it, with a suggested way forward.
Answer at predictable times. "I reply within one working day" is a promise you can keep.
When the client asks for something new, say it is outside the agreed scope and offer a price for it.

On Internetivo, messaging starts once you are hired, inside the project. Everything before that, including your questions about the brief, belongs in the proposal itself, so write it to stand on its own.

Work in milestones

Milestones turn one big promise into several small ones. The client sees progress, gives feedback early, and you are paid as you go.

Each milestone goes through review on its own, so you are paid in steps.

On Internetivo, you choose Mark In Progress when you start and Mark Completed to deliver a milestone. The client then has seven days to review it and can approve it, request a revision or open a dispute. They get reminders on day 3 and day 6. If they do not answer, the milestone is approved automatically on day 7, unless a revision was requested or a dispute is open.

When a revision request arrives, check it against the scope you agreed. A fix to something in scope is part of the job. A new feature is a new piece of work.

Getting paid

Once a milestone is approved and the client's payment has been received, your share appears on your Payouts page. When Ready to pay out reaches the €50 minimum, you choose Request payout. The money goes by bank transfer to an account in your own name, and our team approves every payout before it is sent. Getting paid on Internetivo covers every step and check.

Protect your time and your confidence

Set working hours and keep them. Being reachable at all hours does not make the work better.
Keep a buffer. Do not fill every hour of the week. Things overrun, and new work arrives.
Say no to poor fits. A task far outside your skills or with an unclear brief costs more than it pays.
Separate feedback on the work from your worth. A revision request is normal. Most good work goes through a round or two.
Track your wins. Keep a list of finished projects and what clients said about them. It helps on slow weeks, and it gives you examples for your next proposal.

More on the habits that keep your work strong is in Habits of good developers.

Common questions

Should I charge by the hour or by the task?: Clients usually prefer a fixed price per task or milestone, because they know the cost up front. Use your hourly rate to work out that price, and include your hour estimate so the client can see your reasoning.
Can I talk to a client before they hire me?: Not on Internetivo. Messaging starts once you are hired. Put your approach, questions and assumptions into the proposal.
What if the client never reviews my milestone?: The milestone is approved automatically on day 7, unless a revision was requested or a dispute is open.
How much of the price do I keep?: At least 85% of the price of every milestone, including the last one. The client sees how the price is shared before accepting your proposal.

Ready to start? Every task on the Internetivo Market is already paid for by the client.