Client is VERY LATE with details!  ## Metadata - Author: [[Imran Siddiq - Web Squadron]] - Full Title: Client is VERY LATE with details! - Category: #articles - Document Note: --- tags: - #clientmanagement - #contracts - #webdesign Author: Imran, Web Squadron Source: YouTube Reference: [Client is VERY LATE with details!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BljJBYGb4IM) date created: 2025-09-05 09:30 --- # Title: How to Handle Late Client Deliverables After Receiving a Deposit in Web Design Projects ## Table of Contents: - [📝 Summary](#-summary) - [📖 Main Content](#-main-content) - [00:04 Deposits and Client Delays](#0004-deposits-and-client-delays) - [01:40 Clarifying Milestones and Responsibilities](#0140-clarifying-milestones-and-responsibilities) - [03:21 Sorting Responsibilities Between Client and Designer](#0321-sorting-responsibilities-between-client-and-designer) - [05:00 Additional Charges for Late Responses](#0500-additional-charges-for-late-responses) - [06:40 Impact of Delays on Workflow](#0640-impact-of-delays-on-workflow) - [08:26 Retaining Deposits and Late Fees](#0826-retaining-deposits-and-late-fees) - [10:00 Image Quality and Timely Resources](#1000-image-quality-and-timely-resources) - [11:39 Balancing Assurance with Accountability](#1139-balancing-assurance-with-accountability) - [📖 References](#-references) - [🗣️ Paraphrase](#-paraphrase) - [📰 Newsletter](#-newsletter) - [✅ Action Items](#-action-items) - [🧪 Hypotheses](#-hypotheses) - [📊 Methodology](#-methodology) - [❓ Questions](#-questions) - [🔮 Future Research](#-future-research) - [💡 Implications](#-implications) - [🧠 Learning Styles Assessment](#-learning-styles-assessment) - [📊 Accessibility Assessment](#-accessibility-assessment) - [🌍 DEIB Assessment](#-deib-diversity-equity-inclusion-and-belonging-assessment) - [✅ Logical Validity](#-logical-validity) - [🔍 DARVO Analysis](#-darvo-analysis-prompt) - [🔍 SEO Evaluation](#-seo-evaluation) - [🎯 Conclusion](#-conclusion) --- ## 📝 Summary: The video by Imran (Web Squadron) explores strategies for managing web design clients who pay a deposit but fail to deliver required assets (like logos, text, or branding). The main argument: contracts must outline responsibilities and consequences for delays. Designers should charge additional fees for late submissions, protect their time, and communicate expectations clearly to avoid disputes. Accountability works both ways: designers should also offer discounts if delays are their fault. --- ## 📖 Main Content ### [00:04 Deposits and Client Delays](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BljJBYGb4IM&t=4) - Deposits protect designers but don’t guarantee smooth workflow. - Clients often delay providing images, text, or branding, stalling progress. - Boundaries are essential: work should not continue without client resources. ### [01:40 Clarifying Milestones and Responsibilities](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BljJBYGb4IM&t=100) - Deposits should be conditional on client deliverables. - Contracts must define start/end dates, sign-offs, and responsibilities. - Failure to clarify milestones leads to confusion and scope creep. ### [03:21 Sorting Responsibilities Between Client and Designer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BljJBYGb4IM&t=201) - Example: domain ownership, hosting setup, or WordPress installation must be clearly divided. - Ambiguity about roles creates tension later. - Responsibilities should be outlined in the contract and revisited if needed. ### [05:00 Additional Charges for Late Responses](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BljJBYGb4IM&t=300) - Late client responses = additional charges. - Penalties can be a flat fee (e.g., $200/day) or a percentage of the deposit. - Designers must emphasize why delays cost time and money. ### [06:40 Impact of Delays on Workflow](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BljJBYGb4IM&t=400) - Designers allocate blocks of time to projects. - Client delays push projects into new timelines, causing scheduling conflicts. - Additional fees protect designers from losing future clients. ### [08:26 Retaining Deposits and Late Fees](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BljJBYGb4IM&t=506) - If clients are late, designers can keep part of the deposit plus extra fees. - Contracts should specify refund policies, including partial refunds. - Communication upfront minimizes client pushback later. ### [10:00 Image Quality and Timely Resources](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BljJBYGb4IM&t=600) - Poor-quality or mismatched images cause major design problems. - Dummy images are not a substitute—branding must align with visuals. - Timely submission of assets ensures cohesive and professional design. ### [11:39 Balancing Assurance with Accountability](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BljJBYGb4IM&t=699) - Clients want assurance that projects will be delivered on time. - Designers should mirror accountability by offering discounts if delays are their fault. - Mutual responsibility builds trust and professionalism. --- ## 📖 References: - Imran, Web Squadron. *Client is VERY LATE with details!* YouTube. - Practical examples from freelance web design and client contract management. --- ## 🗣️ Paraphrase: 1. Original: “If clients are late with resources, charge an additional daily fee or percentage of the deposit.” Paraphrase: Designers should add fees tied to missed client deadlines, either as flat charges or a percentage of upfront payment. 2. Original: “If I’m the one who delays, I may offer a discount on the final payment.” Paraphrase: Accountability works both ways—designers should reduce costs if their own mistakes cause delays. --- ## 📰 Newsletter: **🚧 Handling Late Clients in Web Projects** Ever had a client vanish after paying a deposit? Imran from Web Squadron drops wisdom on setting airtight contracts and charging late fees. The key: make deposits conditional, outline responsibilities, and protect your time with clear milestones. Pro tip: accountability goes both ways—offer discounts if delays are *your* fault. Read the guide, avoid scope creep, and keep your workflow stress-free. Full video here: [Client is VERY LATE with details!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BljJBYGb4IM) --- ## ✅ Action Items: - Integrate late fee clauses into contributor agreements for open-source projects. - Build contributor onboarding templates that clarify roles and timelines (mirroring client contracts). - Use these practices in WordPress Contributor Days to ensure clear expectations. - Frame this guidance in OSPO policies to strengthen sustainable contribution processes. - Align messaging with GoDaddy’s open-source advocacy: transparency + accountability. --- ## 🧪 Hypotheses: - Hypothesis 1: Contracts with late-fee clauses reduce project overruns by 30%. - Hypothesis 2: Designers with milestone-based agreements report higher client satisfaction. - Hypothesis 3: Offering discounts for designer-caused delays increases client retention. ### 📊 Methodology: - Conduct surveys among freelance designers using milestone-based vs. open-ended contracts. - Analyze project completion times, client satisfaction scores, and refund frequency. ### ❓ Questions: - Should open-source contribution agreements include “milestones” like contracts? - How can accountability frameworks improve volunteer-driven projects? - What’s the balance between flexibility and rigidity in contracts? ### 🔮 Future Research: - Study parallels between freelance client work and open-source governance. - Explore financial models for sustainable late-fee enforcement in OSS. - Assess how accountability structures improve OSS contributor retention. ### 💡 Implications: - Could influence how WordPress contributor agreements evolve. - Supports professionalization of volunteer-driven ecosystems. - Aligns with broader OSPO governance strategies. --- ## 🧠 Learning Styles Assessment: - **Visual**: Video format; timestamps aid navigation. Could benefit from flowcharts on deposit/payment processes. - **Aural**: Strong (spoken advice). No podcast/audio summary beyond video. - **Verbal**: Rich storytelling and practical scenarios. - **Physical**: Lacks hands-on tasks; could include templates. - **Logical**: Strong cause-effect reasoning. - **Social**: YouTube - Summary: 👉 Courses & Packs: https://learn.websquadron.co.uk 👉 Let's Strategise: https://learn.websquadron.co.uk/#book This is what I do when a client is late on sending resources to get a website built especially after a deposit has been paid. How can you protect yourself - and them. 👉 WordPress Hosting - https://be.elementor.com/visit/?bta=25741&nci=5486 👉 The Pro Page Builder - https://be.elementor.com/visit/?bta=25741&nci=5383 Affiliate Links for my 2025 gear: Flexispot Electric Desk 200cm x 80 cm - https://amzn.to/3IuL4ZS Sony ZV-E10 Mark II - https://amzn.to/454zLjG Sigma 16mm F1.4 Sony Lens - https://amzn.to/4lF0mcQ CPL Polarising Lens - https://amzn.to/3TAV5H8 Edifier Speakers - https://amzn.to/4lC2eDy Sandisk 2TB USB4 SSD - https://amzn.to/4kBNcw0 Godox ES45 Lights - https://amzn.to/44ZgRe1 56cm Light Diffuser Panel - https://amzn.to/3U9Rr7g Smallrig clamps - https://amzn.to/3IqYdTt ASUS ProArt Monitor 3840 x 2160 - https://amzn.to/4kzud5f Electriq 49" Ultrawide Monitor 3840 x 1080 - https://amzn.to/40imP74 FiFine K688 Dynamic Microphone - https://amzn.to/4ePXnMl FiFine Microphone Arm - https://amzn.to/44wanmT Mac Mini M2 Pro - https://amzn.to/4kONlws Elgato 4k Camlink - https://amzn.to/4lUhoUe Smallrig Projector Light - https://amzn.to/452oZud LED Standing Light - https://amzn.to/46Ildrb LED Shelf lights - https://amzn.to/4meYAzp Camera Boom Arm - https://amzn.to/3GCxaUQ Remarkable Pro: https://amzn.to/4i0q35I - URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BljJBYGb4IM An interesting question was asked on the back of a video about how you need to set boundaries and don't do any work unless you get a deposit in a brief. And what someone asked I feel was really good. It was about how what if you've taken a deposit and the client was meant to give you like some resources. It could have been images. It could have been the text. It could have been branding details. They were meant to provide something to you. But they haven't done that. So what do you do in that scenario? So, you have got a contract. They've probably paid a deposit. You had some part of the brief. So, you might not have had all of it or you had a pretty good outline, but you were relying on them to give you images. What is the impact headline statement? You could create it for them. If the client can provide that to you, it might help to reduce the amount of revisions you do. So, what do you do in this scenario? Well, it's actually quite simple. Let's pretend you're building a website and it's $5,000 and you've taken a 50% deposit of $2 and a half thousand. What you need to do is start implementing add-ons onto that before you continue with the work. Let me break it down for you. Before I get into it, I'm invading. Like, subscribe, share, and follow. Go and check out our courses and guides. And don't forget to sign up to join our channel for exclusive videos. So, we got a scenario where we got a client, $5,000 to build their website, and the web designer, they've got a contract, they've outlined what they want, and the client's on board with it, and they pay a 50% deposit. Now, before they pay that deposit, and it should be in your contract or your proposal or make sure it is bulletproof clear to them, if you have to recclarify this in an email, please go and do so. What you want to say to them is this 50% deposit is dependent on them doing XY Z as well. Because hopefully when you agree to build a website, you didn't just say, "Yeah, I'll do that for $5,000 and blahy blah." You would have given them a timeline or at least explained or clarified the start date and the end date. So, let's pretend we say we're going to start on Monday, we're going to complete on Friday, $5,000, and this is what we're going to get done. And during those five days, we'll have the homepage done on Monday and then you need to sign off by Tuesday. Then we continue. There might be some other sign offs as well. There might be a handover meeting at the end, but the final 50% is paid at the end on Friday or Saturday. You need to make this clear and this is a mistake too many people still make at the moment. They don't clarify the milestones. So we say Monday or Sunday, they pay the deposit and you start Monday. But on that Sunday or the Saturday or whatever your timeline is, they also have to provided the logos, some of the text, um some additional resources that you were waiting on them to do. Cuz maybe for instance, you got a homepage and you're still waiting on them to clarify what their services are. Well, how can you actually build it out? Is it three services? Is it five services? Are they very brief? Are they very elongated, long description? So you got to truncate it and do other pages. It gets very confusing with when it comes to designing especially if you don't even have like uh design layout. Anyway, I keep deviating so let me get back onto the topic. So the 50% deposit is made at the point of that contract you need to make clear where the responsibilities lie. What are you doing? What are they doing? So are you connecting the domain to the host provider or have they already done that? Are you purchasing the domain with their details so they own it or are they doing it? At what point, you know, what are you doing? You're going to set up a fresh WordPress website or is an existing WordPress website? All of these little things you got to make sure you sort out. Now when you tell them the date or when they are meant to provide the details to you, you will also make clear to them that if this does not happen and it slips by one day, then there will be an extra rate added onto this. And the way you work out your additional payment or your extra rate, I meant additional payment. I said extra rate there. The way the additional payment would work is that it will be a percentage of the deposit. And this is how I like to do it. It's not a percentage of the entire project, okay? Because the final 50% is after you've done loads of extra work and you're now at the finishing line. The initial 50%, which in my opinion should cover the bulk of what you're going to build throughout the website anyway, think of the final 50% as the gravy money, the extra bonus money you can play around with, right? that initial 50% that is for you to get things set up, built out, doing the homepage, get you know get things so that you can prove to the client that they uh hired the right person. Now if after they've paid that 50% they are like a day late or whatever, I would then say right I would work it out. It might be 20% of the deposit or 15% or 10% or you might just go for a blank charge of like $200 a day or whatever you want to go for. But you want to make clear to them that if they are late on providing anything, there will be an additional charge. And that additional charge must be paid immediately or you won't be doing any extra work. So let me pray this. Play pray. Let me play this scenario out for you. Sunday they pay. They were meant to provide details to me Sunday night so I can start Monday. We get to Monday. I could if I want just give them back that entire deposit and say right forget it. We're not going anywhere. Or I might say okay for me to continue now and because we are late and this impacts on my timeline. I reserved one week for you. I can't now start another project. I can't start doing other things because I had planned to give you my utmost attention. I was going to work on this project and nothing else. I'm not going to start doing social media or go out for a walk. I was going to work for you. Just like if you hire someone to project manage or whatever and they come into your office, you want them to be working Monday to Friday, right? You don't want them to just come in and just sit there. No, I've paid for your services and that's what you did for me. I don't have time to do anything else. So when we get to Monday, if I now cannot do that work because you have not provided what I needed, there will be an additional payment because I said it was going to take Monday to Friday. Well, because you're late, it now goes Monday to Saturday. Well, I wasn't planning to work on it on Saturday, so maybe it now goes to Monday to the following Monday. Well, I was going to start something else that following Monday. Now, that deadline shifts and I may lose another client who was waiting on me. So, you got to play this out. You don't have to reveal too much. And I'm not telling you to do anything that is controversial. I'm not asking you to wheel or deal or be nasty, but you need to make clear to the client before they pay that deposit. Make sure it's in your contract. Make sure you've had that conversation that they understand if they are late on providing resources, signing off. Again, the same thing with homepage. If I've made clear to them prior, I will get this done on Monday and I need you to look at it and get back to me with any issues by Monday night, Tuesday, even maybe by a certain time. And if they are late, they need to pay extra. and they need to pay that when you ask for it within two to four hours or you will not continue. And if they then go fine, I'll just go elsewhere. Fine. You may give them a chunk of the deposit back, but you will then keep back a part of the deposit that covers what you've done and that additional payment. You got to make that clear. So $5,000 at the start, they pay two and a half two and a half $25,000. And then let's say I say, "Right, you're late. So there's an extra $200 of that $25,000 deposit." I might give them back $2,000 because like they were late and I did set stuff up for them. So I've got to cover my basis. So I'll keep $500 of the 2.5,000. But on top of that, I will add another $200 because I had to go with this back and forth of, you know, you're late and it's cost me time. So, of the $25,000, I'll keep $700 and then they will get back the remainder. And they may not like it. A lot of people don't like it. They never do. But if you have made it clear in the contract, in your discussions with them, they've got they can't really, you know, argue back with you. You made it clear because this happens quite a lot. It does happen. It's happened to me many times. You agree something, you're going to work and then the client goes, "Oh, I haven't got my about me bit done." Sometimes though, if you are building out a five, 10 page website, you go, "Okay, no worries. I was going to do your about page on Tuesday. I'll shift that to Friday if you can make sure you get it to me in the next day." Give them a give them 24 hours, even 48 hours if it helps them, right? But if they were meant to get you something, that's pivotal. It could have been like finalizing what colors they want to use. I mean, that's a big deal. It could have been the logo. Again, that is a big deal, believe it or not. Because if it's a complicated logo, does it look good in the middle or the left or right hand side of the page? Maybe it's the images. So many people go, "Oh, so what? Just stick a dummy image in." Oh, no. Oh, no. Believe me, when you have headline statements or you have text, the image has to feel connected in some way. And if it's a very big image, does it work? Is it better as a full width image or a smaller image? Is it an image with loads of colors that go against the branding? So, do you need to saturate it? Do you need to trim it? Is the image when you get it completely wrong, pixelated, noisy, the wrong focal point? They want this as the hero banner image, but the image is so busy. How can you make the text and the image fit because there's spaces everywhere? It just does not look right, let alone when you get to the mobile. So, getting resources is important. But when you take that deposit, you don't have to refund all of it. It depends on, you know, what your business model is. And you might say non-refundable, but then that opens up another can of worms for some people. But if you make clear that at any stage anything is late, there will be an additional payment. So it might be the resources, maybe they don't sign off the homepage, maybe halfway through the project, even though you agreed date, you get an email going, "Yeah, I'm going off holiday now for a week. I'm not going to be available for a couple of days. We agreed Monday to Friday. Start date, end date." There's now extra. Unfortunately, I've got to add on an extra payment because that I I can't now commit to other projects. Like I can't start something else and then stop that, resume your project and when that's finished then restart something else because that's not fair to my other clients. You can regain your control, but you're also giving asurances back to the client. Look at it from the client's point of view. Client is paying a heap of money and they're a little bit worried about are you going to deliver? or are you actually going to get it done by Friday cuz you did say you would do. They're getting some assurance that you're serious. But you can also flip it back the other way as well. You can say to client, look, if I am late and I said I would get it done for you by Friday and I actually don't get it done until Saturday and it's actually because of something I've done, then there may be like a discount offered at the end of it as long as it is due to me. So I completely mucked up the design. I I caused a critical error on the website and I had to restart again. I mucked something up, right? There may be like a 10% reduction on the final 2 and a half thousand, right? Not the full 5,000. Think think business now here, right? So the other two and a half,000 that they will pay at the end, you may make a 10% reduction on that. Not 10% on five, 10% on the two and a half that is remaining. Okay. So, you can make it look like look, I'm protecting you and I'm protecting me as well. I hope that made sense. I'm Iran from Web Squadron. Like, subscribe, share, and follow. Go and sign up and join our channel for exclusive videos. Go and check out our Elemental website course and our CSS course as well. Take care. See you soon. Bye., Client is VERY LATE with details!, Imran Siddiq - Web Squadron, 01k4ct6sp2q3k2hbp1cxrp238z.