What are payment & contract terms?
When you accept a contract, you may be required to pay 50% of the project total up-front. Payment can be made using company check or PayPal for example. The remaining 50% is due when you receive the final video or even just the rough draft ( edit master). Every company will have their policies for payment most likely based on previous experience with customers that don’t pay. Yep, that usually is the Genesis for all company policies.
What are payment terms in a contract?
Just about every company you’ll deal with has their own terms for the work getting done and payment. In some cases this is negotiable. It’s important that you negotiate the contract to protect your best interest. Going into it blindly or trusting that the other company has your interest at heart first is naïve.
Pay schedules, price discounts and other considerations are all on the table to negotiate. Most times in the production world companies will give a discount for brevity on the client side. So if you agree to go through the editing process in a short period of time, say two weeks, you can negotiate several hundred dollars off the price because you’re occupying less of their time. If you can shoot everything in one day versus two or more days there is another place to negotiate the price.
Finally, when you pay the down payment and final cost.
Sometimes companies working with a client for the very first time want to play it safe and want most of the money upfront or at least all of it at the halfway point of the project this is normal. If your finances dictate otherwise or just simply your experience points you in the direction of paying more towards the back end, this simply can be shared and communicated diligently face-to-face or over a phone call. The most frank and straightforward you are with each other the more likelihood a payment schedule and final price can come to a quick resolution.
The video production process can be arduous at first glance or even difficult to keep the process going when working with others, kinda like herding cats. When you have the help of those who are experienced they can guide you through the forest and get you out in the clearing. Whether you hire us or somebody else, make sure you have a company that has the willingness to hold your hand throughout the process.