Showerthought: I thought charging a kill fee was just for big agencies, but it saved me from a total loss last quarter.

A client ghosted me halfway through a website redesign after I'd already put in 40 hours. I had a kill fee clause in my contract for 25% of the total project cost, which felt harsh at first. When they vanished, I sent one email pointing to that clause and got paid $750 within a week. Has anyone else had a client try to skip out after you started work?

3 comments

3 Comments

thea_bell4d ago

Totally agree with Blake, it's not harsh at all. My buddy had a client just stop answering emails after he'd already bought specific software for their project. His contract had a kill fee for costs already spent, and he had to send a pretty firm letter from a lawyer friend to finally get it. He said that clause was the only thing that made them take him seriously.

beng514d ago

My contract has a 50% kill fee for any work started. Client ghosted me after three rounds of edits on a logo. Sent an invoice for that half, got radio silence for a month. Finally told them I'd have to send it to collections. They paid within two days. That clause is the only reason I got anything.

blake_kelly194d ago

Disagree with calling that harsh at all. You did the work and they bailed, so you deserve to get paid for that time. A kill fee just makes sure you don't get totally screwed over.