Shoutout to the lawyer who told me to add a kill fee clause

I used to just roll with whatever the client sent over, but after a project got canceled halfway through last year, I was out almost $2,000. Added a 30% kill fee for canceled work to my standard contract, and it saved me when a big editorial job got axed after I'd already done the research. Anyone else have a specific clause that's saved their bacon?

4 comments

4 Comments

cora8131mo ago

Tell that to @the_faith when a client ghosts after the first draft.

the_faith1mo ago

Okay but is a kill fee clause really that big of a deal? Feels like making a mountain out of a molehill. Most small jobs just don't have that kind of drama. You do the work, you get paid, or you don't. Adding all that legal stuff seems like a hassle for a one page website or a simple logo. Maybe for huge projects, but for the rest of us it's just extra paperwork.

milesbarnes4d ago

Wait, "you do the work, you get paid, or you don't"? That's like saying you cross the street and hope you don't get hit. I've had clients bail on a simple $500 logo after three rounds of revisions, completely ghosted me. That wasn't a full week like Kim mentioned, but it was still a solid two days I'll never get back. Adding a kill fee clause doesn't have to be some massive legal document, it's literally one sentence saying "if you cancel after I start work, you owe me 50%." It takes five minutes to add and saves you from eating the cost when someone gets cold feet.

kimblack1mo ago

A one page website is exactly where you need it! I had a client vanish after I built their whole site, just because they changed their mind. That was a full week of my time gone for nothing.