That lawyer friend's advice on kill fees just saved me $800

My buddy Mark who does contract law told me six months ago to always put a kill fee clause in my design contracts. I thought he was being paranoid until last week when a client in Denver cancelled a branding project halfway through. They cited budget cuts and tried to walk away with zero payment. But because I had that clause saying they owe 50% if they cancel after the first draft, I got $800 out of the $1600 total. Honestly I used to skip that part to sound flexible, but now it's non-negotiable. Have any of you had clients push back on kill fees when you first proposed them?

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reese_lee4d ago

That "non-negotiable" part hit home because I used to skip kill fees too, mostly because I was scared clients would think I was some uptight jerk. Turns out the only pushback I ever got was one guy who tried to haggle it down to 25%, and I just said no thanks, which felt oddly powerful. Now I'm the one reminding every designer I know to add that clause, and my bank account is way happier for it.