I am wondering how, those of you who run a web design business, run it. I have just started my own, and I have already had a few clients. But how do you deal with clients that live far away? How do you do your invoicing, your finances and accounting, contact management, time management, project and document management? I'm sorry I am asking so many questions. Don't worry, I learn very quickly. I am only 17, but I don't care if you are harsh on me.
I communicate with my clients via email and telephone, so it doesn't matter where in the world they are, it can get expensive calling the US and other places abroad, but if need be of couse I will and have done so several times. There is numerous software you can use to do your accounts and finances or you can just use good old fashioned pen and paper. Again you can purchase invoicing software or as some people do just create your own invoices using the likes of Word or Works etc. Time management etc is something you will learn as you go along. Best of luck Dee
You can use telephone or email to save cost. I do my invoice using paypal. And i do constantly update my client with the latest info about my hosting such as adding new server,down time by emails.
Thank you all for your answers! Also, how do you do the payment? Like do you all take a down payment before you start? Do you have your client give you ftp info? And also, how do you keep them up on the progress? I like to install a dummy site on a sub-domain of my site to show them how it's going.
There is the more traditional way which is the phone. That can be costly, especially if you have clients over seas. With the power of the WWW... you can communicate with people through email. There is also services / web software that you can have online video conferences. As far as invoicing... I give my clients 2 options to pay. They can pay through a check or through online. I have some clients they hate doing online transactions, but then I have clients that do nothing but online transactions. So, this is the reason why I do both. For all online transactions, I use PayPal / PayPal subscriptions. For all offline transactions, I use Microsoft Accounting Express. It has plenty of features that I need to keep track of the invoices. For contact management, I use a Kayako E-Support and for time management, project and document management, I use Microsoft Office Project I not sure why you say you don't care if were harsh on you. Every person that gets in the web design business have been in your shoes. A lot of it is trial and error unless you have someone guiding you along. I started getting in the web design business at 17 also. I landed my first client before I got out of high school. For all web design projects under $700, I charge in 2 payments... the start of the project and then the end of the project. For all projects above $700, I charge 3 payments... the start of the project, the middle of the project, and then the end of the project. Here what I have to say about giving clients FTP info. If they make a small change on the site without telling you, you could very well erase there work. Then the client is all upset that you erase it off the website. This has happen to me, so I know how it feels. So, to answer your question, I no longer give FTP access to clients. Besides, they hire me to make the changes for them... so why do they need to make the changes. I have done a dummy site on a sub-domain like you said. But I mainly printscreen the design. This allows the client to see the site and you don't have to go into the extent of coding it and then coding it again if there are any changes that needs to be made.
First of all - good luck with your new business. Email or telephone is an ideal way to gather the clients brief. For simple website designs, we tend to send samples via email for clients to feedback on. For Content Managed websites, we usually visit clients (within a reasonable distance), or use Live meeting to demo the site / management. Before any work is carried, a 20% deposit is taken. This protects you from clients who decide half way through the project they don't have the budget anymore. Payment is normally cheque or bank transfer. That way Paypal doesn't get it's paws on anything.
I charge a 50% deposit upfront. I also provide hosting, so I normally have their FTP details, but if they already have a web host, yes I request the FTP details. To show them how their site is progressing I upload it to the back end of my design site. Best of luck Dee