The Freelance Life: Getting Paid Doesn't Have to be a Nightmare

After a long absence, I'm back with more insights on living the freelance dream, and all the need-to-know information to make your freelancing career a success.

And to set this welcome back off with a bang, I'm going to tackle the BIG QUESTION on every freelancer's mind: How do I ensure that I get paid?

If you've been in the freelancing game for any length of time at all, you've probably been burned by a buyer or two and have learned the hard way to steer clear of the many shady freelancing sites and message boards on the net. Reputable sites that attract reputable buyers are the only way to go. Thankfully, there are some good ones out there, but unfortunately, they don't offer any real payment security for freelancers, and you can easily wind up in a payment nightmare.

Then there is Elance.

Elance goes beyond attracting reputable buyers and quality jobs, by setting themselves apart from the other sites when it comes to helping freelancers get their hard earned money. How? It's simple. They really watch out for freelancers and want to make sure you get paid. They offer payment guarantees for quality work done, and huge flexibility on how you get paid. You can choose between an hourly rate and a fixed price per job, both with protection guarantees. And with guarantees, you can concentrate on the work and leave the worry behind.

For fixed price jobs, Elance has an escrow service that ensures you, the provider, get paid for work done, taking the worry out of it, especially for big projects. The buyer funds the job before any work commences, so you know the money is there. All you have to do is complete the required work and it is released to you. Simple. Safe. Secure. No more wondering if your buyer has fallen off the face of the earth, and no more chasing down dead-beat buyers.

Elance also has a milestone system that allows you to set out in great detail the exact project requirements, due dates, and payment schedule so there is never any confusion about when payment is due.

On Elance, you're not just an independent contractor with nowhere to turn if a payment problem arises. You've got Elance watching your back.

But what if you prefer hourly jobs or the project requires it? Elance is there for you too. They now offer a really amazing feature called Work View, which guarantees payment for hourly work if you opt to use it. They also have automated invoicing through Timesheets and the use of Tracker to track your hours.

All of these features are optional, so you can choose what works best for you for each individual project. Both hourly and fixed price projects also have auto-pay and auto-release features, which means you get paid when you should.

Whatever way you choose to set up your projects on Elance, they've got you covered.

Why spend all that extra unpaid time chasing down buyers and pulling your hair out because you don't know when you're going to get paid? The Elance Fixed Price Work Guarantee and the Elance Hourly Work Guarantee protect you, so you can relax and focus on work.

Take it from me, Elance escrow has been around for a long time, and I've used it for many projects with 100% success. It works, and for someone new to Elance, it may be a little intimidating, but I promise, it's very easy to set up - and it's worth it.

And Work View for hourly projects works like a dream! It's very new, but I was lucky enough to beta test it, and for hourly projects, I highly recommend going with it. Not only does it have the payment guarantee, but it also makes project organization and communication with the buyer a breeze.

Elance wins hands down as the only choice for freelancers who want to leave payment frustrations behind and get guaranteed payment for work.

Ahhhh.... the freelance life just got easier.

Amazing photo by Steve Wampler