Direct Deposit for Freelance Work?

Cole

Cole

Well-known member
I have been talking with a particular client for over a year in regards to shooting some projects for them. It is a half day shoot with some green screen talking heads and some B-Roll in their office. We have finally picked a date and reached the agreement phase. They want me to send an invoice for the deposit and include my bank information for direct deposit.

Am I being overly paranoid to not want to give out my account info?

Does any else do this with first time clients?

I plan to ask them to just cut a check and send it as soon as they can, we still have over 2 weeks before the shoot will take place. The thought of an instant payment is tempting but seems to make my account vulnerable. I get that concept for full time jobs but direct payment from a first time freelance gig from an overseas client seems odd to me.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts.

Cole
 
The usual direct deposit like is done with employee payroll enables the employer to reverse a deposit, IIRC. Bank wire transfers are another matter entirely. Which are they proposing to do? I'd consult with my bank before giving out any account info. At any rate, my response would probably be more of the "let's see how well we work together on this project and set the direct deposit up after this one is in the can and paid". You can then assess how timely they are with paying their bills and determine whether it's someone with whom you want to continue to do business.
 
I have several clients (all large corporations) that do direct deposit. It is great. Make sure the company is reputable and go for it. Payment is usually very fast.
 
J Michael-
Thanks for the reply. A few years back I checked with my bank and their response didn't make any sense. They said if I give out my account info (routing & account #) I am Ok'ing them to do whatever they want and there would be no repercussion for them for taking funds instead of depositing. It didn't sound right but I didn't feel like getting a second opinion. That would mean anyone that writes me a check is saying "here is this amount this time, but here my info if you want more later". In this case they said, "provide us with your bank account details" so I assume we are talking a deposit, not wire transfer.

They were cool with cutting a check to me form their office here in the states, but I was curious for future reference. I don't anticipate frequent work since most of these projects are produced in the UK, but I also don't suspect they will be a problem as far as payment.

Matt-
I will actually look into this as an option with my local, long standing clients. That farging mailbox has way to much of an influence on my day. I didn't even think about a credit check, I will keep that in mind for future use when dealing with sketchy bastages.:kali:.
 
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