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Comment by timjahn | Hacker News Reader

There is no need for reminders to pay, because the client has already paid. They fund the milestone, you work on the milestone, and once the client signs off on it, we pay you the full payment for the milestone.

The whole point of the service is for you to start work only when the client has shown that they have the full amount of money available to pay you.

We currently use this system as part of our main matchist product and our network of developers loves it. We're testing the idea of spinning this off for any freelance developer to use with their clients sourced anywhere, besides just matchist.

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What happens if a client cancels a milestone or otherwise simply doesn't hit "approved"? Machinist has my money, not me. I feel a lack of control, and I feel this isn't something I couldn't do with a single phone call and a cheque in the mail (or a payment on my own website). The price point is way too high for the service imho.

I don't even engage someone unless I believe they have the full amount of money available to pay me. And I don't start work without cold hard cash in my bank account. 50% up front, 50% on completion balances a client's commitment with a developer's commitment. Each party takes a risk in terms of time and money (big projects can usually be broken down into smaller 50/50 payments for milestones).

In terms of this service, I feel the developer is taking a bigger risk in terms of devoting time to a project that may or may not produce money, and in the meantime s/he has nothing to eat with.

I just don't understand the logic of paying someone to withhold my money from me when I can ask for real money up front, directly, for free.

If you don't have the problem of getting paid on time, every time (or at all) by clients, then this product probably isn't for you.

I have problems getting paid on time like everyone else. I think this problem is more of a psychological one, one of communication and setting expectations with one's clients. I think this service is overpriced, and I question why anybody, not just me, would pay to use it.

Stripe costs 2.9% + 30c per transaction (no monthly fee) and has example code you can copy and paste into your site (for free). I can type email reminders to clients myself, or setup a script to send stock messages automatically (for free). And when I get paid, I get paid directly to my bank account (where I have full control over it, which I can use to pay bills and eat food).

https://stripe.com/ca/help/pricing https://stripe.com/docs/examples

I'm not trying to rain on your parade. I'm just curious what the actual benefits are. Maybe I'm missing something. Please explain it to me. From the little information on the webpage, I currently feel it isn't worth it.

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