Doing Business
Articles relating to the business of freelancing: how to charge, how to set your rates, sample contracts, and more.
Most of this content is for members only.
Other pages in this category
Commission Acceptance Letter (Members only)
Taxed at Source? (Members only)
Members wishing to avoid being taxed at source should familiarise themselves with the SARS Tax Directive which explains the two stages of process that the client's accounting department uses to establish a freelancer's relationship with any particular client. Latest copies of this document can be requested from SARS or the current copy viewed on our site. Click the header Taxed at Source to continue.
Commission Acceptance Letter (Members only)
Generic layout for editorial commission acceptance letter
Terms and Conditions - Editorial Single Commission
Template of terms and conditions for a single editorial commission
Kill fees (Members only)
Safrea's terms & conditions document recommends that we distinguish between "Kill fees" and "cancellation fees" and negotiate for the following.
How to use the Small Claims Court to get your money (Members only)
If you know the Small Claims Court procedure, the battle is more than half won
The process starts with a Letter of Demand simply stating that at the top and requesting for the amount owed to be paid within 14 days, OR ELSE... Very often this very first step is enough to prusuade a long overdue debtor to pay up...
Freelance rates: How much should I charge? (Members only)
Safrea's typical minimum rates are a good starting point, but how much does it cost you to run your business? This should be the basis of all freelance charging.
Calculating your word rate depends on what you're writing (Members only)
Determining your word rate sounds easy - just look up Safrea's typical minimum rates. However, journalism is not the same as copywriting, which is not the same as fiction writing. Should you charge R2.50 per word regardless?
Safrea member Georgina Guedes discusses the rationale behind different word rates.
Handling my own account: The freelancers' full-time job
Over the past year I have discovered that being a freelancer may lend itself to flexi time and more freedom to do other things but being a serious freelancer is a full time job. Instead of trundling off to the beach whenever there is a gap between briefs or lying in when the work is slow, I find that I have a set working routine that involves being at my desk at 7am, having the same attachment to my Blackberry as any other busy exec, and a Moleskine full of daily to do’s. But how did I get here? By Caroline Cowan
