I have found a simple remedy for this problem, after getting burned for $2000 a couple of years ago. I ask for a retainer up front, which is equal to my (private) estimate of what it will take to do the job. I tell them the retainer is 80% of the job, and the remaining 20% is due on aceptance of final deliverables. They think they have a carrot and stick over me, and I think I have the whole fee in my hands from the beginning plus a contingency. I work for an hourly rate, not a flat fee. The money is in my hands in the beginning, and I work my ass off to make sure the client gets intermediate deliverables and so on so they remain comfortable. If they make changes in the scope of work, I tell them the fee will go up on an hourly basis. If they need support after the final delivery, it is on an hourly basis. A lot of consultants work this way, and big business is used to it. If they sqwawk about this and don't want to do it, they can go elsewhere. So far, since I have been asking for this up front, nobody has squawked! Hey, that's how my lawyer works, so why not me? Check out www.nolo.com for some simple, straightforward contracts and nondisclosure agreements. I bought some E-books from them for a nominal fee with several consultant contracts written in plain english on two sheets of paper that I used as boilerplate for my standard contract and nondisclosure agreements. --Lawrence Lile ----- Original Message ----- From: "David VanHorn" To: Sent: Monday, January 07, 2002 11:19 AM Subject: Re: [PIC]: Delivering Software > > It is not clear is the product a hardware chip, or somekind of > source-code. > > I assume it is chip. So what is the reason for providing the source code? > > Wouldn't having a protection defeat the purpose of supplying the source > > code? > > > > Cheers, Ling SM > > > I will be sending a couple of samples to verify that it does what they want. > Once we have that covered, they will want to purchase the source. > > -- > http://www.piclist.com hint: PICList Posts must start with ONE topic: > [PIC]:,[SX]:,[AVR]: ->uP ONLY! [EE]:,[OT]: ->Other [BUY]:,[AD]: ->Ads > > -- http://www.piclist.com hint: The list server can filter out subtopics (like ads or off topics) for you. See http://www.piclist.com/#topics