Someone asked me about my “smiley” sentence. Although tongue in cheek, it is also a business practice. Here is how I explained it to her. “When or if you do [take clients], it is a *business* decision on how you will be paid. The common way for most professionals (not just board-certified) is to ask for a specific retainer or half of the anticipated total up front to engage the professional. Then when work is completed the professional can decide as part of the way they conduct their own business whether to ask for the remainder before delivery of the report or after. My smiley comment was to have Claudia consider asking for the full payment before delivery of the report (a normal practice).” I hope anyone else wondering about the comment now has a greater understanding of the common business practices of professional genealogists. As long as your business practice is explained in your contract or an email before work starts, the client should understand it. -- Elissa Elissa Scalise Powell, CG, CGL www.PowellGenealogy.com www.GRIPitt.org CG, Certified Genealogist, CGL, and Certified Genealogical Lecturer are Service Marks of the Board for Certification of Genealogists, used under license by board certificants after periodic evaluations by the Board and the board name is a trademark registered in the US Patent and Trademark Office. -----Original Message----- From: "Elissa Scalise Powell, CG, CGL" [Elissa@powellgenealogy.com] Date: 12/18/2012 08:07 PM Get the money up front. (smile)