6 Ways to Get Paid as a Freelance Consultant
These days, more and more people are turning to freelancing or consulting for professional purposes. This type of work has been booming and only continues to rise. According to a recent survey, it is believed that freelancing will outnumber traditional employment by the year 2027.
Of course, there are many special considerations that come with freelance and consulting work. One of the most pressing of these involves the way you get paid. There are six ways to collect payment as a freelancer or consultant.
Invoice Services
Create your own invoices to send to your clients for payments using invoice services. FreshBooks and Harvest are two accounting services that allow you to create invoices and conveniently track your time. The services are easy to set up and use.
PayPal
PayPal is the most common way that freelancers and consultants are paid. To use it, you merely have to create an account, tweak your settings and then wait for your clients to send you payments electronically. You will receive your funds in your account and can transfer them to a linked bank account. Most people link their checking account, but you can also link a savings account if you prefer. Transferring money from PayPal to your bank account is fast and takes usually one business day. However, it’s worth noting that there are fees associated with this form of payment.
Western Union
Western Union is a money transfer service that allows you, as a freelancer, to receive payments from clients from anywhere. It even works internationally, so clients from overseas can easily send money internationally. There is also an option to transfer money to your bank or pick up cash at one of their branches.
Website
Another way to accept payment for your freelancing or consulting services is to set up your own page on your professional website. You can use a specific payment service such as Stripe and create a checkout option directly on your site to accept your money.
Checks
Checks are a quick and easy type of payment for freelancing or consulting work. You can deposit a check directly into your bank account and not have to worry about additional fees like those that come with other types of payments. However, you do have to wait three business days for a check to clear before you have access to the money.
Credit Cards
Credit cards are another form of payment accepted by freelancers and consultants. Payments through plastic can be processed using PayPal or another type of online payment system. If you are the type of freelancer who meets with your clients face to face to do your work, you can buy credit card processing hardware to get paid. This requires a wireless credit card terminal and software for credit card processing or a merchant account. There are many convenient mobile options for this form of payment. However, you can also use an app like Square or Google Wallet to accept credit card payments.
These are all great options for accepting payment for your work. If you are a freelancer or consultant, make sure to research these and other means of getting paid before ultimately settling on one.
