A gentle reminder – Freelancing isn’t FREE!
Freelancing job comes with a lot of benefits but honestly, these independent professionals face a lot of challenges too. It just seems unfair when the hardworking freelancers don’t get paid on time and even worse they don’t get paid at all.
According to a survey, 58% of freelancers in 4 major countries of Asia are not getting paid for their work.
As a freelancer, improving this scenario is completely in your hands. First of all, stop undervaluing your own work and secondly figure out the best and sure-fire way to accept payments from your clients.
Work is work, whether you are a full-time employee or a freelancer, you need money for your hard work. Fortunately, the scenario of freelancers is gradually changing as online payment methods are here for rescue. They help them get paid easier and faster.
Multiple ways like cheques, credit cards, electronic money transfer, online payment gateways, online invoicing softwares have made getting paid as simple as possible. Just sending invoice cannot guarantee you money, best you can try is the secured online payment methods and be assured with timely payment.
We’ve reviewed and listed the best payment options for freelancers:
With over 227 active users, PayPal tops the chart of being the best online payment gateway option.
It’s a popular platform for instant receiving and sending of funds. Since PayPal accepts 25 currencies, it’s best suitable for freelancers spread worldwide.
If money is transferred from another PayPal account to your Paypal account then you can receive your payment almost instantly. If it’s sent from a bank account then it might take minimum 3 business days. PayPal also offers its own debit and credit card.
PayPal does charge some fees depending upon the type of transaction.
No software to install! Authorize.Net is a browser-based online payment solution.
Authorize.Net is specially designed for freelancers, small and medium-sized businesses. Transactions can be processed 24/7 with this online payment gateway. Authorize.Net offers security to prevent fraudulent transactions. It’s quite user-friendly, freelancers can easily use this and ensure quick payment.
The fee is a bit higher as compared to many other online payment gateways.
2Checkout supports multiple languages and multiple currencies which makes it globally popular.
It’s a great payment gateway option for freelancers who deliver their services worldwide. 2Checkout is available in both desktop and mobile version for more convenience. Apart from that, it also integrates with major credit cards as well as PayPal which doubles the chances of on-time payment. Payment received through this gateway can be transferred to your bank account through wire transfer.
2Checkout doesn’t support direct transaction, so you have to use any online invoicing software like Billbooks to receive the payment.
The processing fees are different for different locations.
Several freelancers have claimed Stripe as a great payment gateway to kickstart with.
To get paid you need to either integrate Stripe to your own website or use any online software that has Stripe payment gateway integrated. Send Stripe checkout system to your client so that they pay you through credit card. Apart from payment, Stripe also supports recurring invoicing and international payments.
Stripe is a cost-effective and secured online payment gateway.
With Braintree small businesses and freelancers can accept direct payments from the clients.
This full-stack payment gateway helps freelancers to accept payment easily through app or website. Braintree is well-designed and completely secured platform which helps in eliminating fraudulent act. Time-to-time fraud checks, multiple pay-in options. Braintree also allows to accept payment through PayPal, major credit and debit cards and leading wallets in a single integration.
Braintree pricing plans differs as per transactions.
They are just a few from myriads of other options. Choose the one that best suits your freelancing job and enjoy hassle-free and timely payment. If you are still confused, don’t invoice services as our Billbooks will also manage this task for you.
