Getting-paid guides · 06
If your quote ignores these, you work part of it for freeWhen you quote an overseas client, here's how to build platform cuts, receiving fees and FX loss in ahead of time.
You quoted $500, the client said yes, and you figured that was your income. Then the money actually lands: the platform takes a cut first, the receiving channel skims another, converting to local currency trims off more, and what reaches you might be just over four hundred. The gap wasn't stolen by anyone; it's the part you never built into your quote. This guide shows you how to count everything that should be counted.
On this page
- Who actually pays the fees
- The three things most often left out of a quote
- How to add the fees back into your quote
- Do it yourself: back out your real take-home rate
- How to talk to a client about who covers fees
- Which cheap jobs are actually a loss
- A few claims people take at face value
- FAQ
- What to read next
01Who actually pays the fees (by default, mostly you)
Unless you and the client agreed in writing beforehand that they'd cover them, the platform cut and the receiving fee are taken out of your money by default. The client pays $500 and they're done; all the loss in between lands on you. Seeing this default clearly is the first step to quoting right.
02The three things most often left out of a quote
- The platform cut. If you take work through certain marketplaces, the platform skims a commission first, and that cut is often the steepest of the three.
- The receiving fee. From the client to your receiving account, PayPal, Wise and Payoneer each have their own way of shaving off a bit (see guide 1).
- FX loss. The spread hidden in the rate when you convert to local currency: the most invisible cut, and the easiest to forget.
Stack the three and the gap between your headline income and your real take-home often runs 10% or more.
03How to add the fees back into your quote
The idea is simple: first decide what you actually want to keep, then work backwards by adding the fees on top of your quote, instead of naming a number and watching it get whittled to nothing. Say you want $500 in hand and you estimate the various losses total roughly a tenth; then your quote should sit about that tenth above $500, to leave yourself room. There's no fixed formula here, because rates vary by channel and region; what matters is building the habit of "quote = target take-home + estimated loss", not "quote = target take-home".
04Do it yourself: back out your real take-home rate
- Take your most recent job: write down the quote, the amount left after the platform cut, then use the home-page calculator to estimate your take-home after receiving.
- Divide that take-home by the hours you actually spent to get your real take-home rate.
- Compare it with the hourly rate you have in mind. If they're far apart, that's a sign to raise your quote, or to switch to a cheaper way of getting paid.
05How to talk to a client about who covers fees
There are two common approaches, neither right nor wrong, it just comes down to how you negotiate. One is to quietly fold the fees into your quote (the client sees one clean total). The other is to agree explicitly that the client covers certain fees. For the second, say it clearly up front and write it into the contract; don't go chasing the shortfall after the money lands light, which is both awkward and weak. If a client balks at one channel's high fees, you can politely suggest a way that's transparent for both sides (for example Wise).
06Which cheap jobs are actually a loss
A tiny job that still has to go through a high-cut platform or a high-fee channel may leave almost nothing after deductions; same with jobs from a far-off time zone where the communication cost is brutal. Work out the take-home before you accept, and don't fool yourself with "something is better than nothing".
07A few claims people take at face value
My quote is my income.
The quote is what the client pays out; the take-home is your income. The platform cut, receiving fee and FX loss in between come out of your side by default.
The fees are tiny, not worth counting.
One payment looks small, but over a year, especially a high-cut platform stacked with FX loss, it eats a sizeable slice of your income.
08FAQ
Should I add the fee openly to the client, or fold it into the total?
Either works; the key is to settle it up front. Folding it into the total is simpler; splitting it openly should go into the contract, so you don't discover a shortfall after it lands and have to chase it.
Loss differs from job to job, so how do I set one quoting habit?
Estimate a rough loss percentage based on your most-used channel and the jobs you take most often, leave that much room on every quote, then fine-tune per job.
09What to read next
Fees, rules and regional availability are whatever each official page shows in real time.