The Desk · Autumn 2026
Notes on the job
A $7,500 job became $42 an hour. Two rounds in the email. 178 on the clock.
Field notes and working guides on intake, scope, rounds, contracts, and getting paid — written the way the work actually happens. Five essays and ten guides. One desk.
Use it
Tools and templates
The essays and guides are below. These you can open now — no account.
- ToolFree invoice generatorFill in your details, add line items, download a clean PDF. Nothing you type leaves your browser.
- ToolFreelance hourly rate calculatorTake-home target, expenses, tax, and time off in — the rate you actually need out.
- ToolLate fee calculatorInvoice amount, due date, and your annual rate in — the fee accrued so far out.
- ToolScope creep calculatorThe hours you give away every week, priced out over a year. Most people are surprised.
- TemplatesContracts, scopes, invoices, intakeCopy the whole document. Nothing to download, nothing watermarked.
Lead piece · Rounds · 3 min
Stop unpaid revisions
I sold two revision rounds on a $7,500 job. I delivered five. One of them was a navy logo in a grocery parking lot on a Sunday.
I did it in the car because saying no into a voice-note reply felt like starting a fight, and I am a coward about fights that live in chat.
Read the piece →The leak, in four moves
How the weekend disappears
01
Brief in a text
“Brand refresh?” at 9:41pm. You quote anyway. The brief is a guess.
02
Scope in the air
A call you both remember differently. Nothing to point at later.
03
Rounds in Slack
Sunday voice note. No count. You do it in the car or you start a fight.
04
Bill, three weeks late
A PDF in last month’s thread. Then the follow-up you rewrite eight times.
You don't need a different app for each of those. You need one project with a URL.
Essays and guides
From the desk
Showing 14 pieces.
Guide · Scope
How to write a scope of work that survives the project
Seven sections, and two single sentences that do most of the work.
October 3, 2026 · 6 min
Guide · Contracts
What to put in a freelance contract
Thirteen clauses. The one that ties ownership to payment is a single sentence.
October 3, 2026 · 7 min
Guide · Invoices
Deposit vs milestone billing: which one to use
Same $24,000, two schedules. One pays every four weeks, the other makes you wait fourteen.
October 3, 2026 · 5 min
Guide · Rounds
How many revision rounds is normal?
Two is the usual answer. The definition of a round is what actually protects the time.
October 3, 2026 · 5 min
Guide · Invoices
Net 30 vs due on receipt: which terms to put on your invoice
“Net 30” is a policy. “Due September 15” is a deadline. Put the date on the invoice.
October 3, 2026 · 4 min
Guide · Invoices
Freelance late fees that actually work
A late fee is a backstop. The deposit is the system.
October 3, 2026 · 5 min
Guide · Contracts
The kill fee, explained
It is not a penalty. It is payment for the calendar you held open.
October 3, 2026 · 5 min
Guide · Intake
The client red flags checklist
Most of these flags mean “price it in.” Four things mean walk away.
October 3, 2026 · 4 min
Guide · Rates
How to raise your rates with existing clients
Ten clients at $2,000. Raise 20%, lose three, refill two: you earn more for less work.
October 3, 2026 · 4 min
Guide · Invoices
What to do when a client won’t pay
Day 1, 7, 14, 21, 30. By the last one you know what kind of client this is.
October 3, 2026 · 7 min
Intake
Write the job down before you start
They asked for packaging. The call had been about a site. Nothing was written down.
August 24, 2026 · 4 min
Invoices
Send the invoice the day the work is done
I rewrote “just circling back” eight times because the invoice had no due date.
August 24, 2026 · 4 min
Scope
Scope creep is a missing change order
The footer was “while you’re in there.” It was a brand job. I said sure at 4:40.
August 24, 2026 · 4 min
Intake
Don’t quote the 9:41pm text
They texted “brand refresh?” at 9:41pm. I quoted $6,200. Then I designed a box.
August 24, 2026 · 4 min
Rounds
Stop unpaid revisions
Two rounds in the email. 178 hours on the clock. $42 an hour.
August 20, 2026 · 3 min
The desk, in software
Intake, scope, rounds, invoice — one URL
Free is 1 client and 3 active projects. Pro is $4.99 the first month, then $19/mo, or $99 the first year, then $16/mo billed yearly. The extra round goes on the invoice.