Client Red Flag Bingo
How many have you heard? Tap each one that sounds familiar.
Today’s board · 25 Oct
What is Client Red Flag Bingo?
Client Red Flag Bingo is a free BrieflyGo game for freelancers: a 5×5 board of the things difficult clients say — “it’ll be great for your portfolio”, “just one more small change”, “we’ll sign the contract later”. Tap the ones you’ve heard, get your score and a shareable card, and see a practical way to protect yourself from each flag. There’s a new board every day, drawn from over 50 client lines. No sign-up, nothing you tap is linked to you.
Glossary: what a “client red flag” is →Every red flag on the board, and what to do about it
General practices freelancers use — put them in your quote or contract before the project starts.
| Red flag | Practice | How to protect yourself |
|---|---|---|
| It’ll be great for your portfolio | Paid trial only | Offer a small paid starter package. If you do work free, cap it in writing. |
| My nephew could do this cheaper | Tiered packages | Restate the scope and value — then let price shoppers go. |
| Should only take five minutes, right? | Written scope | Price the deliverable, not their guess at the effort. |
| Just one more small change | Revision limit | Count the rounds. Extras go on a change order. |
| We’ll sign the contract later | Signed before you start | No signature, no start. |
| Can you start before the deposit? | Deposit | Work begins when the deposit clears. |
| “Paying next week” — every week | Payment terms | Due dates, a late fee and a pause clause. |
| Need it ASAP. Like, yesterday. | Rush fee | Rush fee, in writing, before you start. |
| Won’t name any budget | Tiered packages | Ask for a range, then send tiered options. |
| Lots more work coming later! | Fixed fee | Price this project on its own. |
| Can you do a free sample? | Paid trial only | Point to your portfolio or offer a paid test. |
| I’ll know it when I see it | Written scope | Get the brief signed off, with approval checkpoints. |
| Texts at 11pm on a Sunday | One approver, set hours | State your working hours and response time. |
| Ghosts for weeks, then “URGENT” | Client-delay clause | A client-delay clause moves the deadline; keeping the old one costs a rush fee. |
| Feedback from five different bosses | One approver, set hours | One named approver. Feedback arrives consolidated. |
| Asks for a discount up front | Tiered packages | Cut scope, not your rate. |
| Wants all rights, pays half | IP transfer on payment | IP transfers on full payment. |
| We pay when we get paid | Payment terms | Your payment doesn’t depend on their customers paying them. |
| Changes the brief after approval | Change order | The approved brief is locked; changes go on a change order. |
| Vanishes when the invoice arrives | Milestone billing | Milestones. Final files go out on payment. |
| We can pay you in exposure | Fixed fee | Quote your rate. Exposure is a bonus, never the fee. |
| Cancels halfway, wants a refund | Kill fee | A kill fee clause covers work already done. |
| Unlimited revisions included, right? | Revision limit | Strike “unlimited” and set a number of rounds. |
| Send the files, I’ll pay after | Milestone billing | Proofs first. Final files on payment. |
| My last freelancer was terrible | Written scope | Ask what went wrong, then tighten the scope. |
| “Quick call?” — every day | One approver, set hours | Your package includes a set number of calls; extra calls are billed. |
| Can we pay you in equity? | Fixed fee | Cash fee. Equity only under a separate written agreement, with advice. |
| NDA before you can even quote | Written scope | A short mutual NDA is fine. No work until there’s a quote. |
| Can you match this cheaper quote? | Tiered packages | Hold your rate. Offer a smaller package. |
| “That’s not what I asked for” | Written scope | Keep approvals in writing and quote them back. |
| It’s a favour, not really a project | Change order | Every request gets a mini-quote. |
| We don’t really do contracts | Signed before you start | Bring your own one-page agreement. |
| Sends a cheque for too much | Payment terms | Never refund an “overpayment”. Wait for the funds to clear. |
| Haggles after delivery | Fixed fee | The signed quote is the price. |
| Wants the source files for free | Source files priced | Source files are a priced line item. |
| “Just make it pop” | Written scope | Ask for three reference examples. Define “done”. |
| Wants hourly status updates | One approver, set hours | A fixed check-in schedule and fixed-fee deliverables. |
| Can you also do our socials? | Change order | Separate scope, separate quote. |
| “We’re too big for deposits” | Deposit | Established companies can pay deposits. |
| Net-90 payment terms | Payment terms | Negotiate net-15 or net-30, or build the wait into the price. |
| Can you work faster? | Rush fee | Anything faster than your standard timeline carries a rush fee, agreed in writing. |
| We’ll circle back to this. | Client-delay clause | Put a date on it: if feedback hasn’t arrived by then, the timeline moves. |
| Can you do it for half the price? | Tiered packages | Cut scope, not your rate. Offer good, better and best options. |
| Can you also handle marketing? | Change order | Every new request gets a short written quote before any work starts. |
| Can you work over the weekend? | Rush fee | Anything faster than your standard timeline carries a rush fee, agreed in writing. |
| We love it! Now can you also… | Change order | Every new request gets a short written quote before any work starts. |
| Just one more version… | Revision limit | Set a number of revision rounds. Extra rounds are billed at a stated rate. |
| The client will provide feedback. | One approver, set hours | Ask who actually approves, and get feedback from them directly. |
| Can you start today? | Signed before you start | Today works — once the agreement is signed and the deposit is in. |
| It’s a simple project. | Written scope | List exactly what’s included — deliverables, formats, quantities — and what isn’t. |
| Our budget got cut mid-project | Change order | Pause, agree the reduced scope in writing, then carry on. |
| Can you invoice next quarter? | Payment terms | Put a due date, a late fee and “work pauses if overdue” in writing. |
| We had a reorg. New contact now. | One approver, set hours | Name one person who approves, and state your working hours and response time. |
| Can you sign our 40-page MSA? | Signed before you start | Read it first — payment, IP and liability clauses before you sign. |
| Our lawyer will “tweak” your contract | Signed before you start | Changes are fine, but read every redline before you agree. |
Already signed with a red-flag client?
Check what your contract says about payment, revisions and rights — free, in about a minute.
Questions
What is a client red flag?
A sign early in a project that a client may cause trouble later: refusing a contract, pushing for free samples, haggling before you’ve quoted, vague briefs, or “we pay when we get paid”. One flag isn’t a verdict, but several together usually mean scope creep or late payment ahead.
How do I protect myself from difficult clients?
Most red flags are handled by a few habits put in writing: a clear scope, a set number of revision rounds, a deposit before you start, payment terms with a late fee, change orders for new requests, and rights that transfer only on full payment. Each square on the board links its own tip.
Is Client Red Flag Bingo free? Do I need an account?
Yes, it’s free and there’s no sign-up. Your board is kept in the link itself — there’s no account to tie it to. We only keep anonymous usage stats, like how often each square is tapped.
Which boards are there?
A general board for every freelancer, plus boards for designers, developers, writers and copywriters, and photographers and videographers. Each one has 24 squares and a free centre square.
Does the board change?
Yes. Every board draws its 24 squares from a larger pool of client lines, and there’s a new board every day — the same for everyone, so you can compare scores with friends. “New board” deals fresh lines from the same edition, and each edition (Agency, Cheap Client, Payment Nightmare, Worst of 2026 and the profession boards) has its own set. The classics show up on most boards.
How do I challenge a friend?
Finish a board and press “Challenge a freelancer”. Your friend gets the exact same board, sees your score, and when they finish, both scores appear side by side.
Is this legal advice?
No. The tips are general business practices freelancers use. For a contract with real money at stake, have it checked — you can run a free risk check on BrieflyGo or talk to a lawyer.
Just for fun. Tips are general business practices, not legal advice — for a contract with real money at stake, get it reviewed. Last updated .