Originally Posted by majorglory
I'm in the U.S. and thy government loves to suck up a good chunk of any earnings you make.
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You'd be surprised how other countries handle taxes. The U.S. really isn't that bad considering the rewards.
If you're talking about maintenance and updates, you need to have a contract for that specifically. And, more importantly, define what maintenance/updates are. Some clients will take advantage of you if you do not clearly define it and have you, basically, re-design a site one piece at a time. Maintenance is text/copy changes, image changes, or updating links.
Also, you'll be fine with a sole propietorship. You can simply do business with your name and have checks written to you. I recommend, however, for tax purposes, that you open a checking account for just the business. Keep 25%-30% of your earnings in the account for taxes. If it becomes a good and steady income, hire an accountant. You'll probably need to pay your taxes quarterly, which the accountant will help you with.
In regards to maintenance billing and contract set up, I suggest you determine how you want to do it, hourly or per update. I do it hourly and have 3 plans: pay by the hour, 5-hour plan, 10-hour plan. Wit the 5-hour and 10-hour plans, you keep a tab on the hours you've put into maintenance, that can be in a month or several months. Once the hours are up, the client has the choice to renew the contract, change plans, or not renew.
I don't suggest you simply leave a client when there are no more updates required. You don't want to burn bridges. Keep as many of your clients happy because word-of-mouth advertising can help make your business successful or take you down quickly. When you're talking about maintenance and updates, customer service is key.