Yeah I understand what you mean. Making sure you actually get paid and that you get paid ON TIME is an issue and has been an issue for me. One of the good things with sites like Elance is that they have this thing called Escrow.

Basically how it works is that the person posting the project has to show that they have the funds to pay you BEFORE the project starts. This is done by having the funds placed in a third party account (this is supplied by Elance themselves). You can refuse to start the job until the funds have been placed in the third party account.

For instance, I had a client in the UK who I wouldn’t start work with until he placed the funds into the account. From there, you can set payment milestones whereby you get paid at specific points in the project. These can include a starting fee, then payment at each milestone. I find this a much better approach than simply doing the whole project and then having a client delay payment for months.

Using a third party service like Elance or Guru with Escrow also ensures that you are protected in the event a client tries to “screw you over” by withholding funds even if you have completed a project to their requirements.