Update: Freelancer questions what to do with $7,000 left behind by client who quit

Author image for Remy Millisky
Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Mar 27, 2026 3:00 PM EDT

This person is facing an interesting workplace dilemma — what to do with an extra $7k that a client left behind? 

How much is $7k worth to a company? 

To an individual person, or a freelancer, that's like, a ton of money. To most companies, that's pocket change! And that's why this person was having trouble squaring what they should do when left with some extra cash.

As they explained it, there was a bit of a situation with this company they were freelancing for. They explain that a client asked them to bill him for a "made-up project," presumably just setting aside their hours for a project that hadn't been fully fleshed out yet. 

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  • Freelancer is surprised at how much money a client has left behind.
    via Look Studio

    Freelancer is surprised at how much money a client has left behind.

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • Client gave me $7,000 in advance to fill their budget, then left the company

    I am a freelancer. At the end of last year a client asked me to bill him for $7,000 for a made up project, so he will have spent all this budget. (And therefore
    via rustybindings
  • not lose that much in next years budget.) This is not unusual. The verbal agreement was I'd do $7,000 of work "off invoice" the
    via rustybindings
  • following year. The thing is he then left the company and of course made no mention of agreement.
    via rustybindings
  • Now I feel weird about the whole thing. I can't see any way forward. Any ideas?
    via rustybindings

    Quite the conundrum! Before we get to the update, let's check out what other people were saying about all this. 

  • A spread of $20 bills that an employee is wondering how to spend.
    via Jason Hawke

    A spread of $20 bills that an employee is wondering how to spend.

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • Most people assured them that this money wasn't a huge deal IF they dealt with it in the right way

    maxsimile FYI for a large company $7,000 is peanuts and possibly de minimis in their budget. Consult with a lawyer if you wish but I'd probably just say "Hey it's great to work with you. FYI your predecessor had some extra budget last year so he prepaid for some work and you have a $7,000 credit.
    via maxsimile
  • We can either work through that or I can refund you if you prefer to start fresh with this year's budget."
    via maxsimile
  • Professional_Hat... IT Director here. As others said, you might have committed fraud when you did this. If I were to find myself in a situation where I had to spend $7k to avoid losing it, I'd have you invoice me for "pre-paid block hours" or something tangible and clear, not "made up work". It is very
    via Professional_Hat_241
  • unusual for someone to ask you to "make up work" when they could just purchase a block of hours or retainer instead. One is fraud, one is an agreement with clear lines of accountability.
    via Professional_Hat_241
  • The problem is, someone at the company signed off on the payment. It may never be looked at again, or (depending on the services) it might come up during an audit. As a person who operates in this space, I always go over anything my predecessor purchased in the last 6-12 months when I take such a job, just so I know what they were doing,
    via Professional_Hat_241
  • who they worked with, and what I might need to worry about. If they continue to use you, and the invoiced items could be interpreted as a prepayment for services, then sure, be honest and bring it up.
    via Professional_Hat_241
  • Outside of that, you'll have to weigh the risk of bringing it up with potential repercussions versus saying nothing and potentially being caught. You might speak with the departed employee and get his take. I wouldn't worry about the moral implications, I'd be worried about getting sued or having your reputation destroyed.
    via Professional_Hat_241
  • It's also possible the company was run like a leaking sieve and you'll never hear anything about it. These are all reasons why this should never be "usual".
    via Professional_Hat_241
  • Capt-Matt-Pro Keeping an unearned fee advance, without notifying the actual client? It's a bold strategy, Cotton.
    via Capt-Matt-Pro

    I'm not saying this person should just keep the money, obviously. BUT. They could send an email to a few people — maybe to like 3 or 5 people, so that there's not one specific person who will feel pressured to respond — and they could just simply ask what to do about it. State that they were paid this, and that they have the capacity to work within that, or to move on to another project. It's possible that they'd let them keep this as a rainy day fund or something, while paying them to work on a seperate project entirely. But it seems likely that they'll just have to work through hours until they've used up all of that nice little "bonus" they were given. 

  • wokkelz010 I would take the honest route, just tell his manager of whatever. If they find out later and you kept it to yourself you can lose the client.
    via wokkelz010

  • Here's the update, and it's great!

    EDIT: Thanks everyone for your thoughts. I came clean to my clients replacement.
    via rustybindings
  • She really didn't seem to give a sh. LOL. To those of said I committed fraud, I thank you. In retrospect I shouldnt
    via rustybindings
  • have done this. Even if it's "done all the time" and the client wanted it.
    via rustybindings
  • Freelancer considers options of what to do with a $7k budget they didn't plan for.
    via Look Studios

    Freelancer considers options of what to do with a $7k budget they didn't plan for.

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

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