Short answer: Contact your client ASAP so that they can plan accordingly. Once the guaranteed delivery date passes, you may be penalized. If you have an extenuating circumstance, you may propose to extend the deadline with the client by following these steps:
Please feel free to request a change to the guaranteed delivery date directly from the commission located in the artist dashboard. You can do this from the "Request revision" dropdown on the proposal. The client will be notified to approve the new date, and if they don't respond, the change will be auto-approved within five days.
Some things to note before sending the deadline extension request
If you anticipate possible delays to your delivery, please keep your clients updated so they can plan accordingly and try to be as accommodating as possible.
Clients will almost certainly be more upset if you delay without any updates vs being forthcoming. The sooner you let them know, the better.
So, with this being said, sending a deadline extension request without any context could make the client feel insulted or simply confused.
Possible penalties
Once your guaranteed delivery date passes:
- Clients will have the option to cancel their commission without any penalty: this means that they will get a full refund, and any unreturned fees will be charged to you
- Your "Delivery date accuracy" stat will be negatively impacted
- Your client may also leave a negative review
- Any artist with 3 or more overdue comms will now have all services force-shut + removed from discovery until they have no more overdue comms on their account
Extenuating circumstances cause the guaranteed deadline to be missed
We strive to be fair to both artists and clients, and we understand that things outside your control sometimes happen.
If you have an extenuating situation - i.e. health, safety, loss, personal issue - and have maintained proactive communication with your client to inform them about delays as early as possible, please create a support ticket, and we'll evaluate to adjust penalties accordingly.