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The questions is simple. I am outsourcing a project which I cannot handle. And I am taking percentage on every hour my contractor worked. I am closely monitoring this project and do all project management thing which sometimes take 1 hour a day, and sometimes 3 hours.

Shall I count these management work hours into the project timesheet or not (since I already take percentage)?

At this moment, I am not counting my work but only track hours the contractor spends. My friends tell me that I should charge my time as well.

2 Answers 2

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I would say yes. bringing more people on to a project always creates more work, and I don't see any reason you shouldn't bill for that work.

EDIT: from Peter's comment below, and to expand on this thought a bit more.

I'm saying this assuming that since you are outsourcing, you are interfacing with the client directly. And by that mean handling all invoicing and financial matters along with most if not all client communication. That would also mean that you are paying the outsourced person directly.

If this is the case, then the subcontractor's client is you , not your client. That means, among other things, that you are responsible for his pay, not your client (even though your client is indirectly helping you cover that). In that case, the percentage you take off the top is your fee for handling the client relationship and assuming all the financial risk and responsibility that comes along with that.

Having said that, your management tasks for the project, (which I'm assuming is mostly communication between you and the client and you and the subcontractor) is a service that you are providing your client. And as such, I will bill it in the same manner as you bill any other services to said client.

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  • The thing is that I already take a share of any our contractors spend on this project. Still thinking the same?
    – Peter MV
    Nov 20, 2013 at 19:04
  • @PeterMV short answer: Yes. long answer: I edited the answer above to explain my reasoning in more detail.
    – GSto
    Nov 20, 2013 at 19:32
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    Hi GSto, the expanded form of your answer is exactly what we're looking for in terms of answer quality. Without detailed explanations such as what you provided, we're just random people on the Internet making broad claims. +1 :D and welcome to Freelancing SE!
    – jmort253
    Nov 21, 2013 at 15:12
  • @jmort253 you're right, I should have wrote that to begin with. You'd think I'd know better as long as I've been on SE sites :)
    – GSto
    Nov 21, 2013 at 15:59
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Even i outsource my projects on which i can not provide much dedication and time. I also take all the fees including Management hours therefore it is actually fair if you deduct the fees for your management hours too.

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  • Hello Ballu, we're looking for answers that explain why and how. Can you possibly edit and expand on this?
    – jmort253
    Dec 6, 2013 at 8:12

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