14
votes
Which is the most honest or ethical way to bill, hourly or fixed price?
Unethical people can be unethical completely regardless of any payment structure.
Pricing high does not instantly make someone unethical. Perhaps that price for the three week project is accurate ...
- 17.3k
11
votes
Accepted
Starting out, how much to charge for development, hosting and maintenance?
You're pricing yourself into the ground. @ChrisForrence has great points and I'll add a few more...
You will NEVER and I repeat NEVER profit from charging $350 for a site. Let's break this down from ...
- 746
10
votes
Quotation not favorable (against me) to write software features
When a client asks you for fixed-price, in essence the client is asking you to absorb the risk. Unless your specs are done in mind boggling detail, the client is going to assume that anything caused ...
- 5,304
8
votes
Starting out, how much to charge for development, hosting and maintenance?
Your friend has good reasoning. Here's a few reasons why charging more will be better for you:
Slow periods: One reason to charge more is to be able to live off of past earnings. If you have four ...
- 1,617
7
votes
Quotation not favorable (against me) to write software features
Go hourly whenever you can. It will solve all these issues.
Then clients do want fixed-price projects and in such cases do a few things:
Add MAX number of changes you will undertake for free in ...
- 14.2k
7
votes
Which is the most honest or ethical way to bill, hourly or fixed price?
I have used both hourly billing and flat fee billing. I used to always favour hourly billing on the basis that I felt it was more ethical, but soon changed my mind about this.
The main reason for my ...
- 377
6
votes
Quotation not favorable (against me) to write software features
As Entrepreneur I cannot see the value to pay per hour.
It is exactly the opposite metric - I am interested in the work done with minimum hours spent. And freelancer paid by hours is incentivised ...
- 241
6
votes
Which is the most honest or ethical way to bill, hourly or fixed price?
Short version: the easiest way to bill ethically, is to match what you're selling.
Longer version: My product is very clearly my time. Clients hire me to build custom web applications, and many ...
- 2,030
6
votes
Complicated situation with client and a never ending project
Why do you allow being treated like this? "Calling me every 2h and messaging every 15min + threatening" - WFT bro????
I would never, NEVER, N E V E R allow being treated like this.
Now, aside of ...
- 14.2k
5
votes
Accepted
How to deal with a client who calls a lot?
I hate and decline all project instructions over call as well. I simply tell them something like "In a call, we can discuss plans and ideas at the very high level. However, if you need to explain any ...
- 14.2k
5
votes
Accepted
How much can a specialized software engineer really make as a consultant/independent contractor?
Only answer you can get to this question is it depends what you can offer and how much this is worth to someone:
There was an engineer who had an exceptional gift for fixing all things mechanical. ...
- 66
5
votes
Being asked to sign a NDA for a very short-term project with tiny scope, should I?
I don't understand why you would even hesitate to sign an NDA unless you didn't intend to keep the IP secret. If someone needs 5 minutes of work done and they want to ensure their IP is protected, an ...
- 17.3k
5
votes
Fixed price development days contract
You'll want a sort of retainer agreement. There are other answers that explain about retainers, and when to use them.
Essentially, they want you available for a long while, which gives you some ...
- 6,793
5
votes
Accepted
Quoting a project with an open budget
Here are the factors I use when determining a fixed price for clients:
My estimated time to complete the work
My confidence level in that estimate (is it similar to work I've done before? Then I ...
- 3,815
4
votes
Quotation not favorable (against me) to write software features
My own policy is to do fixed price offers based on sufficiently detailed specifications, and announce an hourly rate for extras. When I feel the need, I also explicitly state what is not included in ...
- 1,032
4
votes
What should I look at to determine whether or not I should charge by the hour or by fixed price?
Here is my Entrepreneur/Employer's perspective:
If you don't know well your client, your first goal is to build relationship of trust. In my view, the best way is to fix price a small job first, that ...
- 241
4
votes
Fixed price or per hour for a web developer?
If you don't know well your client, your first goal is to build relationship of trust. In my view, the best way is to fix price a small job first, that is easy to estimate and deliver on time.
This ...
- 241
4
votes
Client willing to pay more...but I am refusing
Accept the money and keep this client.
The client may recognize that at the beginning, he asked for 10 requirements, but over time he realized that he was really asking for 100. Accordingly, he's ...
- 5,304
4
votes
How feasible is it to work fixed price and parttime for a client as a freelance software developer?
Assuming it's only a small slump, I would look for more clients. You need food on your table, and that's your first priority.
It's good you want to work with your client, as opposed to only for ...
- 6,793
3
votes
How should one convince the client to switch from hourly pay to fixed cost?
There are a few solutions to this dilemma.
1 - If your platform allows it, you can answer to the client without specifying an amount in your answer. This way, you avoid being discarded on price only ...
- 421
3
votes
How to deal with a client who calls a lot?
You state that:
He can't assign tasks in Asana because this is a fixed price project.
and
We use slack for communication.
The very simple answer is to invoice him for the time spent calls, as ...
- 1,886
3
votes
Should I charge extra to a client who was very slow in responding?
I think you should not charge any extra, because there was no mention of max response time in the initial terms of agreement or SLA (Service Level Agreement).
You can take it as a learning and ...
- 131
3
votes
Accepted
How should I write a professional response for more money?
First, If you are a native English speaker, check your grammar. It's pretty bad. If you are not a native English speaker, but deal with native English clients regularly, you may want to have a friend ...
- 17.3k
3
votes
Accepted
Should I discuss price of underestimated fixed price job?
Always and always, in case of miscalculations, talk to the client first. Explain to him why you missed estimations and how you worked much more than you initially thought.
Ask the client if he is ...
- 14.2k
3
votes
Accepted
How to set a project completion deadline for a project that already got extended out?
Communication
If you are friendly with the client, speak to them, expressing the concern. I would not simply provide an ultimatum. That will often be seen as "demanding" and "unfriendly".
Instead ...
- 17.3k
3
votes
Accepted
How to estimate project costs - Mail (Postal) survey?
This is something I've done myself...
First, make sure you've got "letter stuffing" as part of the costs. Some places are happy to print, but won't stuff envelopes. I managed around 4/minute at peak ...
- 1,030
3
votes
Risk assessment of remote assistance project with high expectations
In my experience, the only times I have made money on a fixed price contract were when I had built a solution for that problem already and I only needed to tweak it for a new client. I had to price ...
- 1,067
2
votes
Quoting a project with an open budget
Just to add to Avonelle's topic since you replied you have no experience.
Try to cut the project to the smallest units and then estimate each unit's time for implementation. Add 30% to research and ...
- 14.2k
2
votes
Site hosting and charging a customer
A relevant quote from Contract Killer 3 (a boilerplate contract):
Technical Support
We’re not a website hosting company so we don’t offer support for website hosting, email or other services ...
- 1,617
2
votes
Should I charge extra to a client who was very slow in responding?
If you charge per hour, then charge all time you spent, even checking if he replied.
Unfortunately, there is no fee for slow clients. All you can do it either ditch him and stop working with him or ...
- 14.2k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible