Virtual Assistant Forums | Work from Home

PeppyM · #1 (**permalink**) 10-20-2011

This short article generally reflects the opinions of the authors of The Wealthy Freelancer. I found it to be very interesting and worthy of consideration for any freelancer.

http://mirificampress.com/permalink/...ge_by_the_hour

Girl Monday · #2 (**permalink**) 10-20-2011

Great article, Peppy! Thanks for sharing! It sounds like the writer is a web designer, and for anything that requires design or research, I completely agree that hourly is not the way to go.

Malaika · #3 (**permalink**) 10-20-2011

Thank you for this..it's an awesome link. It really puts things into perspective about flat rate billing.

Office Goddess · #4 (**permalink**) 10-20-2011

I DO think it depends on the type of service and the client, too. I offer both hourly rate and package rates for bookkeeping and the majority of my prospects and clients prefer the hourly.

Tess · #5 (**permalink**) 10-21-2011

I have to agree with Lily that sometimes hourly makes sense, it depends on the project. We still bill two of our biggest clients on an hourly basis for the most part. But I do favor billing by the project when applicable.

I think if you're working on something that has a lot of variables it can make sense to charge hourly, to ensure you're not underbilling or overcharging (for instance a third-party WordPress theme that might not be coded very well, or some similar type of project). But for things like writing press releases, or blog posts, or designing a website with a specific scope it makes perfect sense to create a package price.

And just in case you're interested Peppy, we had an event here on VAF with one of the authors of The Wealthy Freelancer, it was about defining your ideal client. You can listen to that here.

nessa · #6 (**permalink**) 10-25-2011

It's a good article. But for me I think it depends on the type of services you are offering. but yes, I could definitely see how the hourly rate could turn a client off, especially when they're not exactly sure how long it may take for their project.

Williams · #7 (**permalink**) 10-25-2011

Thanks for sharing this article! Good information on billing when building websites!

RhondaHolscher · #8 (**permalink**) 10-26-2011

I have clients who only want hourly, and the problem I have is they want me to step in and take on more work. Then I do the more work and they get their invoice and all of sudden they have no work for whatever their excuse. It's very frustrating. I have one client in particular who does this sort of thing in cycles and it drives me nuts. I can't bank on an income and she has to go with out support for a few weeks at a time. It's insane. How do I convince her to set a budget for my services and work from that so we are both getting the best outcome?

Office Goddess · #9 (**permalink**) 10-26-2011

Originally Posted by RhondaHolscher

I have clients who only want hourly, and the problem I have is they want me to step in and take on more work. Then I do the more work and they get their invoice and all of sudden they have no work for whatever their excuse. It's very frustrating. I have one client in particular who does this sort of thing in cycles and it drives me nuts. I can't bank on an income and she has to go with out support for a few weeks at a time. It's insane. How do I convince her to set a budget for my services and work from that so we are both getting the best outcome?

I would try making a 'comparison chart' by the week of how many hours she has used and suggest that a flat-rate budget would help HER to smooth out the ups and downs and keep her business flowing more smoothly.