Hi,
As I'm trying to put things into perspective for my business I am trying to figure out the billing process. First of all I know there was a thread recently about somone who wanted to reduce their hourly rate to gain more clients. During my reseasrch I came across an article that mentioned you should try not to start off with a low rate, instead come up with a rate that you think is suitable to your skills and services you offer. Because starting out low will only attract clients who want more for less and it will also deter good potential clients who go with the "you get what you paid for" theory. That being said..what are your thoughts/suggestions?

Also, I understand that alot of VA's take a 50% deposit prior to starting any work. I am going to offer services such as typing, mail merges, editing etc at an hourly rate and then graphic design stuff on a project basis. So if it's based on a project I understand taking a deposit, but if it's an hourly rate how do you go about securing a deposit if you don't know how long you will actually spend on the project?

Sorry for the long post but hope I can get some tips/advise.

~Malaika

Hi Malaika,
I require all new hourly clients to pay a $XXX deposit when they sign their contract. The deposit is held against six months of regularly paid invoices. That way, if something should happen and they default on a payment, I'm covered at least to some degree. It hasn't happened to me in a *long* time (thank goodness) because I've gotten very picky about who I work with but the deposit has saved me having to chase down money owed on at least twice.

After the client has built up good credit with me by paying their invoices on time and in full I return the deposit to them (usually by applying it to the current invoice at that time).

At that point there is a relationship established and I don't worry about taking a deposit unless the client requests a substantial project.

I hope this info helps!

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If you have retainer clients, do you expect a deposit for X number of months in the amount of $xx.xx upon signing of the contract for all clients or just new ones?

Thanks!

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A L Camien
Manager Member

Thanks for the info Tess, it does help.

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Malaika Nallawangsa
Quick Works | Virtual Office Assistant

Most welcome Malaika

@ALCamien - I don't work on retainer, but there are plenty of VAs who do (and some great threads on the topic as well - you can find them via the 'search' feature in the main menu)

As I understand it though, retainer clients pay in advance for the month to come.

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