Hi all,

I apologize if this has already been posted. I thought it would be interesting to see how all of you prefer to bill your clients or if starting out, how you feel about it.

I currently bill by the hour and had never considered a retainer or flat fee. I have read different opinions on all three. As I expand my business into unfamiliar territory (clientwise), of course, I don't want a bookkeeping nightmare for my business, so, I am open to suggestions of the simplest way. I can see where an hourly rate might be okay, but would like input from others here and maybe some war stories of client feedback.

Thanks!

Wanda~

When I started my practice, I offered a 10-hour retainer rate and a Pay As You Go (PAYG) hourly rate which was slightly higher. I soon learned that those who were unwilling to commit to a retainer, also had difficulty with delegation, and that fewer than 10 hours didn't enable me to really get to know their business and enter into meaningful collaboration with them, so I discontinued it. I now only offer a 10 hour minimum.

I suggest doing what you are doing - researching - and then determine what will work best for you. What is best today, might not be best next year and there is no reason you can't change as your business evolves.

Warmly,

Lorri

Since I provide bookkeeping services, it made the most sense (IMO) to bill in 15-minute increments. Because I don't track the "little stuff" like 2-3 minute phone calls, reading client emails, etc. I figure it works out in the long run.

I also offer pre-paid blocks of time in 5 hour increments at a 5% discount.

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Lily Chambers, The Virtual Office Goddess, LLC
Author "How to Do Your Own Small Business Bookkeeping"

I voted hourly but I think there should be a combo option because I plan to offer all three. I think it depends on the services you offer and your clients.

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Amanda Moore
Virtual Assistant
VagabondetteVA Blog

I am starting out, and I have decided to do a flat fee (for all services) billed in hourly incrementals (increasing every 15 mins after the first hour).

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Julia Neal ...because we ♥ admin!
http://julianeal.wordpress.com

I do monthly retainers, mostly. I only have 1 client on PAYG right now and I bill her every other Friday (her preference).

I also do the monthlies on date-to-date, i.e., if they sign up on the 12th of a month, then their renewal date is the 12th of the next month, and so on. It saves having to deal with pro-rating fees, etc. Plus - it gives me income all month long since I have two on the 8th of the month, one on the 14th, another on the 22nd and one on the 27th. Husband gets paid every week and then I have one client on PAYG and one project client that's been really giving a lot of work lately.

I currently have PAYG and retainer rates. but I like your idea, Dana of billing monthly from their sighup date and thus having income all month long.

Originally Posted by VagabondetteVA

I voted hourly but I think there should be a combo option because I plan to offer all three. I think it depends on the services you offer and your clients.

I do too (at least hourly and retainer options) but I think the question was "which do you prefer". I think that I would prefer to have retainer clients because the income would feel much more stable (at least that is my theory...lol)

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Stephanie
New VA in the research phase :daisy:

I started out offering all three but like things simple so only work with people on retainer basis now.

Emma

I like the idea of all three, while retainer would be my preference, I don't want to limit myself to only one method. While starting out, I'll probably do all three to feel out the client preference. Being in "Collections" for so many years, I want to avoid the "collection" headache that can come with pay as you go, however it also seems that the client would be more comfortable, at least in the beginning of the relationship to pay for services at the time of occurance. But that's just my 3 cents.