This sounds appropriate to me. I do not plan to offer a detailed list of activities. I agree that there should be a measure of trust between the client and service provider. After all, we are both professionals.

I have found if someone is asking for a detailed list it might be because they are projecting there behavior onto the service provider.

I really would not want to continue a relationship with someone who questioned my work ethics.

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Carrie Hawk

Sometimes it's not a matter of stopping the clock but switching gears while still working. Some of the programs allow you to print the detail report which I could see why you'd want to at least note each specific task.

I too bill my client for anything directly related to their project or tasks. I don't provide detailed reports to my clients, but do provide a break down should they ask for it. I use Freshbooks for my billing and time tracking, but have recently tried out Toggl for time tracking. It allows me to provide reports for clients should they want it, but I like that it tracks where my time is being spent in a report. I like this especially when I'm working on a flat rate project, because I can then review my profitability against the time spent.

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Renee Shupe, Become a Techie Virtual Assistant
eMail Marketing & Aweber Training Starts May 15! - Save 50% using VAFAweber

I wanted to pop this to the top. In another thread, Janine stated that her contract stipulates time spent on phone calls & responding to emails is billable time. If this is your policy, too, put it in your contract!!

I did not have this in my contract. Honestly, it never occurred to me that anyone would think this time would not be billable!!

I'm now in a situation with a client who thinks these kinds of charges are "the cost of doing business." I pointed out to her, "If I'm like the 'assistant who sits outside your door' then when you call to give me direction or check on status of a project, the clock starts ticking."

We'll see how this all shakes out.

Oh, the things you learn the first six months in business!!

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Lezly Harrison
Laserdog Productions - Code that Doesn't Bite

I did put phonecalls and other office costs in my contract. Since they have to pay for the calls, I assume they'll also expect to pay for the time spent on these calls.

I use Skype phone for all my phonecalls, so it's very easy to track. I do find it a little embarrasing to charge 15 cents for a phonecall since Skype is so cheap, I still do it in order to make it very clear they will have to pay when the phonecalls are longer and more expensive.

I do find it difficult to decide whether to charge or not if for example I make a check-in phonecall to make sure the taxi company will be there in time for the agreed pick-up. But then I think: hey they hired me for the service I deliver, and this is how I do it.

I'm in the very fortunate circumstance that my client has always been used to high-level support. I'll see what happens when I start charging these calls to less demanding clients.

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Hilde
www.vbbassociates.com

I use a time tracking program, even on my package clients. If the client requests detail information, I create a report from my time tracker and send it with the invoice. A few of my clients like this, not because of the trust issue but because they need to see to pass onto their client projects or to see what efforts are getting a ROI and which are not.

As far as phone calls, if it is a general call for clarification or a new process then there is no charge. If it is a weekly conference or brainstorming call then it is billed.

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Lee Drozak
My Office Assistant

I actually just use Excel to log in/out times. I do put a general description of what I did in case they ask. I've never had a client ask me what I did during a specific invoice time. My invoices just cover the type of task I did (administrative services, bookkeeping services, commissions, etc), the date range for the invoice, and the per hour charge (I use QuickBooks). I bill in 15 minute increments and I bill for anything that is directly related to working for/with them.

Dawn

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Dawn Kramer
www.midwestvagroup.com

It's perfectly acceptable for us to bill for ANYTHING we do that relates to their business, otherwise we're working for free and those minutes add up over the long-run, so emails and phone calls count. I find that if they know you are billing for emails and calls, they don't abuse those communications like they sometimes do when they're not billed for them (OMG nightmare client taught me this lesson!) If they know they can email you 25 times a day or keep you on the phone for 30 minutes at no charge, some of them will do exactly that. This is a way of not only ensuring you get paid for every minute of your time but also a way of keeping your client in check.

Hi

Excellent points. I too bill for emails and calls, however, for me not all emails only because it would take me longer to bill for it then to do it. For example, I do a lot of sending clients HARO and Profnet pitches they could pitch. Only takes seconds to send so I normally don't bill. However, when they write back and have me actually pitch the lead that's billable.

I totally agree once clients know that emails are billable they tend to not email a zillion times a day. Also, it cuts back on the clients who ask 20 questions in one email. I had one client who I would actually spend more time on answering their emails, then on the work itself. I had to let them know (very nicely) that we should change that so I could actually work on sending out their press. Now I don't dread their emails so much!

Thanks!

Diana Ennen

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Diana Ennen, www.VirtualWordPublishing.com
Author of Virtual Assistant the Series 4th edition

I itemize all costs of all projects for the client. MyHours.com is fantastic for this (especially now that the reports function is working again). I don't believe it's a matter of trust, as was mentioned earlier. If a client asks for itemization, it could be that different projects are being billed to different accounts/departments within that company - which is the case with my client.

Back to the original question - Yes, I do bill for phone calls and emails. First of all, I don't want to encourage extraneous calling about every little thing. I'd prefer a consolidated phone call or better yet, I'd prefer everything in an email. If a client understands that this time will be billed, then the client will use it wisely - which is to both our advantage.

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Jeanne
NowAssistingYou.com
Virtual Assistant :: Web/Blog Design & Hosting :: Writer