Rates and Billing

Discuss setting rates and find billing resources and information.

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Old 06-01-2007
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Smile Do you charge for phone calls??
Im finding that charging for long distant calls can be tedious... I know, its money!!! But, with soo many little things to remember, I just hate having another... And I know my fee of .25 per minute can add up!!!


So, do you charge for phone calls?????
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Old 06-01-2007
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Yes I do! One of my qualifications is in job costing and that’s how I run my business. Anything that is an additional cost to the job gets added to my job cost sheet and billed out separately on the invoice. Like you said it can add up!

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Old 06-01-2007
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I know.. its just a frustrating one for me!!!
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Old 06-01-2007
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You may want to take a look and compare your frustration with the cost. It may not benefit you in the long run...
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Old 06-01-2007
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Absolutely, we charge for calls - we bill in 15 minute increments so just add it to the invoice like any other regular service.
Since we're out of the country we provide a Stateside number via Skype clients can reach us at - and if a client wants to buy a Skype number local to their own area code they can do so and we just add it to our profile so they can dial us up as if we were right down the street.

I've often had to make calls on behalf of clients to their hosting or ISP companies as well (when we're working on a website) and will bill for time plus the cost of the call.

Just curious, what about it are you finding to be frustrating?
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Old 06-02-2007
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Hi Jackie, also just curious how you decided on your per-minute fees for calls? I've always just billed it as regular time but am interested in how your system is set up - does it work out to more or less than your regular fees? (If you don't mind such a direct question... )
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Old 06-02-2007
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Billing for calls is important! If a client thinks they can call you up (or ask you to call them) without getting charged for it imagine how much time you'll spend on the phone - not getting any work done and not making any money!
I understand needing to set a rate for long distance but what about using Skype for that kind of thing? That way you know exactly how much the call cost (just take a balance reading)
I really like VirtualAdministration's idea of offering clients the chance to buy a number local to them, and Skype has numbers in many countries so that would work well if you had someone in Canada or the UK as well.

I bill for everything that takes my time to go toward a client's own business growth. That includes answering emails too, even if it's just brainstorming with a client. My 'smarts' are what they're paying me to have access to in the first place

Tami I'd be interested to know, since you have some experience in this area of billables and cost, how do you go about determining a fair rate for this kind of thing? Is it based on the actual cost plus time or...?
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Old 06-02-2007
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I also bill out time spent in 15 minute increments and then a separate line item for the long distance at cost.

Even though I've been in business for awhile now, I've been using my cell phone. All I have to do is go on-line to view my charges and then bill out the cost accordingly. However thanks to this forum, I am looking into setting up Skype!
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Old 06-02-2007
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Skype is great for this situation in particular - it costs $12 for three months at a time and I can have up to 10 numbers on my account - so I've got one for my parents (of course) and the other nine can go to clients.
You can even choose the number - based on area code, so virtually no matter where your client is (even if they're in Denmark!) you can set up a number that costs them *nothing* to call (aside from the setup charges) and best of all, when you sign up for SkypeIn you get free voicemail so any calls missed go to your message center.

And you can set it to forward to your cel as well when you're offline or on another call.
Truly one of the single best investments we've made, and it's pennies on the dollar to dial long distance (1-800s are free as usual, even from where I am on the planet )
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Old 06-02-2007
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wow...trying to rememember everything I wanted to discuss!! Ok, first, I bill .25 per minute, just because it seemed easy at the time I did it. But I have one client, I seem to be making calls for a lot, and I am just wondering if theres an easier way. I hope(
(sigh).
Why is it frustrating? Don't we all have a particular thing that just irritates us or is a chore to do.. I've found trying to go over the calls. But, I do it cause it does add up!! Just one of those things!
I charge for any time I am working on the behalf of my clients...emails, phone calls, anything..

This week I had to travel to Home Depot and Lowe's---I charged the time I was out, mileage, and gas. Everything counts..
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