I an looking for some advice please

I have landed a large job from my client which involves internet research of approx 900 entries on a spreadsheet.

Now my dilemma is that I do not know whether to charge this hourly or charge it at a project rate. I am worried that hourly may mean I potentially don't make as much money if I am quick at it, whereas if I charge a project rate and then it takes me a lot longer than anticipated, I will not have charged enough.

In addition, if I can not find the info I need from the net, then I will have to call the person on the spreadsheet. This means I will also need to charge for my phone calls.

I do not know how many calls I will have to make or the duration of them, so am finding I am in a muddle as to how best to charge for this work.

Has anyone got any advice they can offer please?

__________________
Tracy
Eternal VA

Tracy,

This is a common question asked here on VAF. If you keyword 'hourly or project' and 'what to charge' in the search area you will find prior threads to review in the category in which you posted Rates and Billing.

I always say that if you don't know if the project is 'cut and dry' then you will need to run a test and see how long it takes you to do a few within say, 10 or 15 minutes and then determine what you want to make Xs the time it took you to perform the work. This would be your project fee.

Clients see value in flat-fee projects so if you can quote a project rate, then I suggest you do so.

If you feel that the project is not 'cut and dry' as you say and will require phone calls, then you can charge hourly for the extra items in addition to the project fee.

So my best answer is to quote the project for the spreadsheet work and then quote hourly for the extra work such as phone calls and research.

The important thing is to be clear about what you will do for the flat fee work and to list what the hourly work will be as well.

You don't want to present a time sheet or a synopsis of the work if there are surprise tasks you had to perform that the client didn't know about in advance.


Janine

__________________
Need clients? Use RFP20 @ VAF store checkout for 20% off The RFP Transformation!

Thank you Janine for replying so quickly.

I hadn't thought about using both options - you've definitely given me food for thought.

__________________
Tracy
Eternal VA

That's very good advice Janine. I'm sure there are many who have never thought of charging this way (me included!), something I'll bear in mind when quoting for difficult projects in future.

__________________
Sabrina L. Williams
Your Property and Admin Needs Made Simple

I absolutely agree with Janine. The trick is to always let your client know in advance what things you may encounter while in the project. Things just go better when you know what to expect!

__________________
Cynthia from OutsourceFactor.com

Originally Posted by Your Virtual Wizard

The important thing is to be clear about what you will do for the flat fee work and to list what the hourly work will be as well. Janine

I hadn't given any thought to do different types of rates for one client/project. I think this is a great suggestion, and it goes in my policies as a to do item.

I agree with Janine, too. When it comes to research and phone call, there are just too many variables. Although, I have heard of examples when phone calls are quoted as a project but the price is that much higher to give you a buffer (for example, if you need to call back, call someone else, spend longer than intended on a call, etc...)

__________________
Sara ~
To Your Success, Expansion, & Peace of Mind

Thanks everyone, and I'm so glad I asked this question now as it's helping others too.

I am speaking to my client tomorrow to discuss costings.

__________________
Tracy
Eternal VA

Janine, your advice is great food for thought I have been giving a lot of thought as to whether or not I will charge per hour or per project. I agree that clients will see value in paying by the project and having an estimate up front. Like externalva, I have been stuck wondering how to give an estimate not knowing how long the project will take. I really like the suggestion of quoting the project price and then charging hourly rates for phone calls and emails because inevitably you will have the client who runs up time with phone calls and emails. Any suggestions on how you would present this when describing rates on your website?

Dawn,

I would suggest the you have project rates on your site for certain services. Each project will be custom quoted. When you quote that project which may include extra items that could be considered 'unknown factors' let the client know at that time they will be charged hourly for those items.

I would keep the site rate page simple.

Does that answer your question?

Janine

__________________
Need clients? Use RFP20 @ VAF store checkout for 20% off The RFP Transformation!