Wiki Fees

asterling

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What is a fair fee to charge for consulting work? What if an hourly project turns into a week or 2 week project? Please help.
 
You really do need to try to figure out what your time is worth. Here are some tips:

You shouldn't just arbitrarily pick a fee that you think is the going rate for this industry. You shouldn't set your fee without justification.

Your reputation, experience and the recognition of your name in the industry should be considered. If you are new, you can't rely upon these factors.

Be sure to itemize your expenses and overhead. Overhead would be everything from software, code books, utilities, internet access, printing, legal and accounting fees, credit card fees, office equipment, etc. Once you have your overhead figured, you can add that to the income you actually need to make as a starting point, plus a 10% or 20% profit (this is something your bookkeeper may be able to help you decide on).


You can always offer a 3 part proposal - a Cadillac plan that includes all the bells and whistles, a bare bones plan that meets basic needs and then something in-between. You may need to provide an initial hourly quote with the option to re-evaluate if it turns into a larger project. You may even want to stipulate that if you work up to X number of hours, you have the option to re-evaluate your fees based on the needs of the job.

Don't sell yourself short and don't under price or low-ball just to get the job. If you do, you likely won't be happy with the situation and both you and your client must be happy in order for both of you to feel like your getting value from the relationship. You wouldn't want to feel like the provider is taking advantage of you and you wouldn't want them to feel that way either. If it isn't good for you, it isn't good for the provider either. Try to negotiate a good fit for both of you.

Don't just be happy they called you, ask the provider what their budget allows for and explain how you arrived at your fees.

If you provide a half day of services, you may want to charge 3/4 of your daily rate since your day is pretty much shot already.

I hope some of this information helps you.

 
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