[Hidden-tech] Billable hours question

[Jeanne Yocum]

Hi, Anne,

I had to smile when I got to the part of your e-mail that said this client
is already getting a break on your for-profit  hourly rate.  Why doesn't it
surprise me that someone you already gave a break to is now complaining? I
assume she knows you've given her a reduced rate and she therefore thinks
she can push you around some more.

This is what comes from being a nice person; some people will use it against
you and try to take advantage. Don't let them. Instead of lowering your
rate, find a way to cut the work so that what you do fits their budget.  In
other words, if someone says "I can't afford this budget," ask them what
part of the work they'd prefer to do themselves.  In your line of work that
might not work as easily as it does in my line of work.  But it gets their
attention and often they'll just agree to the budget.


I would argue that charging by 1/4 hour segments is a bit much, although I
know there are fields where this is the norm.  In my field, public
relations, everyone I know breaks the hour into six minute segments and
charges time that way.  So, for instance, if I'm on the phone with a client
for 5 minutes, I charge .1 hour ; whereas you would be charging .25 hour
using your method. 

As for the complaint your client had re: CSS-related incompatibilities,
that's MUCH too far above my pay grade technically to comment.  But I will
bet that  it's probably too far above the client's  technical understanding
as well,  meaning that I doubt she has any idea of the work involved and is
just looking for something to complain about since she is hoping to get you
to cut your bill down.  Remind her that she is already getting a bargain
because you lowered your hourly rate for her.

Hope this is helpful.

Jeanne Yocum



> From: Anne Campbell <annebcampbell at yahoo.com>
> Date: Tue, 7 Mar 2006 11:28:17 -0800 (PST)
> To: Hidden Tech <Hidden-discuss at lists.hidden-tech.net>
> Subject: [Hidden-tech] Billable hours question
> 
> 
> Hi all,
> 
> One of my clients has recently raised a question about what activities are
> billable. I'm a Web designer, and I pride myself on my honesty in billing (I
> don't dawdle or pad my hours). I'd love to have some feedback about what's
> fair
> to charge for.
> 
> When I'm working on an hourly basis rather than a flat per-project rate, I
> bill
> for time spent: discussing plans for the design (whether on the phone, in
> person, or by e-mail); creating and revising the comp; creating the graphics;
> coding the HTML and CSS; debugging so the site looks good in all browsers;
> uploading files; and all the project-related correspondence that happens along
> the way. 
> 
> I *don't* bill for time spent generating invoices or contracts, or
> correspondence about same. If a client and I are friendly and spend ten
> minutes
> chatting about what we did over the weekend, of course I don't bill for that.
> If I make an obvious, careless mistake that's my fault, I usually don't bill
> for the time it takes to fix it.
> 
> This particular client was concerned because on a recent project, there were a
> lot of CSS-related incompatibilities between browsers, which took time to
> unravel. She thought the "time spent correcting things that really ought to
> have been part of the original work, designing for a variety of browsers and
> screens" was unreasonable. She also believes that if I "answer the odd
> e-mail,"
> that should not be a billable activity.
> 
> I certainly don't want to cheat this client, or any client. If it were you,
> what would you do in this situation?
> 
> BTW, my work is pro-rated by the quarter-hour. This client is a small
> for-profit company but is paying the hourly rate I normally charge nonprofit
> organizations. 
> 
> Thanks very much for any feedback!