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Charging for Your Services

by Ami.McCain
12 replies
I have a friend who works as a professional graphic designer, but she specializes in print media and doesn't do anything web based. I would not consider myself a designer or programmer, but after some time in IM, I can manipulate a Wordpress theme every which way.

She recently asked for me to help her with a project that would be relatively simple for me to produce in Wordpress, with the only challenges coming in tweaking the CSS code to her standards.

Here's my question... How would you go about quoting a project like this? Do you charge by hour or by the scale of the project itself? And for future knowledge, if you work with a home based company or a non-profit, it doesn't feel appropriate charging them the same as a business, so how would you scale your quote to better meet their financial needs?
#charging #services #web design
  • Profile picture of the author RentItNow
    Im probably the only one that thinks this is the way to do it but charge by the hour. Quoted jobs just dont work for me because i know you can never truly estimate what something will take for every job. Now consider I used to be an analysis that would estimate multimillion dollar projects with thousands of man hours and would NOT do the same for a small client. There are just too many unknowns to stay in business. My opinion tho and i am sure others will say quote job.

    Sorry i missed your second question. A non-profit is still a business. Do not go out of business because of low rates.
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    I have no agenda but to help those in the same situation. This I feel will pay the bills.
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  • Profile picture of the author pethanks
    She has a great talent but of course for work she you make a deal with her employer. . She has to charge a fair rate.
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  • Profile picture of the author chennaibeatz
    I hope you can quote a nominal rate, as the task is easy for you to complete.
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  • Profile picture of the author CyberSorcerer
    Personally I quote, ALL my new clients, jobs by the hour.

    This is because once the job starts, most clients will start adding things, changing things, believe they have unlimited revisions, etc, etc.

    It's not until I get to know a client and they become a steady customer that I start quoting by the project. Quoting by the project, without having all the proper clauses in place to protect you from clients that love to take advantage of you, can really cause you, and your business, a very big headache and sometimes legal problems.
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    • Profile picture of the author Michael Shook
      I quote new jobs when I take them (not too often) by the hour. Especially with something new or a brand new start up you will never know if there are going to be any follow on projects. And if there are, you can give a price break there if you wnat as a customer loyalty discount.

      It kind of sounds like you are looking at this from a consumer viewpoint instead of a business owner viewpoint. I don't know that, it just kind of sounds that way.

      Non-profits are non-profits. It doesn't mean they don't make money and can spend it on things they need.

      But that is just me, I am also the guy who has a specil "friends and family" rate that is always way more than for people I don't know. If they want to pay it, I know they are serious, and it keeps them from coming over for a cup of sugar and to pick my brain for an hour or two or three when I need to be working.
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  • Profile picture of the author iAmNameLess
    Quote by the project with an estimated time of delivery, how many hours it will take yo, and if you go over, then charge an extra fee.
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    • Profile picture of the author Chris The Traffic Blogger
      Create a free example layout of what you would do with the website and work with her beforehand on agreeing upon what you will do.

      Revisions always happen, but this will eliminate most of them and make your job so much easier (in terms of time spent and ability to predict time spent).
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  • Profile picture of the author Michael Oksa
    I'm going to take a slightly different approach than those who said you should charge the same amount...

    I would suggest offering a 10% discount to non-profits (or any other group you wish to target). Make this very clear. With any luck, word of your gracious discount will spread, and you will soon have as much work as you can handle.

    You can always set your regular rates in a way that will still give you a large enough bottom line.

    All the best,
    Michael
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  • Profile picture of the author RaptorGabe
    When I was doing graphic and web design I started out doing by the project...and just about jumped off a bridge . The reason is because clients WILL take advantage unless you put in incredibly strict guidelines on your work order. AKA I switched quickly to charging by the hour. A good rule of thumb: take the project, estimate total hours you will need, figure a PROJECT price, then divide by the total hours and you have your hourly rate. This way she won't get ripped off and you will still be able to look at yourself in the mirror in the morning . DO NOT BE AFRAID TO CHARGE WHAT YOU ARE WORTH!!! Biggest mistake I see people make.
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  • Profile picture of the author Cash Money Hosting
    And for future knowledge, if you work with a home based company or a non-profit, it doesn't feel appropriate charging them the same as a business, so how would you scale your quote to better meet their financial needs?
    Non profits still pay saleries to their employees / board members, some pay even higher than a profit company.

    Non Profit does not mean no one gets paid. A non profit just has to spend their funds in a way where the business does not show in the black.
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  • Profile picture of the author Louise M.
    agreed. I build websites and I charge by the hour too and like CyberSorcerer I quote by the project with long time customers.
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  • Profile picture of the author dremora
    I charge per project and offer different pricing packages. If they want additional pages, additional plugins, social media integration etc that is extra.

    If you make a very solid list of what's included in the project package, you will be fine. If the client finds out they will need constant updates and maintenance, then I sign them up for monthly maintenance deal.
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