Need Advice on How to Charge for Contract Work

I just got an offer to do contract work for a woman who owns her own consulting business (non-technology related). We've worked together before, and I would love to do this on the side after my full-time job is no more (end of this week...YAY!). I'll be in school full time and just want some part-time stuff anyway, so this is perfect.

Here's the kind of stuff she'll want:

• Troubleshooting system problems, maybe doing repairs if needed or at the least, suggesting what action to take
• Assistance with software installation and upgrades
• System maintenance and backups
• Tech support and low-level training for MS-Office applications (like "How do I do such-and-such in Word?" "Should I use a spreadsheet or a database to track such-and-such information?" "Why isn't my document saving properly?"...those kinds of things)
• Possibly designing MS-Access databases or Excel spreadsheets for her to use for her business
• Other miscellaneous stuff as needed, basically I'll be her all-purpose computer chick

My only problem is not having a clue how to bill for my services or how much. I assume database design would be billed at a higher rate than the other services. I also assume the only way to do this correctly would be to bill by the hour. Other than that, I don't know anything. Do any of you folks doing this stuff on your own have any words of wisdom for me?

It would be nice, too, to hear how much you charge for such services, especially if there are any people from my neck of the woods out there (North Carolina).

EW, as far as price I wouldnt have a clue. I have done this type of work before and just received a "Here this is for your trouble" type check. It was a nice size check for the amount of work that I have done. As far as doing it for a certain amount, sorry. but hey ya need any help?? Probably not, but it was worh a shot....hehe

The best bet would be to talk it over with the client and see what she feels would be a reasonable price for your services. It would depend a lot on the frequency of your visits and the difficulty of the work being performed, but I would probably suggest a flat hourly rate of say $25-45/hr, with a minimum charge of $40-60 per visit.

Myself, I charge $45.00/hr. - one hour minimum. Same for repairs but, parts are additional.

For straight hardware installation, I usually figure the hardware cost and add 33% for labor.

The flat hourly rate is a great idea. You can negotiate it out with the client and that way there is no miscommunication regarding what they will pay. I agree that you should also have a flat minimum charge. It should at least cover you for the first hour of labor. Otherwise they'll be calling you out to add paper to the printers.........hehe. :D

WOW! You guys are cheap! I guess it depends on the area. I'm in SC (not a big city either), I charge residential users $50 per hour, $75 minimum per on-site visit. Business users I charge $75 per hour (Still $75 minimum) for Networking & I occasionally give them the $50 rate for non-network (easier)issues. I give customers a break on the hourly rate if they pre-purchase a "block" of time (usually 10 hours). I am cheaper than my competitors. The local phone Company has a "Technology Services Group" that charges $125 per hour to businesses for Network Services.

Database design would be over $100 per hour, or bid by the project.

Don't sell yourself short, but discuss this with the person you want to do business with. 33% mark-up on hardware + installation is fairly standard for upgrades, etc.

Find out what your competition is charging & their experience\skill level & charge accordingly.

great advice and forms on consulting are at www.techrepublic.com register and view the search for consulting look uder the pdf files for consulting info also.
Have a great day and good luck to you!

It would have to depend on how fast you work but anywhere from $50 to $100/hour depending on what your doing. Don't go lower, you'll thank yourself in the long run.

I can tell you this, when I raised my rates from 40.00 per hour to 65.00 per hour , my buisness almost doubled. If you charge cheap, alot of buisness people think you are 2nd rate service and won't hire you. I stay away from non buisness clients, they really aren't worth it to me.

First: What does your competition charge?

Second: Database design should NOT be billed on an hourly basis, designing a database is a project - useless if not completed, bid it as a job with 50% up front and the remainer when the job is completed. That way you customer does not have to feel like you are padding the database with extra hours, and you can charge what the product is worth. Plus, that is how a standard project should be billed.

Third: Try to find out what baseline hourly rate is in your area for the type of service that you provide and work within 10% of that, with a mandatory minimum that will cover travel time (I used to do a two hour minimum, and that covered my travel time, so that I was not wasting my trip time to flip a switch, but my customer got the full use of their money, if they opted to.)

Also I have found that a retainer/"service pack" is a very useful thing - allowing your customer to prepay for a set ammount of time and giving them other advantages for doing so (proiority service, discounted rate, 70 min hour, etc...) allows you to quickly build a solid customer base, as clients who buy those types of agreements usually have steady work, and know the value of loyalty.

Also - do not mess with individuals - they always complain about your rate, want the work done on their schedule and are never satisfied. Corporate/Business accounts are the way to go.

Thanks so much to all of you! This was even more helpful than I thought it would be. I'll keep checking back for more...

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Originally posted by Tiger:
I can tell you this, when I raised my rates from 40.00 per hour to 65.00 per hour , my buisness almost doubled. If you charge cheap, alot of buisness people think you are 2nd rate service and won't hire you. I stay away from non buisness clients, they really aren't worth it to me.

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Very comon people Only think something is as good as what they pay for it. If you buy a Kia you dont expect to get alexus on the other hand even if it was jsut as good a lexus perosn would still never buy it. Here is what i was taught a long time ago. Anything for free is worth just that NOTHING. If they pay more than someone else charges and they are happy with the service that is all that matters. I charge more than alot of people but you get what you pay for. And Alway cover your A$$ if you unsure about something overbid it. That way you will have some room to work with and people are always happy when you tell them its less than qouted instead of more than qouted. X

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Originally posted by Tiger:
I can tell you this, when I raised my rates from 40.00 per hour to 65.00 per hour , my buisness almost doubled. If you charge cheap, alot of buisness people think you are 2nd rate service and won't hire you. I stay away from non buisness clients, they really aren't worth it to me.

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This is very true. At first, my company lost a lot of major bids because we just seemed "too cheap" and came across as some seedy whole in the wall company.

Renee, the question here is what do you FEEL your time is worth? What do other similar businesses charge? I've done some work in the Shelby/Charolette area (which is close to you, right?) and they were charging anywhere from $70-90 per hour.

Personally, I'd ask for $30 per hour, and a case of beer. :) But you might want to think about charging at least $45-60 per hour without the beer.

And I agree that database/spreadsheats shouldn't be charged on any hourly rate. Either do a flat rate based on the complexity of the database, or charge on a per line basis.

Good luck!

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Originally posted by Tiger:
I can tell you this, when I raised my rates from 40.00 per hour to 65.00 per hour , my buisness almost doubled. If you charge cheap, alot of buisness people think you are 2nd rate service and won't hire you. I stay away from non buisness clients, they really aren't worth it to me.

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This is a VERY good point. You have to balance "too expensive" with "too cheap". There will always be the "bargin hunters" out there, however you really don't want to do business with them. Focus efforts on small business, and provide reliable honest service at a competitive price. Typically I have found that "competitive" runs in the $65 to $80 per hour range for basic, non-networking repair onsite.

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Originally posted by CobraTekMax:
Personally, I'd ask for $30 per hour, and a case of beer. :)

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That would mean for every hour you worked, you would get a case of beer. So you can drink a case of beer in an hour. Then how do you get any work done after drinking all that beer? j/k