RE: Billable hours versus fixed bidding and flat rates for IBM i developers

I don't do consulting now, but, when I did, there was one customer that I charged a 2 hour minimum for support calls - even if it took only 5 minutes. I did this because they kept calling with stupid questions that could be found by reading the documentation (which I wrote) and expecting me to answer these questions gratis. The president of the company, when I explained the change to him, agreed that it was fair, reasonable, and necessary. He did, however, want these calls itemized; he used it to raise hell back at the office, not at me.

Jerry C. Adams
IBM System i Programmer/Analyst
B&W Wholesale
office: 615-995-7024
email: jerry@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


-----Original Message-----
From: midrange-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:midrange-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Jim Franz
Sent: Sunday, February 01, 2009 2:07 PM
To: Midrange Systems Technical Discussion
Subject: Re: Billable hours versus fixed bidding and flat rates for IBM i developers

As a contractor, you keep instructions, some detailed, some not,
describing how to do the various things you do in the apps you are
responsible for. When the client decides to bring your function in
house, are you ethically responsible to hand over your notes? Esp if
you billed the client for the time it took to write the notes.

yes.. if the customer paid for the time to write the notes, they paid for
it..
But I would also bill the time for any transfer of knowledge, training,
or preparing hand over docs. If we are going to get into "who owns
the code.." start another thread.

Like many others, I tend to underbill. I've had other contractors complain
to me
because the manager compared my 40 hrs to their 45 hours and knew we
came & went at approx the same time ...

I don't bill one customer for taking the phone time to deal with another
customer's situation - anything over a few minutes I clock out of where I'm
sitting. Whether I bill the other customer is it's own issue.

I also use some common sense and don't bill 8 hrs for what should have
been a 4 hr project unless I can verbally justify it.

I've done hourly, fixed price projects, and right now a flat daily rate no
matter the hours.

Jim Franz