I do billing in either of two ways: hourly, or a flat-rate, per-project fee.
I personally prefer the flat-rate approach because I hate having to track my
hours. Moreover, there are circumstances in which it is questionable whether
you should charge time for certain activities. Your client is hiring you
because he expects that you have a knowledge of the relevant core
technologies -- he isn't paying you to learn new things on his dime.
Therefore, it becomes questionable whether you should charge for time spent
on research of a particular technology or technique. You may be doing the
research directly for his project, which would point towards billing for the
time, but the client expects you to come to the table prepared to work,
which points toward not billing for the time. It is a judgment call.
If you do go the hourly route, between $150 and $200 per hour is reasonable.
If you are new to the consulting/developing business, you may want to start
at about $100 per hour.
--
Cordially,
Chip Pearson
Microsoft MVP - Excel
Pearson Software Consulting LLC
www.cpearson.com
(email on the web site)
