How to Quantify Your Work

[Richard Andrew x64]

Well of course I am not charging what I think a super duper developer should get. I am going by what I earned per hour at my last job, and figuring in added expenses for being on my own, instead of being an employee. But your point is well taken. ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸

[normanS]

Unlikely. If you discuss prices with all (or most) possible suppliers, it could constitue price fixing. These days, everyone and their dog can write programs, so price fixing is almost impossible. If the customer only asks a small number of suppliers for quotes, hmmm. . . maybe then you would have to take care not to discuss too much.

[normanS]

Of course, I don't know much about quoting for jobs - I'm a salaried employee, and always have been (except for a year of contracting some years back.) Since getting married, kids, house, car, etc., the risk became something to consider. I did a few jobs "on the side" (against company regulations, but I decided there was no conflict of interests) but I only charged about the same as my pre-tax salary per hour. Then again, that was backdoor money - no taxes, etc. Nice pocket-money for 50 hours a month!

[Christian Graus]

At first, I did it based on how much money I needed to buy something I wanted, plus a couple of CDs and maybe dinner with the wife :P Nowadays, I'm much more scientific. I actually invoice my one client every month for work done, so I can work out hours after. VSTS is very helpful in this regard. Christian Graus - Microsoft MVP - C++

[Lost User]

By the hour normally. However, if you are doing one off work, the client might want a fixed price. So, work out how long it will take and base your quote on that. Sometimes it will take longer, sometimes shorter, but what you must ensure with this is that the requirements are very strongly agreed on otherwise the client cna keep you tweaking and tuning for ever, without paying you. Nunc est bibendum

[Steve S]

normanS wrote:

These days, everyone and their dog can write programs, so price fixing is almost impossible.

Nope; everyone and their dog thinks they can write programs. I know, I've worked with some of them :( Steve S Developer for hire

[Paul Brower]

One of the biggest (most important) lessons I learned in life was when I was running my own consulting company, and I bid (fixed price) on a project for $6000. This was in 1996. I was just starting out. I won the bid, and it took me about three weeks. I later found out that the next LOWEST bid was about $30,000. It opened my eyes. To answer your question, You may bid whatever you want, hourly or by the project. The customer can decide if they are willing to pay it.

[JCParker]

I can not speak for how others do their business, however when I contract I offer the following to my clients: Firm fixed price - project has a definate time line, Deliverables are clearly defined, no changes will be made until after the project is complete. Hourly - Project has estimated time line, deliverables are not yet fully defined, changes are made to scope on the fly. With either change management controls must be included, and documentation of all changes in direction must be documented and agreeded to bay all parties. And of course change orders with fixed price increase the project cost greatly. Just me ..... but I usually get call backs and seem to have a fair reputation for getting the job done on time and on budget so....

[PICguy]

This is a great discussion. I have only done one independent contract, the firmware for a small water tank tester. (The physics: if it doesn’t leak air it won’t leak water.) I quoted $2K _for a workable system._ Editing test sequences was extra and added another 1.5K. The hourly rate sucked but the money was better than a sharp stick in the face. The small outfit that I did this for initially felt that their hardware guy who dabbled in software could do it. Even he admitted that the task was beyond him. My $2K was more than they had planned. And the extra for sequence editing hurt. However, I did agree to defer my fee until the customer paid. I own the source code, the company has the right to modify it and use it in substantially equivalent systems. They do not have the right to release my code without my permission. The company does not generally make systems needing custom firmware. They typically do things like DC power amplifiers: 0-6V at 3mA in, with 0-6V at 30A out.

[psully99]

You did the PSP training? I was just reading about that last night on the Net. Looking for something similar to what this thread is about, in fact very similar! So here this pops up in my email today, LOL!

[Stephan Samuel]

Charge hourly. Know your how much you're worth, and always charge only that. Your clients are paying for your time. If you have a good business relationship with them, they value your time, understand that this is your livelihood, and are willing to pay you what you're worth. If you don't have that relationship, find another client with whom you can develop one. In addition, the thought that you can "sign off on requirements" is a fantasy. That works well for space shuttles, nuclear power plants and large skyscrapers. If they're not paying you (hourly) to gather requirements, and if that time isn't at least 10% of your total project time, you might as well stick to a common understanding and a handshake, referring back to the "good business relationship" above. Per-project billing is good for charity cases. I've done lots of work for non-profits, and some insist on paying me. I generally bill them 10-25% of my initial time estimate, which they don't see, as a fixed cost. Some clients get a discount on my rate, based mostly on my impression of their ability to bear the market rate of my services, and the IRS refunds it on April 15th. Stephan

[Paul Conrad]

psully99 wrote:

You did the PSP training?

Yes, in a Graduate level Software Engineering course. Many people didn't like it because there was too much administrative overhead involved. There are tools out there to help relieve people from some of the drudgery. Paul