Very well said, Mark. In addition: - Many times these kind of things are what I call the "mismatch of expectations" and is not necessarily implies that any of the parties is a 'bad guy'. Therefore, a 'contract' is always a must. I like writing the scope of work together with the client: He knows what he wants, I know what can be done. We (developers) hate to do this kind of work, but if you are an independent consultant, it's a must. I usually charge hourly rate for writing up specs, even if I go for a fixed bid. The reason is, that I cannot give a fix price, before the spec is cast in stone, but I know, that a detailed spec is going to take time, otherwise it's useless.
- I also strongly advocate to maintain a 'retainer' fee. And while some clients are not crazy about it, you can explain them why it is necessary. If a client plainly rejects the retainer idea, it's my experience, that they may not plan to keep the balance up-to-date. So I usually don't deal with them. Sorry, if some of this was OT, but felt like I can share some of the things I learned during the 25+ years of consulting. Regards, laszlo ______________________________________________________________________ This list and all House of Fusion resources hosted by CFHosting.com. The place for dependable ColdFusion Hosting. FAQ: http://www.thenetprofits.co.uk/coldfusion/faq Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/index.cfm?sidebar=lists
