It comes back to customer expectation. You don't want to slip in "hidden
charges" like "well as of now you're paying for my travel and expenses" as
i'd argue this isn't fair ("You never mentioned this when I hired you.. what
the...")That being said, I usually when quoting for a job etc, factor in commute / emails / instant message conversations / reports etc into the equation so when the customer does require my butt to be onsite for whatever reason it's factored in. I also used to make it clear that they had x number of units set aside for this, and that should they not be used I'd not charge them for it in the end (even in one case offered a refund on the costs which they declined since the job was done and they liked the outcome). You really need to be disciplined with your clients, in that don't chase the cheapest price as its stuff like this that trips you up and can cascade forward. Quote fairly but make no mistake, your commute time is on their dime as in theory you could be spending time with the family, chasing more work or even working on another project. The transport costs alone addup. But I'd recommend you never say to them "..Sorry, I need to charge you for fuel money as It all adds up.." or something along those lines as it cheapens your consultancy brand firstly and secondly it sends mixed signals to the respective client. If however you are being paid per day basis, then you should be charging them for 10-12hr day ( as that's likely how long you'll be working anyway + it adds enough buffer to absorb a lot of the hidden costs). On Dec 1, 2007 2:25 PM, Mike Kear <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Sorry if this is too off-topic. I dont think it is but never mind > i'll post anyway ..... > > What do you other contractors/freelancers do in this scenario: > > You work off site for a client, working from your own office on a > task, charging by the hour for the job. The client calls and says he > wants you in his office for a meeting with some of the stakeholders in > the job. The meeting will take 2.5 hours, on a day when you'd > otherwise be working by the hour for this client or another ... > > Travel to the client's office is 90 minutes each way, a total of 3 > hours travelling time when you count both trips there and back. > > You obviously charge the client for the 2.5 hours stakeholders > meeting, but do you also charge for the 3 hours travel time? If so, > at the full chargeout rate or a special travel time rate? > > I think if you are going to spend 8 hours at the client office, its' > like travel to and from work and therefore not chargeable. but since > this is a part of a day that would otherwise be chargeable if you > werent going to the meeting, do you charge for the 3 horus taken out > of the day travelling? > > -- > Cheers > Mike Kear > Windsor, NSW, Australia > Adobe Certified Advanced ColdFusion Developer > AFP Webworks > http://afpwebworks.com > ColdFusion, PHP, ASP, ASP.NET <http://asp.net/> hosting from AUD$15/month > > > > -- Regards, Scott Barnes http://www.mossyblog.com --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "cfaussie" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cfaussie?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
