Freelancers : Let's discuss about the Pricing

[Janine]

• Are you charging them per hour or per project?
• What are the ups and downs of charging them per project?
• Do you use upfront, 50% downpayment or payment after the project completion? why?

Discuss how you price your services to your clients here. Share ideas to help each other find the perfect "price range" from one freelancer to another.:tu:

 

[Tia Wood]

Per project.

Per hour and people seem to focus on the hours. Per project is better because it's a flat fee no matter what. I dislike feeling pressured by time and my best work comes out when I take my time.

 

[Janine]

Per project.

Per hour and people seem to focus on the hours. Per project is better because it's a flat fee no matter what. I dislike feeling pressured by time and my best work comes out when I take my time.

Same here. :wave:

 

[kbm]

Per project, consider that sometimes some are small, creating buttons or adjusting some html or menu code.

If its larger, then consider the hourly charge may be an option but that would depend on the scope and the overall size of the project.

 

[dna]

The smart project manager will break the project up into small pieces
and pay for each piece as it is completed. The project manager should
understand how each piece works, and see each piece working, before moving on to the next piece. The project manager should be able to
replace the freelancer, if needed, in the middle of the project.

 

[Eric Lyon]

Everyone's a bit different in how they operate. I've been a freelance Vector designer (Logo, mascot, illustration, caricature, coin, etc.) since 2005 (so about 6 years). Personally I've found that the following works good for me.

1.) Have set discounted package rates.
2.) Have a set hourly rate for quoted work that deviates from the packages.
3.) ALWAYS confirm at least 50% up front before you even open your software.
4.) ALWAYS confirm the final 50% payment BEFORE you release any master files. (E.G. .Ai / .Psd /. Eps / .Wmf / .Dpa / Etc..)
5.) Make sure you give a discount to repeat customers, people like to feel important and love a good deal.
6.) Offer a referral % program to existing clients whom refer other clients.
7.) ALWAYS deliver MORE than your listed promise, the extra effort is noticed and remembered by the client.
8.) ALWAYS provide after sale customer support, DON'T just blow them off after you get their money.
9.) Remember that a large number of design clients don't understand our terminology's, so take the extra effort and educate them throughout the process. They will respect you more if they feel comfortable that you know what you are doing.
10.) Include a disclaimer that clearly states any concepts NOT chosen and purchased by the client remains YOUR intellectual property that you can sell at a later date if you wish.
11.) Have an external drive to keep your clients files for at least 7 years in case they return for more work or lost their files. It's easier to assist them that way.
12.) Have an external drive to archive all the designs that did NOT sell and you still own ALL rights to for easy and quick reference later when you may have a potential buyer for them.

Freelance design's primary bread & butter is with repeat's and referral's. That's what will float you month to month and keep you alive with food in your belly.

We each have a different formula, but the above has worked for me for years.

Eric Lyon

 

[ColorsDeluxe]

I kinda agree with Eric. But instead of Vector designs, I provide more Web Services [ Web Design ; SEO ; Web Development ; Server Administration and so on ]

First I discuss with the clients that contacts me, analyze the project, and offer them a quote.
If it's a new client, I usually ask for an upfront payment, after I make a first sketch of the design. If he agrees with it, he sends the payment and continue working until the final tests are made, and site is launched.

If it's an old client, that came to me many times, I usually offer discounts, and they can pay in the end, when they're happy with my work. I trust my customers, as they trust me.

I always offer Support after the website is finished.

However, sometimes I am forced to increase the price, after we negotiated a price, if the client asks for more work during the developing process.

I don't know, but personally I dislike this way, to charge per hour. If you want to make a good work, you need time. If the client allows you that time, in the end you will come with a bill of $1000. And maybe, even if you worked many hours on that website, it will never cost that much. So I always try to keep my prices fair to my customers, so they could come again and again to work with me.

This is my opinion, and the way I work.

Thanks

 

[dna]

I am happy to hear that you let your "old clients" pay at the end of the job. But a lot of designers would never get any repeat business
because they are nothing but crooks. And you sure don't want to give
these people a 50% up front payment. If a project manager does
not micro-manage his project with a web designer he is asking for
nothing but misery. Even a known designer who you trust needs
to be micro-managed or the project manager will not get what he wants.

 

[Winleet]

I prefer, when hiring someone to use a fixed rate. I worry the person will "take a little longer than expected" and charge me for them slacking off.

When hiring coders, a good policy is 25% upfront, 50% at beta and final 25% when it is done.

 

[dotker]

i got a starting package n work my way up there if there is more needed..

 

[ColorsDeluxe]

I am happy to hear that you let your "old clients" pay at the end of the job. But a lot of designers would never get any repeat business
because they are nothing but crooks. And you sure don't want to give
these people a 50% up front payment. If a project manager does
not micro-manage his project with a web designer he is asking for
nothing but misery. Even a known designer who you trust needs
to be micro-managed or the project manager will not get what he wants.

Actually some of my clients pay me after I finish 4-5 projects. For example, I have an old client that I'm working for him for 1 year, maybe more, and I'm creating wordpress websites almost weekly, or 2 per week. He pays me whenever I ask for the money. And I'm ok with that. But I know I can trust him, because I made over 80 projects for him, and lately, this number is increasing faster then I expected.

And there is one more way to manage my clients. Here on namepros, I always check the iTrader and number of posts. If I see that he is an active namepros member, with a lot of deals, and so on, I can let him pay when the project is finished. I know he can't risk to get a bad word about him , here on NP, because it could affect his business. Who risks that?

However, first of all I like to talk with the client, and see what kind of person he is. If he is rude from the beginning, I prefer to let him go to another person. I like to work with friendly persons, that know what a good business is. I think it's another way to manage your clients.

 

[iqbal77]

Per project.

Per hour and people seem to focus on the hours. Per project is better because it's a flat fee no matter what. I dislike feeling pressured by time and my best work comes out when I take my time.

me too. charge per project. design free charity website.

 

[trishia]

I think it will be better if we will charge them per project so we will know the ETA and how he do things with his rate.

 

[zidane]

In my take it depends on the type of work that needs to be done. If its an admin job then I prefer to be paid hourly. When its an article writing gig then I prefer to be paid per project.

Zidane

 

[Zubair1]

I've been doing online freelancing for a few years, It really does depend on the task on hand.

I'm an multi-tasker, so i have to keep many options on my hand.

I charge a fixed price when doing big-to-medium sized web-design / programming related jobs.

I offer per-hour and per-month basis pricing when doing small jobs, such as small tweaking or monthly maintenance of websites.

I offer per-hour and per-month basis when doing support related job (live support, ticket handling, etc).

I don't do content writing but i know they usually charge on per-word or paragraph basis, some just charge per-page or per-article basis.

I usually take upfront payments, if the client is knew to me and i know not much about him. I don't if a client is old. I may not take an upfront payment if a client refers to me other people who are looking for my services.

I offer good discount to those client who refer more work to me.

This is simply some of the things i do, but i know i do alot more then just the above. The best thing would be to open more possibilities that would help me and my clients both.

My main focus is to keep the client happy and satisfied, and show him that i am someone who he/she can rely on in the future. Keeping a healthy relationship with my client is the top priority for me.

 

[creaper]

As a new comer in freelancer side i also like Per hour and i have seen that people seem to focus on the hours. Per project is better because it's a flat fee no matter what. I dislike feeling pressured by time and my best work comes out when I take my time. By pressure nobody can do the work better.

 

[tonyng]

I usually charge per project.

It seems to be easier to negotiate a pricing and if I break it down with the client on what I am doing to get the project completed they will actually be satisfied with what they get.

 

[dojo]

Most of the time I have a per-project price. I do think about my desired hourly rate and then think how much time it would take me. Since I'm a web designer, it's a pretty straightforward process, so little chances of stuff going wrong. I do ask for money upfront, if we're not using an escrow system.

 

[Purchased]

Per project for me.

 

[seo-expert]

per project because it's better than hourly.