Forum
Hourly rate advice
Hello everyone.
New to this site. Just started doing freelancing work. I am doing some artwork for a customer and a hourly rate has been agreed.
I have made a note of my hours but I am a bit confused on what I can call "chargeable" hours. If I spent a day trying to come up with initial ideas would that be chargeable?
I know I have a lot of hours sitting at my desk trying to work out an idea and I feel I should charge but don't want to send in an invoice that seems really high.
Also do I need to give a copy of my timesheet to my customer to prove the hours I have spent.
Any advice would be gratefully appreciated - thanks
New to this site. Just started doing freelancing work. I am doing some artwork for a customer and a hourly rate has been agreed.
I have made a note of my hours but I am a bit confused on what I can call "chargeable" hours. If I spent a day trying to come up with initial ideas would that be chargeable?
I know I have a lot of hours sitting at my desk trying to work out an idea and I feel I should charge but don't want to send in an invoice that seems really high.
Also do I need to give a copy of my timesheet to my customer to prove the hours I have spent.
Any advice would be gratefully appreciated - thanks
- Contact in PM
philb
Messages count : 2Likes count : 0Registration : 26 October 2011It's a tough one, I think at the end of the day you'll have to decide how much you want for the completing the job.
I'm a new freelancer myself, and it does take us longer to produce something than it does a more experienced designer.
One way could be to split the research and design part of the job.
Charge a lower rate for the research and a higher rate for the design.
In order to minimise the research in future, ask clients to email you examples what they have in mind for the finished piece.
Don't start a piece until you have good idea of what they want. - Contact in PM
Opus
Messages count : 87Likes count : 3Registration : 4 February 2008If you're working on their job it's chargeable. Of course, there are always times when we'll be thinking something over - when you're walking the dog, driving, cooking tea or whatever - that you wouldn't charge for, and there are times when you know you've been unproductive that you might estimate a more fair amount of time spent on the job, but other than that don't give your time for free because a client is unwilling to pay for a part of the job that is a necessary part of the process.
Whether you're charging by hourly rate or quoting a fee for the job speak to the client before you start to get an indication of their budget. From there you can work out how many hours you can spend on your hourly rate. If the client at least has a good idea of what they'll be billed, and you know how much time you can reasonably afford on the job you'll avoid a lot of problems later down the line.Opus Creative Design Ltd - Contact in PM
maisonyeah
Messages count : 2Likes count : 0Registration : 1 March 2012It's better if you talk to friends in the same profession or other people in the same profession (such as us!). My partner is forever researching even when they're not in front of the computer. So my best bet is to lower the h/r when you are researching...or you could set a fixed time for coming up with conceptual ideas, if that makes sense. Of course you cannot always keep to such schedules but at least it gives your clients an idea on how much you worked. Unless your contracted, I wouldn't bother giving them a time sheet unless they really wanted it. In the end it's always good to note down how many hours you work just in case they ask.