Flat fee vs hourly for a 2 month project in Pittsburgh

I took on a website build for a local coffee shop chain. I quoted them a flat $4,500 because I thought I knew exactly what they wanted. But they kept adding features like a loyalty program and custom menu builder. It stretched to 3 months and I ended up making like $11 an hour. Should we stick to hourly rates for projects like this or just charge more upfront?

3 comments

3 Comments

kimr9111d ago

$11 an hour is brutal, man. I'd go hourly for anything that can change, especially with clients who get feature happy. Just state your rate up front ($75 - $100 is fair for custom builds) and say any scope change gets billed at that rate by the hour. Flat fee only works when you've done the exact same project ten times before. Otherwise you're just gambling on the client's imagination.

jana50910d ago

$11 an hour is brutal? That's not brutal, that's actually insane. I had to read that twice because I couldn't believe someone would agree to that. Who even offers that rate? Like, minimum wage in most places is higher than that. I get wanting to build a portfolio but you're basically paying them to work for their business at that point. That's not a rate, that's a donation.

alex82011d ago

I've been in your shoes with a restaurant client near Philadelphia who started adding mileage tracking and gift card integration after we agreed on $3,800. A flat fee works fine if you draw a very clear line in the contract about what exactly is included and charge separately for anything that wasn't in the original scope. Next time, I'd suggest doing the first build at a flat rate but writing in that any additions after the second week get billed at $75 an hour.