Picked a flat fee over hourly billing for a big project last month

I had a choice between charging a client $150 an hour or offering a flat $4,000 for a whole branding package. I went with the flat fee because they seemed nervous about costs piling up. The project took about 30 hours total, so I ended up making around $133 an hour which is a bit less than my normal rate. But the client was super happy and even referred two other small businesses to me. The downside was when they asked for extra revisions I felt obligated to do them for free since we agreed on a set price. Next time I'll put a cap on revisions in the contract. Has anyone else tried flat fees with tough clients like startups or really small companies?

3 comments

3 Comments

emma_lee2219d ago

Honestly, @charlieh74 is doing the math I purposely avoided so I wouldn't cry into my coffee. Ngl, $500 less stings a bit, but getting two referrals out of it softens the blow. Tbh, next time I'll just charge $155 an hour and split the difference.

charlieh7419d ago

$150 an hour would have netted you $4,500 for 30 hours, so you actually left $500 on the table.

lucashenderson18d ago

Wait, @emma_lee22, do you track which clients send the best referrals so you can weigh that against the lower rate next time? Knowing that $155 sweet spot saved you some regret lol.