Tried flat fee projects for 3 months, hourly billing is way less stressful

I switched to flat fee pricing back in April to try and land bigger contracts. Seemed like a good idea until a client kept asking for revisions on a $1,500 web design project. I ended up working 60 hours on something I budgeted for 20. Charged hourly for my next three clients and made $400 more on average with way fewer headaches. Has anyone else gone back to hourly after giving flat fees a shot?

4 comments

4 Comments

sethm582d ago

$1,500 for 60 hours is brutal, I used to think flat fees sounded like a better way to land work but stories like yours make me rethink the whole thing. Hourly seems like it keeps everyone honest and stops the scope creep before it gets out of hand. Did you lose any clients after switching back?

ivan4622d ago

I feel you on the $1,500 for 60 hours thing. That's rough, man. I had a similar situation with a logo design project back in February, quoted $800 flat fee, ended up putting in around 45 hours because the client kept wanting new versions with different fonts and colors. Hourly just feels cleaner to me now, you know what I mean? Like you said, it keeps everyone on the same page and nobody feels cheated. It's a shame flat fees can turn into this mess so fast, but at least we learned the hard way instead of getting stuck forever in that cycle.

miaprice2d ago

oh man, i feel that $1,500 for 60 hours in my bones (and not in a good way). i did the flat fee dance for two months once, and it was like playing a game where the rules keep changing but you're the one paying for it. clients suddenly think "revisions" means "let's rebuild half the site from scratch" because hey, it's all flat fee, right? when i switched back to hourly i told a few of my "favorite" clients that my rates went up, and they all magically decided the project was actually fine as-is. funny how that works. hourly isn't perfect but at least it's honest math - you work, you get paid, and nobody's crying into their keyboard at 2am wondering if they're getting ripped off.

oliviabutler2d ago

Gawd, 60 hours for $1,500 makes my stomach turn just reading it. That's like $25 an hour before taxes and expenses, which is barely minimum wage in some places. I can't believe you stuck it out that long with that client, I woulda been ready to walk after 30 hours when it was clear they were taking advantage. The part that gets me is how you budgeted for 20 hours and they ran it up three times that. Flat fee just seems like an open invitation for people to nickel and dime you with "one more small change" until you've basically donated your time. Glad you saw the light and went back to hourly, that's the only way to keep the stress from eating you alive.