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The convo that made me rethink flat fees vs hourly on Upwork
I was chatting with a graphic designer I met at a coworking space last week. She said she switched to hourly after losing $400 on a flat fee project where the client kept asking for revisions (you know how it goes). But I've always preferred flat fees because they feel cleaner and clients seem to trust them more. Now I'm wondering if I've been leaving money on the table too - has anyone else gone back and forth on this?
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shane_wilson3mo ago
Yeah, "a society of stopwatches" is exactly it. I had a client once who was literally timing my responses on a flat fee project. Every message was like a stopwatch in their head. I did the revision cap thing too like brooke said, but some clients still push it right to the edge. The weird part is I made more money on the flat fee projects where I charged what I actually wanted instead of trying to guess how long something would take. Now I do hybrid stuff sometimes where I give a flat range but with an hourly overage clause if they go crazy with changes. It helps with the trust thing because they see the cap and feel safe, but you're not left holding the bag.
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brooke_murray3mo ago
Not sure I agree with the switch honestly. I've been doing flat fees for years and the trick is just being super clear about what's included. That designer should've had a revision cap in her contract from the start. Hourly billing makes clients watch the clock and rush you, which ruins the work. Plus they question every extra minute if you go over. Flat fee gives both sides peace of mind if you do it right.
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nancyramirez3mo ago
And honestly that's the same problem everywhere now isn't it. People treat everything like they're buying a used car instead of just trusting someone to do good work. I see it at restaurants when people time how long their food takes or at the grocery store when someone counts items in the express lane. We've become a society of stopwatches and fine print readers. Flat fee or hourly doesn't matter if the client starts out suspicious. That trust has to be there on both sides or no billing system in the world will fix it.
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ben_fisher3mo ago
Sitting here nodding along because you nailed it. The trust thing is everything. I run my own grooming shop and I get clients who stand there watching me through the window the whole time, counting how many dogs I'm doing. It's exhausting trying to prove yourself before you've even picked up a pair of clippers. At some point you just have to decide if you want to keep explaining yourself or just focus on the people who already believe you know what you're doing.
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