Switched from half-day quoting to flat project fees four months ago

I used to bill by the hour for every little thing. Last October I did a $600 web job that took 22 hours but I only quoted for 12. After that I switched everything to flat project fees based on scope. Now I quote $850 for a standard site and it covers all revisions. Anyone else find flat fees actually make clients stop asking for endless changes?

3 comments

3 Comments

quinnperry29d ago

I used to think hourly billing kept things fair until I lost my shirt on that $600 job. Flat fees totally changed my mind once I saw clients stop nitpicking every revision.

waderamirez26d ago

Did you ever try the trick where you put a hard cap on how many revisions are included in the flat fee? That's what finally saved me, honestly. I had the same problem as @keith164 where clients kept piling on changes after the price was set, and it was driving me crazy. So I started writing "includes 2 revision rounds" right into the contract, and that made a huge difference. It gives them a clear limit without them feeling nickel-and-dimed every time they ask for a tweak. After that second round I charge my hourly rate for any extra changes, which mostly stops the scope creep before it starts. It's not a perfect system but it beats hourly billing where you're fighting over every 15 minutes.

keith16429d ago

The $600 job brings back a memory from 2018 when I had a client who wanted every single revision tracked by the minute. Once I switched to flat fees, they actually let me do my work without checking in constantly. But there is a hidden problem with flat fees that nobody talks about. Some clients start to think they can keep adding things for free since the price is already set. I had to learn to write very clear scope letters that list exactly what is included and what costs extra. Otherwise you end up doing way more work than the flat fee covers, and that is how you lose money just like with hourly billing.