Why I bill daily. - alanhollis.com
In First month freelancing I mentioned that my preference is to bill at a daily rate rather than a per project or hourly basis. These are my reasons why.
Benefits to the customer
Working on a daily basis gives me the time to refactor, give feedback, and communicate with other team members. This is much harder to do if my focus is on completing the project for a set amount of money, or if my time is limited to a few hours per day.
The type of projects and clients I work with demand my full attention for at least the whole day. Switching between projects on anything less than a daily basis results in a less focused mindset, and therefore a worse quality service. Which is something I’m not prepared to give my customers.
By billing on a per day basis my customers aren’t having to watch the meter and neither am I. I will often spend more time than the conventional ”9-5″ hours working on the project due to the increase focus I gain by not working per hour.
My invoices are clear and concise and take a very short amount of time for me to maintain. The administration time saved, allows more time to do what the customer has employed me to do.
Benefits to me
By dealing with clients on a daily basis I feel I’m appealing to a higher standard of client and project. I’m not interested in working on quick fix projects here and there. I want to work with great clients on substantial projects.
I don’t have to track every single hour I’m working. I spend approximately five minutes at the end of the day updating my invoices with the exact description of that days work. Having to track and justify everything on an hourly basis would be endlessly frustrating.
I get clients who want to work with me for multiple days, rather than as someone they only turn to in their hour of need. I don’t want to work with customers who only see me as a short term fix.
I set myself apart from other developers who work on a per hour basis.
In First month freelancing I mentioned that my preference is to bill at a daily rate rather than a per project or hourly basis. These are my reasons why.
Benefits to the customer
Working on a daily basis gives me the time to refactor, give feedback, and communicate with other team members. This is much harder to do if my focus is on completing the project for a set amount of money, or if my time is limited to a few hours per day.
The type of projects and clients I work with demand my full attention for at least the whole day. Switching between projects on anything less than a daily basis results in a less focused mindset, and therefore a worse quality service. Which is something I’m not prepared to give my customers.
By billing on a per day basis my customers aren’t having to watch the meter and neither am I. I will often spend more time than the conventional ”9-5″ hours working on the project due to the increase focus I gain by not working per hour.
My invoices are clear and concise and take a very short amount of time for me to maintain. The administration time saved, allows more time to do what the customer has employed me to do.
Benefits to me
By dealing with clients on a daily basis I feel I’m appealing to a higher standard of client and project. I’m not interested in working on quick fix projects here and there. I want to work with great clients on substantial projects.
I don’t have to track every single hour I’m working. I spend approximately five minutes at the end of the day updating my invoices with the exact description of that days work. Having to track and justify everything on an hourly basis would be endlessly frustrating.
I get clients who want to work with me for multiple days, rather than as someone they only turn to in their hour of need. I don’t want to work with customers who only see me as a short term fix.
I set myself apart from other developers who work on a per hour basis.
