How Much to charge. ASP.NET / SQL Server

yop

Lads,
Think this is the best place to ask this.

Got a potential nixer coming down the line, an intranet based solution that they want done using ASP.NET which will use a new DB sitting on their SQL Server.

Consists of about 10 pages, 5 reports, TCP/IP links to an external server for retrieval only.
Will be in or about 10/15 tables, have not had a chance to look at full spec.

I myself have 11 years IT experience, of that have about 10 year programming, vb, vb.net, asp.net , the usual line up

So for a cash rate, do you think its best to try and quote this as a full system or as a rate per hour? It will be an evening and weekend project, that is not a problem for them.

What do you think I should charge?

Thanks

pwd

I think in general it's better to charge per hour.
If they change their requirements after you agree a price, there won't be a problem that way.
If it takes longer than you expect then you won't be short.

Quoting a price for the project as a whole is probably better for them but worse for you.

yop

pwd wrote: »

I think in general it's better to charge per hour.
If they change their requirements after you agree a price, there won't be a problem that way.
If it takes longer than you expect then you won't be short.

Quoting a price for the project as a whole is probably better for them but worse for you.

That is a good point and God bless projects they are NEVER as they started

Any idea of a rate?

qwytre

I am talking from experience here and if at all possible do NOT give a fixed price.

Charge for each day worked, document the work when submitting your invoice and ensure you get an agreement to be paid monthly.

The reality is that the client probably has a fair idea on what they want but things creep and the scope always gets bigger. If you give a fixed price the client has no incentive to keep to their side of the bargain in ensuring things move along quickly. Usually they will have to test things and this can really drag if they dont have an incentive to get the project finished quickly.

Charge by the hour or by the day!

Also, and this is very important, ask who is sponsoring this project in the clients company, who is the person who is the "expert" and KNOWS what the company needs.

qwytre

You should charge 300-400 per day. Maybe you will get more but not sure. Depends on if you can demonstrate your expertise from other projects etc and if you are "just" a developer or if you also have the business knowledge to be able to interpret what will be vague and conflicting requirements and turn them in a workable solution.

SlyRax

very good advice, I'm currently on a project that is 3 months over schedule, luckily it's an internal tool. Basically the customer (internal customer) didn't have a clue what they wanted and keeps moving the goal post. Been doing 12 hr + days for the last month (Go live Friday). This may be an extreme case. But you could end up working an extra month for free.

I think rock solid documentation is paramount. Set the requirements in stone and say my quote for work and costs is based on this, anything else will take longer and therefore cost more.

Also you need to think about support. These guys will be ringing you when something doesn't work even if it's there fault.

Try be fair, if something takes longer through your own fault don't charge them. That way they'll come back when they want new functionality and they won't mind paying for support. Plus word of mouth is a great source of further business.

qwytre

SlyRax wrote: »

very good advice, I'm currently on a project that is 3 months over schedule, luckily it's an internal tool. Basically the customer (internal customer) didn't have a clue what they wanted and keeps moving the goal post. Been doing 12 hr + days for the last month (Go live Friday). This may be an extreme case. But you could end up working an extra month for free.

I think rock solid documentation is paramount. Set the requirements in stone and say my quote for work and costs is based on this, anything else will take longer and therefore cost more.

Also you need to think about support. These guys will be ringing you when something doesn't work even if it's there fault.

Try be fair, if something takes longer through your own fault don't charge them. That way they'll come back when they want new functionality and they won't mind paying for support. Plus word of mouth is a great source of further business.

Good point about the Support, what I find works well is to sell support by the hour rather than a flat yearly fee. If they are paying for the time thay you spend on support or taking calls then they wont be as quick to ring you than if they paid x amount for a whole year of support. So sell them 10 hours of support at x euro per hour and keep track of its usage.

Each support incident will have to be considered and agreed whether it is a bug (which you will have to fix for free) or if its just normal support.

Agree about the documentation, spending a few days at the start of the project getting requirements down on papeer will save you heartache down the line.

yop

Thanks for all that, I do agree about the hourly rate for sure and the client does also.
Its turned out now that he will also be doing some of the work with me, so that is not a bad thing but at the same time he may have only 5% of the experience I have so I will probably do a lot of the "big" work.

I was thinking of maybe 40 or 45 an hour, 50 per hour probably is a bit too high, what do you think and the same will apply to the support issues that will arise.

Thanks

pauldiv

Hi Yop,

I think this is as much a test of your people and management skills as it is about your development experience.

As you are going to be working with someone in the company then that will greatly help you cover yourself regarding project requirements. You can use that to your advantage. I realise documentation is often the bane of many a developers life but it can help make a better end product.

Once the requirements have been agreed it would be a good idea to document them thoroughly and then present the proposed system design to the management and employees.

If you show mockups of the new system you will get people asking all sorts of questions that should lead to a goldmine of extra information. You could grill them to the point of exhaustion because it is in your interest to do so.

Regarding what to charge I agree with the hourly/daily rate method.
If you ask for 40 then you can explain that you are doing so because you want a reasonable amount of time to get the work done - less pressure.

If they want it quick then you are going to be under pressure as you have a day job so they would need to make it worth your while. Say 50 - 60 per hour because the risk is greatly increased for you and them.

If they change the requirements at a later date then you are in the clear and they are going to pay hourly for all the extra work.

I hope you succeed in the project and enjoy the experience.

yop

Thanks Paul, yes we have the requirements defined and documented.

Also have agree that there will be a number of "Dumb" pages developed to ignite the imagination of the client and to see if they are happy with the ways it will be presented.

I think I will suggest 45 and see what happens.

Thanks

qwytre

According to recruitireland.com daily contract rates are 300-380 for database developers and 350-400 per day for .Net developers. You have 11 years experience so dont undersell yourself.

yop

qwytre wrote: »

According to recruitireland.com daily contract rates are 300-380 for database developers and 350-400 per day for .Net developers. You have 11 years experience so dont undersell yourself.

Thanks for that, I want to hit a happy medium for both parties

pauldiv

Exactly.

qwytre

yop wrote: »

Thanks for that, I want to hit a happy medium for both parties

What did you settle on after all?

yop

Didnt get to meet him since, few things came up on my side so did not have time to meet him.