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Keep it simple, this sounds like a simple project. Estimate how long it will take you to do the work, charge them a flat fee, and get half of the agreed upon am

by jbob2000 10y ago

Keep it simple, this sounds like a simple project. Estimate how long it will take you to do the work, charge them a flat fee, and get half of the agreed upon amount up front. $300/hour is way way way too much, even for a professional developer. You have no experience or formal education as a freshman, your rate should be max $50/hour. You don't need any contracts, just get half of the money up front and if they screw you over, well at least you got that. When you give them the quote for your work, have each party sign the quote - that's your contract.

asidiali 10y ago
Great advice for getting started right there. Keep it lean. Since this is one of your first projects, I'd say the focus is more on quality and less on profit, growing a happy client base and nice portfolio.
dirtyaura 10y ago
One of my projects started something like OP's project did - a small gig, replacing a complex Excel with a simple software. The Excel was a way more complex than I initially thought - business processes usually are, so take that into account if you offer a flat fee. Despite the flat fee for the initial project, I managed to do the replacement. After that the project grew and grew, and become fundamental part of their business - basically their ERP - and I ended up working on it for over 3 years. It was good money, but a bit boring in the end. I recommend that you set market rate as your base (target) rate. Ask around what the market rate is in your area, but it is likely more than $50/hour for short gigs like this. However offer them a significant discount, for example 50%, for the first X0 hours - and say that you offer it because this is your first project and it's win win for both parties, but you don't want to work with that rate forever. If the project grows in importance, and you get a lot more work from them, it is easier to negotiate new hourly price, when they don't expect that your standard rate is the discounted rate.

asidiali 10y ago

Great advice for getting started right there. Keep it lean. Since this is one of your first projects, I'd say the focus is more on quality and less on profit, growing a happy client base and nice portfolio.

dirtyaura 10y ago

One of my projects started something like OP's project did - a small gig, replacing a complex Excel with a simple software. The Excel was a way more complex than I initially thought - business processes usually are, so take that into account if you offer a flat fee. Despite the flat fee for the initial project, I managed to do the replacement. After that the project grew and grew, and become fundamental part of their business - basically their ERP - and I ended up working on it for over 3 years. It was good money, but a bit boring in the end. I recommend that you set market rate as your base (target) rate. Ask around what the market rate is in your area, but it is likely more than $50/hour for short gigs like this. However offer them a significant discount, for example 50%, for the first X0 hours - and say that you offer it because this is your first project and it's win win for both parties, but you don't want to work with that rate forever. If the project grows in importance, and you get a lot more work from them, it is easier to negotiate new hourly price, when they don't expect that your standard rate is the discounted rate.