I believe only a small niche of IT projects can qualify for "accurate" estimates, and that is tasks such as install Wordpress, swap image, etc, although even in

I believe only a small niche of IT projects can qualify for "accurate" estimates, and that is tasks such as install Wordpress, swap image, etc, although even in these isolated cases there might still be factors that could easily throw you off with the estimate. For real software development, where you develop a solution to a business problem, estimates are worthless. The thing is, solutions to business problems are very specific, which means you need to think it through from scratch starting with the idea, and ending with the implementation which is a large terrain where many things can go wrong. If you're still required to make an estimate for the sake of having one, I recommend going with a range. Think of pessimistic and optimistic scenarios. Make sure to add a generous buffer to both ends, to account for the unknown issues that are guaranteed to appear. Also, add in the disclaimer that this is a rough estimate and that the final time requirements might differ. This kind of works for hourly/open contracts. For fixed price contracts I'd say think of an amount that YOU feel comfortable with. Better to exaggerate than feel sorry. Remember, you have the solution, the client has the money. I go by these rules, and I'm quite happy.