I prefer fixed price projects because I don't have to keep timesheets and justify to the client why work that they think is simple took longer than they thought

I prefer fixed price projects because I don't have to keep timesheets and justify to the client why work that they think is simple took longer than they thought it should. The problem with fixed price is that you need a very solid specification and contract. If you don't clients will scope creep on you. The other difficulty with fixed price is that you have to estimate the effort accurately. I have had to swallow my pride and complete fixed price projects for lousy hourly rate because I under-estimated. But with time I got better at estimating and very assertive about specifications and contracts. Best to have a schedule of progress payments and deliverables. It can really hurt if you work on a project of a couple of months and then the client refuses to pay. I have had that problem too. With all the cons of fixed price, I won't go back to hourly rates. I just can't stand the nit picking timesheet stuff. Seems that every client has a brother-in-law's nephew who programs faster and for less money. But why they don't give him the gig is always met with lots of hand-waving.