Need advice on web design quotation ?

[bensquare]

I got a situation here..I got a customer who I worked with him twice before on his web project.

He normally says he wants something really easy ... just a few pages and some very simple features, but last 2 projects both turned out he makes many changes and added quite a few additional features. Though eventually, he paid some little extra, but I spent many many extra days on it.

Now, as again, he comes to me and asked for a quote ? He is my old customer, I don't want to be mean to him, but same time, I don't want to fall into the same trap again. you know 1st shame on you, 2nd time shame on me..and this is like my 3rd..:redface:

 

[Eagle]

It depends if you're happy letting yourself being taken for a ride again. State your case for increased costs and don't back down.

 

[electroforms]

Create a Statement of Work and itemise each feature (page, widget, analytics) with the price against each.

Then say that further changes will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis and billable at £x per hour.

Effectively - that's your contract. You can add more clauses if you like (such as payment deadlines etc) but that in itself will provide both parties with a solid footing.

 

[econeve]

Well you can either charge extra than what you normally would (to cover any extra work you may or may not put in) or as stated above, breakdown what will be included, how many alterations you will do for free and then how much you will charge per hour for additional alterations.

Remember, everything happens for a reason - you've learnt from this situation and this could may well help make the way you work in the future more easier.

Try to make EVERYTHING (or as much as possible) clear at the beginning of work and when clients say 'it'll be a simple job' or 'I want something simple' it doesn't always mean the client will be a breeze to work with.

Good luck with it.

 

[bensquare]

thx to all on your advice.

@econeve
it's very true for what u said.."everything happens for a reason"

I think I also didn't do enough preparation work for the previous 2 projects...this time, I shall spend more time to make things clearer first and ideally, force him to make a draft in paper what he wants

I am still in a learning curve on the quotation. It's always some small bugs / change cost me day(s) to fix it when customer thinks it is just a few minutes task.

 

[sanjiv]

Create a Statement of Work and itemise each feature (page, widget, analytics) with the price against each.

Then say that further changes will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis and billable at £x per hour.

Effectively - that's your contract. You can add more clauses if you like (such as payment deadlines etc) but that in itself will provide both parties with a solid footing.

I don't agree with that. By itemising every single little piece of work you do, sounds petty and unprofessional. I would just charge a flat fee all in and give him say one months support with it or something. If you know you will keep getting more work from him, then set a slightly higher price but not too high.

 

[electroforms]

I don't agree with that. By itemising every single little piece of work you do, sounds petty and unprofessional. I would just charge a flat fee all in and give him say one months support with it or something. If you know you will keep getting more work from him, then set a slightly higher price but not too high.

Can't agree with that either!

It's all about being open and providing visibility - rather than just a black-box flat-fee, by showing that you've broken it down into discrete blocks of work gives customers a much greater feeling of control, and means if you do have to ask for more because of a change they can see where you are coming from.

It's certainly not unprofessional in my opinion!

 

[akirk]

You have two choices at a conceptual level:

Fixed price - work out what it will cost you / add some contingency - fix a price

Hourly rate - as long as you talk with the customer with each change requested, then they will understand that they can have whatever they want, but they pay for the work being done...

Customers often are unsure about hourly rate - reckoning that costs can run away with them - but if you explain that fixed rate has to have contingency to ensure that you don't lose out - and that they are in control of the work being requested, then many more people understand hourly rate and feel comfortable with it...

Choose either - but don't do work at a loss - you would be better off not having the customer than losing money - not surprised the customer keeps returning if you are subsidising their business - very kind of you!

Alasdair

 

[sanjiv]

Can't agree with that either!

It's all about being open and providing visibility - rather than just a black-box flat-fee, by showing that you've broken it down into discrete blocks of work gives customers a much greater feeling of control, and means if you do have to ask for more because of a change they can see where you are coming from.

It's certainly not unprofessional in my opinion!

Breaking down can be good but for example doing:
- Installing stats program £5
- Setting up Google AdWords £2.50
- etc. £1
- etc. £10

Looks unprofessional. Pehaps:
- Website £500
- Support and Add-ons £100

 

[wdltd]

This is a problem that we've faced a lot. There are times when I put it down to the client not understanding what's involved in the work we do, but more often these days I'm putting it down to them pushing the boundaries as far as possible.

My advice is:

1) itemise everything that you are including in your quoted price, and get the client to sign an agreement.

2) if the client asks for something extra, flag it up as an addition straight away, and quote for it. Too many times I've done the work and then talked about money afterwards - which is difficult.

If all else fails, ask the client the 'Tesco' question: "If you did you went to Tesco and did your weekly shop, would you expect them to let you walk out with a few extra things for free?". Usually does the trick

 

[david rushton]

I know how you feel, I fell into the same trap when I first started out. The other posters here are right, it is a learning curve and I had to learn from it.

I started to create short documents listing / detailing the work to be done and adding a section called "Changes to Requirements" and basically saying that any amendments to requirements would be subject to review.

This gave me the room to either give a little extra value to a client by doing the odd small thing for nothing, but also gave me the room to charge.

I know you don't want to be mean but remember it's your business and I am sure your client wouldn't hesitate in being mean to you. Be firm but polite and your client will start to understand.

Good luck