I can code, but have no clue how to charge!

I've developed a whole membership system, login, new user sign up, list search users and edit details pages, the whole works.  Also found some nice chunks of code to get the distance between 2 zip codes plugged in and plot them on a Google map.  Now I'm breaking down a screen shot of a web template and building a functional website with the membership PHP built in all tied to a custom MySQL database.  I'm sure he will want me to do basic webmaster stuff its finished.

I have a hard time charging for something I enjoy doing and am only charging around $200.00.  Is that fair?  I have no idea how much to charge?? 

Also, a problem I'm facing is deadlines. When will a project be done.  A developer is really a more complicated novel writter.  And in most cases, you pay for the book, not for the writter to write.  I could say the project will be done in 2 days, but then an error comes up and I spend to much time fixing it, a week later the project is done.  That's an extream example but its the small things that will add up and I don't know how to account for those!

Thanks for any free given wisdom on this subject, and as always thanks for reading my post!

Nick

I have an internal rate of $30/hr (which is cheap, but I like undercutting the competition.  it allows me to get a lot of the local small businesses that can't afford to pay more).  What I do is give the client an estimate of time - which includes what I believe will be enough time to thoroughly test and debug - and the price based on that total time (so, $30 * estimate).  If the client can't pay that number, I negotiate.

Keep in mind that web development is not anything close to being a novelist.  A writer is a person with an English degree and a bunch of time on their hands.  A developer is a person working in a technical niche, and potentially has a significant amount of overhead to pay for (hosting, software, hardware, continual training, etc.).  You're not just charging for work done, but for the ability to do that work.

So, you need to figure out how much you actually worked and what a fair per-hour cost is for your skill level.  You said the project took two days... is that 16 hours of work?  48?  8?

The hardest part, I've found, is figuring out the time estimate.  All I can say for that is to take a hard look at yourself, and try to judge how quickly you tend to complete projects.  It's always best to give yourself a significant buffer for debugging.  Clients will be much happier if you overestimate the time and complete a project 'early' (and if you do, you should consider giving a slight discount to the original estimated cost to really gain the client's loyalty) instead of underestimating and going over on both time and the agreed budget.  Never, ever, ever over promise and under deliver.  You not only screw yourself (freelancing is all about reputation), but you make it that much less likely for that client to hire another developer in the future.

Along those lines, always be honest with a client.  If you don't know how to do something, be upfront about it.  You don't want to be that developer who's learning on a live project.  That almost always leads to the over time/budget/promise problem.

That's about all I can think of at the moment.  Hope it helps.

Thank you so much for the informative reply!  I'm hoping with time that I will get better at estimating the amount of time a project will take!

Thanks again,

Nick

I've developed a whole membership system, login, new user sign up, list search users and edit details pages, the whole works.  Also found some nice chunks of code to get the distance between 2 zip codes plugged in and plot them on a Google map.  Now I'm breaking down a screen shot of a web template and building a functional website with the membership PHP built in all tied to a custom MySQL database.  I'm sure he will want me to do basic webmaster stuff its finished.

 

I have a hard time charging for something I enjoy doing and am only charging around $200.00.  Is that fair?  I have no idea how much to charge?? 

 

Also, a problem I'm facing is deadlines. When will a project be done.  A developer is really a more complicated novel writter.  And in most cases, you pay for the book, not for the writter to write.  I could say the project will be done in 2 days, but then an error comes up and I spend to much time fixing it, a week later the project is done.  That's an extream example but its the small things that will add up and I don't know how to account for those!

 

Thanks for any free given wisdom on this subject, and as always thanks for reading my post!

Nick

Do some research on what others charge.  Call them up with faux projects, have a 10 minute convo, talk about these things.  What do the people charge in your local vicinity?  And, honestly, don't be afraid to ask directly.  Also, google info on marketing and what others are charging.

Yeah, good point.  There's often a cap on certain things.  Quick WordPress work (installation, installing a new theme/plugins, or even creating a simple theme) has a cap of around $500 in my area.

Thank you so much for the informative reply!  I'm hoping with time that I will get better at estimating the amount of time a project will take!

 

Thanks again,

Nick

Estimating is easy.  The first 80% of the project takes the first 80% of the time, and the remaining 20% of the project takes the other 80% of the time.

EDIT wrong post

Thank you so much for the informative reply!  I'm hoping with time that I will get better at estimating the amount of time a project will take!

 

Thanks again,

Nick

Honestly, just do something.  If you fail, you'll learn something.  If you succeed, you'll get paid and learn something.  If I were you, I'd just do that and see what happens.  Googling for books/info on this subject helps.

That's pretty much it...

Estimating is easy.  The first 80% of the project takes the first 80% of the time, and the remaining 20% of the project takes the other 80% of the time.

How true!

There is not just the time to write it. It has to be thoroughly tested and debugged followed by the client's acceptance testing - that can take as long again. Then it has to be documented, user guide to write etc. And at least once along the path the client is going to change his mind about some aspect of the job. Beware the "just jobs". Could you just ... ?

Beware the "just jobs". Could you just ... ?

*shudder*

Yeah, that question quickly leads to the realm of nightmares.

how do u write your documentations for you clients?

how do u write your documentations for you clients?

When I do hourly work, I just create an invoice at the end.  It's itemized, so each component is listed.  For contract work, the client and I negotiate a total price.  I require 1/3rd up front, another 1/3rd after an agreed upon milestone, and the last 1/3rd at the end.