Posted by Lawrence
When you are new to the Web Development biz, or venturing out on your own for the first time deciding what to charge can be a real brain twister. Here are some helpful suggestions.
This is a very frequently asked question. One with no absolute answer. Here is a general matrix for putting a figure together.
You now have an hourly rate, that is IF you could work 40 billable hours in a week. Not Possible! You’ll be doing good to fit 25 to 30 billable hours in a week. So go back to #5 and use 25 or 30 as the divider.
Now you have a figure in mind. But this is a totally abstract figure. You need to do some investigative work to see what the going rate in your market is. Then compare your abstract figure with what you find and make what adjustments you need. If you are new to the business or the market, you can “buy” your way in by lowering your number or allocating a set amount of time each week to do pro-bono work.
Finally, and this is VERY important, keep an accurate accounting of how many hours you actually spend on various types of projects. Keep a log. If you do this, faithfully, within a pretty short period of time you will get a feel for what you should charge for different types of projects.
If you take the time and effort to work this out, and keep records of your time, in short order when a potential client asks you “how much”, you can give him/her a pretty accurate figure off the top of your head without a lot of hemming and hawing. This makes you look more professional and will get you more work.
Hope this helps!
