[Asterisk-biz] Repost: Consulting rate for asterisk work

[Paul]

Leif Madsen wrote:

>On Wed, 02 Feb 2005 11:56:59 -0800, Ed Greenberg <edg at greenberg.org> wrote:
>  
>
>>I'm trying to figure out what the correct rate is for such work.
>>I live in Silicon Valley, where costs are high.
>>    
>>
I live in the woods where costs are low. Subcontract remote work to 
people like me.

>>Any suggestions appreciated for what an independent contractor would charge
>>for such work?(assuming competency?)
>>    
>>
>
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Competency is mandatory not assumed. Make sure your customer knows that 
and also knows that anyone offering him bargain rates is probably 
incompetent.

>>From what I have been able to tell, competent Asterisk consultants
>tend to charge between $60 -> $150 an hour, depending on who is paying
>and their level of competency.
>
>When someone approaches me for consulting, my rates are generally in
>the middle of that, but am flexible depending on who the customer is
>(small or medium business, type of work required, etc..).  For some
>smaller companies a flat rate bill makes them more comfortable,
>however you have to protect yourself by clearly specifying what you
>are providing for that flat rate. You don't want to get caught up in
>having to provide support which you are essentially not being paid
>for.
>
>I'm sure others who have been doing consulting for longer than I will
>have many more suggestions.
>
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>
My suggestion is to first set the lowest rate you would ever work for. 
Based on the $60 low mentioned above I would set a lowest rate of $40. I 
would go this low for any project of any size if hungry(rare) or bored 
enough(very rare). Otherwise the requirements are 2000 hour minimum, 
$40k advance and the other half paid promptly when invoiced(weekly, 
monthly, whatever). No refunds of the advance portion as long as I am 
able to work(alive and well) and absolutely no refunds for the time I 
have already worked.

So if you are willing to work for $40/hour under those ideal terms you 
need to charge higher rates based on how different from ideal the terms 
would be. The rates need to be high enough so that you can pay someone 
to answer phones and greet visitors(protect you from doing non-billable 
things). My estimate is that the next step up in the rate table is $70 
for a 100 hour minimum(again half in advance).

Also - establish a guideline for how many hours you will risk in order 
to gain a new customer. I usually limit it to 4 hours and make sure I 
can put things back to the original broken state if the customer refuses 
to pay. The cases where they don't pay are usually cases where in less 
then 30 minutes we are able to tell them they need a new PC more than a 
service call.