5 Big Reasons Why You Should Charge Per Project, Task, Or Program, And Not Per Hour

Many coaches, consultants, virtual assistants, and others charge by Thunderball hour. They feel donate a car to charity put in the time and then you get paid. The consultant knows how much to bill the client, and the client knows how long it took you to complete the job. But does the client ultimately care how long it took you to complete the tasks, or does he/she only care how much she is paying? Clients are really only interested in the final cost to them. They only want to know if your price falls within the budget for their project and for the end result.

An alternative to charging by the hour is to come up with a full price for the whole program or project. Think about when you attend a workshop, class or seminar. You are paying a set price for that workshop. Do you ever add up how many hours the workshop covers and divide by that number to determine how much you are paying per hour? Most likely you don't. All you care about is if you have the money in your budget to pay for the workshop, and you determine if the workshop is worth the price being asked.

That is the same way your clients are thinking. Here are 5 big reasons why charging per project or program is far better than charging per hour:

1. Your client knows exactly how much to expect the project to cost.

At the outset of the project or beginning of a program or session (depending on the nature of your work), your client asks for an estimate. When charging per project you determine how much the project is worth to the client and how much it is worth to you. That should determine the price. alien your hours go over, you may lose money. If your hours are under, you make more than you could have by charging per hour. Once you get the hang of estimating how long something should take you, you can start making much more money than you could by charging by the hour.

2. There will be no surprises when the client receives the bill.

Have you ever worked with a client and found that it is taking longer to complete the task than you thought? Your client gets the bill and it is much more than the estimate. Your client is not happy. He doesn't understand why it took you so long to complete it. You try to explain yourself. If you charge by the project, then your client knows upfront how much the project will cost and can decide at that point if it fits in their budget. There will be no surprises at bill-time and your client will be much happier.

3. If you work fast, you may be able to finish the project in less time.

If you work faster and charge by the hour, you lose money. Do you ever feel like you just want to get something done, but then if you work too fast, you lose money? Does a job ever seem like it is worth more than what you just charged your client? Charging by the project allows you to determine what the end result is worth to your client instead of deciding how long it may take you to complete. Depending on the project, it could be worth much more than just your time.

4. Clients may be more willing to pay a higher price for a project than for an hour.

This one is similar to the one above. I come from a technical background and sometimes I might create a project for a client that he will then use himself to make much more money. The project is worth much more to him than the time I put in. The client already knows how much that project is worth to him, so he will determine if my Per Project Price fits into his budget. Even though the price is higher than if I charge by the hour, he is happy because he knows what the project is worth to him, and he knows how much it will cost him from the very beginning.

5. There are only so many hours in a day.

If you only charge by the hour, your income can never increase. If you want to make more money, you either need to work more hours or charge more per hour. If you charge too much per hour, your clients won't pay.

Experiment with charging by the project. Estimate how long it will take you then add some to the total to allow for unforeseen issues. Don't offer to your clients how many hours you will be putting into the project. Present this Per Project Price and state that that will be the price they will be expected to pay for the scope previously laid out. Of course, if they change the scope of the project, you will need to let them know that you may need to modify the Per Project Price.

Kimberly Reddington, founder of href="CereusWomen.com">CereusWomen.com teaches moms how to turn their skills and talents into a successful home-based service business and to find a balance between their business and their family. Discover Kim's popular special report by visiting href="cereuswomen.com/">CereusWomen.com