Hourlie offers for gigs that fit more as fixed priced jobs

[Samantha S]

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@Rene K wrote:

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@Preston H wrote:

As I client, I generally prefer hourly contracts whenever I want to obtain a higher-quality result.

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It is true in some fields but not in others. In translation there is no such correlation and I'm sure there are many fields where there is no need to go hourly for better quality. On the other side, in some industry such as IT, it's better to work on an hourly basis.

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I agree with Rene -- it really depends on the field. It is pretty common to use fixed rate contracts for writing. Most of the experienced writers I have talked to (outside this platform) advised me to work with fixed rate contracts. I am happy to do either. I find that the hourly rate clients tend to be a little lower maintenance and less likely to request revisions and unplanned extra work. I don't really feel like this is about quality of the result. My clients have all been pretty good so far. I am not seeing much difference between fixed rate vs. hourly other than client preference and comfort level.

However, the content I write ranges from a tweet to around 2,000 words so even a fixed rate job is a short-term commitment. I don't write ebooks or longer content yet. I imagine development work and project management would be different. 

[Tiffany S]

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@Preston H wrote:

re: "Do you think there is a reason of why a client would prefer an hourlie contract?"

As I client, I generally prefer hourly contracts whenever I want to obtain a higher-quality result.

Client: I need a program done that will do X.

Fixed-Rate Freelancer: Okay, the program does X. Here it is.

Hourly Freelancer: I spent the time necessary to make sure that the program is bug-free, well-written, commented, and can easily be maintained as you use this in the future.

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That's sad. I would assume that any professional would build all of those "extras" you list in the second example into the fixed-rate price. This makes it sound as if the hourly guy is milking the project for time. 

[Petra R]

The "maximum" number of hours is just that. The maximum allowed, and I had 2 hour contracts that had a 40 hour limit.

I am a little stunned and disturbed that you would even consider such an out and out fraud as "playing the clock"

Track the time it takes, that is what you get paid. End of story.

[Jose Daniel M]

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@Petra R wrote:

The "maximum" number of hours is just that. The maximum allowed, and I had 2 hour contracts that had a 40 hour limit.

I am a little stunned and disturbed that you would even consider such an out and out fraud as "playing the clock"

Track the time it takes, that is what you get paid. End of story.

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 Not actually considered it. I read a rather recent thread from a guy who claimed to have let the time tracker running with "a malfuctioning keyboard" and then he got banned hard. I am happy to say that I am not that stupid. My best option is most likely to follow Preston and Rene's advices. That is the end of the story.

[Vince D]

If you over estimate the time on an hourly contract then that is what the client should pay. If you estimate $40 and the client ends up paying $20 they will probably be grateful and hopefully give you more work. You can look at as a lesson learned in honing your estimating skills.

I have had several clients on Upwork where I actually had to work directly on their system via Teamviewer or GoToMyPC. While their description of the problem was adequate, it was hard to give an accurate estimate until I could actually go in and debug the problem. I told them it could be 2 to 4 hours. It took about an hour and a half. Did I make less money yes. But they each directly invited me two more times to fix other small problems. One even made it a point of mentioning the time difference in their feedback. A haapy client is a returning client .

Freelancing is not just about making money. It's also about building a client base.

[Tiffany S]

OP, if you're working hourly, there is no "agreed price". There is an agreed rate per hour, and it is impossible to finish before reaching the appropriate price. That's what hourly means.

[Kat C]

Not to echo too much of what's already been shared...but...

For purely editing gigs, I always do hourly. For instructional design jobs, I may do hourly or a fixed sum contract depending on the complexity of the project. 

For the large writing projects (30K words or more), I'm prone to do a fixed rate agreement.

My hourlies have all been manual time entrance into the system. 

Clients can switch to fixed sum if they wish (funny enough I had a client ask if they could switch to fixed amount for an editing project...oh heaven's no!) and you agree. 

Oh boy, though, if you're tracking and something takes less time, I'd stop the tracker and say, "Here you go! On time and under budget!"

[Petra R]

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Kat C wrote:m. 

Clients can switch to fixed sum if they wish (funny enough I had a client ask if they could switch to fixed amount for an editing project...oh heaven's no!) and you agree.

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 Nope, they can not. A fixed price contract can be changed to hourly.  An hourly contract can not be changed to fixed price.

[Kat C]

They can when they set up the initial contract (meaning the post was for a fixed rate, but when offering the contract they can change it to hourly), this is true. How do I know? I just showed a client how to do this. 

During the contract, they will have to start another contract. 

How do I know? I just did this with a freelancer.

[Petra R]

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@Kat C wrote:

They can when they set up the initial contract (meaning the post was for a fixed rate, but when offering the contract they can change it to hourly),

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 Of course you can change an *offer* from one to the other.

We were talking about a *contract.*

A fixed rate contract *can* be changed to hourly.

A hourly contract can not be changed to fixed rate.