Charge for Onboarding Call?

aharper82 · ‎10-12-2019

Hi!

Quick question. Is it normal or ethical to use the work diary during an onboarding call where a client and I are connecting for the first time to discuss expectations and tasks to be completed?

Thanks for your help!

Amber

m_sharman · ‎10-12-2019

Amber H wrote:
Hi!
Quick question. Is it normal or ethical to use the work diary during an onboarding call where a client and I are connecting for the first time to discuss expectations and tasks to be completed?

Thanks for your help!
Amber

I would, it's training/time. I typically don't charge for administrative back and forth (like scheduling, etc), but I do charge for my time when I'm being given background for the task. This is something I neglected to do early my freelancing projects and it was a mistake.

That said, this line is different for every freelancer and contract. The majority of my projects are less than 2k in earnings, so I do charge for everything. If I had a contract worth 10k, I would view things differently.

prestonhunter · ‎10-12-2019

A professional, ethical client won’t let you start working without making sure that you have a contract in place and are logging for the time you spend working on the project.

I often have clients who make sure that the contract has started even before our first call takes place. They expect to pay for such planning and orientation time.

a_lipsey · ‎10-12-2019

Amber H wrote:
Hi!
Quick question. Is it normal or ethical to use the work diary during an onboarding call where a client and I are connecting for the first time to discuss expectations and tasks to be completed?

Thanks for your help!
Amber

If you have a contract in place then, yes, it's normal to charge the client for any time spent talking to them about anything work related. If they are talking to you to assign a task and give you deadlines (and it's an ongoing hourly contract, like where you may get new tasks each week) yes, you should be tracking and charging. If it's a fixed price contract, it doesn't really matter about hours, but you should have made sure the scope and tasks were clear before accepting the contract.