Here’s a little problem I stumbled across today 
You’re working for a client on an hourly rate. There’s no allowance for expenses.
For a particular task you know it’s cheaper for the client if you buy some software to do the job (even taking the software cost into account). It’s unlikely you will use the software for any future work and there’s no expenses allowed, so the price of the software comes out of your pocket and not the clients.
Do you:
- Not buy the software and charge the client for all the time it takes?
- Buy the software and lie about the hours spent on the job, inflating them to cover the cost of the software?
- Buy the software out of your own pocket and bill the correct hours taken?
What would you do?
4 comments ↓
If the the cost of the software is less than the cost of the additional time required to complete the job without it the best option would be to go back to the customer and explain the situation. When they know it will save them money they may be quite happy to cover the cost of the software, and if not then at least they are aware of the additional hours required. Everyones happy!
In essence I agree with what Simon says but I also wonder whether there is a case for saying the client simply won’t know what is best to do so take the decision for them.
Woodlands is a case in point. If I had known the amount of work needed to get the system running better would we be better off starting from the ground up or buying an off the shelf package. I wouldn’t know. So I would expect you to answer the question and complete the job in the most effective manner even if that meant using someone else’s software. Would I need to know all this? I don’t think many of my clients could care less. This is the job just do it!
Include it in the quote but be prepared to put it to them and for them to request ownership of the software at the end of the project.
If you don’t want this, then clearly it’s not just going to be used for that one client and as such you should charge a software fee, which is a percentage of the software cost split over however many clients you think you will use the software for. Although charge a little more than that just in case you are off.
I agree, take the client for everything you can get out of them and then take them out for a few drinks and see if you can do them again and again and again!
Thats what I’ve been doing for the past 12 years and none of the *uckers know it!
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