Possibly unhelpful but: I only do fixed-fee projects, which eliminates the need for time tracking. That said? About 15-20% of my projects run longer than budgeted.
I'm pretty good at budgeting and estimating because I've been at it a long time. The 15-20% are just things that go sideways -- usually on the client's side and I typically make a snap judgment not to get into a scope/billing dispute because being easy to work with is part of my brand.
And I find I can often avoid detailed budgeting and scope, controlling the latter via project management once the engagement starts. (I have a pretty sophisticated spreadsheet if I need to get deep in the weeds on estimating, but it's a relic of when I did time-and-materials work.)
Example: If past experience says a project is going to take about X thousand dollars per month worth of effort spread across Y number of months before we're likely to see results, then my whole budgeting and project definition processes come down to understanding the business metrics success will be judged on and building scope around that. We can manage task backlog and progress reporting with weekly check-ins.
I usually estimate an average amount of hours I can dedicate on the projects a week. Some I strike the limit others(More frequently) while others work less hours
Yes at times I find the weekly limit to be less than it was initially estimated, so I'm forced to do some more work. Though some of my clients are happy to give bonuses upon discussion.
Don't bill by the hour. Bill by the week instead and set a day-rate that is 1/3rd of your week rate so you don't get cut into little ribbons by lots of short jobs.
> So you're billing a week of elapsed time instead of working time, correct?
Yes, indeed.
> do you find yourself working more or less than the usual working time in a day for freelancers during this week?
As much as the job will require, usually that's roughly between 35 and 45 hours but there have been some very bad exceptions on the high end which ended up me working the weekend as well to finish the job on time. Having work sliced off in weekly increments also helps to keep my agenda manageable, which I would otherwise have serious issues doing.
And the day rate trick works well too: if I do sell a day at that rate I right away have the option to sell more days during that week at the same rate and then instead of having less pay it works out to more and if there is no other work I have almost a whole week off but still 30% of the income.
And the week/day pricing seems like a good idea as well.
I suppose it works best if your clients mostly have "more than a week long projects", though.
Otherwise, they would have to pay your increased daily rate most of the time, which would make you above market.
When I think about this for myself, I think my only chance to close weekly deals with some clients would be to discount my weekly rate instead of increasing my daily rate, which is not ideal.
Ideally you charge for deliverables or outcomes, not for your time.
Does your auto mechanic or plumber or doctor charge by the hour? No, they give you a price for what you need. And they base their price on both market value and their cost (including their time).
Fixed fee for a large project can go wrong badly because early mistakes or missed requirements can set the schedule back and increase the complexity of the work. Break big projects into smaller tasks that you can reliably estimate. Review progress with the customer frequently. Know the business value of your work, not just how long it will take.
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[ 3.6 ms ] story [ 37.3 ms ] threadAlso, budgeting and defining project limits takes time. Do you manage to bill more to take this into account?
And I find I can often avoid detailed budgeting and scope, controlling the latter via project management once the engagement starts. (I have a pretty sophisticated spreadsheet if I need to get deep in the weeds on estimating, but it's a relic of when I did time-and-materials work.)
Example: If past experience says a project is going to take about X thousand dollars per month worth of effort spread across Y number of months before we're likely to see results, then my whole budgeting and project definition processes come down to understanding the business metrics success will be judged on and building scope around that. We can manage task backlog and progress reporting with weekly check-ins.
If correct, do you find yourself working more or less than the usual working time in a day for freelancers during this week?
Yes, indeed.
> do you find yourself working more or less than the usual working time in a day for freelancers during this week?
As much as the job will require, usually that's roughly between 35 and 45 hours but there have been some very bad exceptions on the high end which ended up me working the weekend as well to finish the job on time. Having work sliced off in weekly increments also helps to keep my agenda manageable, which I would otherwise have serious issues doing.
And the day rate trick works well too: if I do sell a day at that rate I right away have the option to sell more days during that week at the same rate and then instead of having less pay it works out to more and if there is no other work I have almost a whole week off but still 30% of the income.
And the week/day pricing seems like a good idea as well.
I suppose it works best if your clients mostly have "more than a week long projects", though.
Otherwise, they would have to pay your increased daily rate most of the time, which would make you above market.
When I think about this for myself, I think my only chance to close weekly deals with some clients would be to discount my weekly rate instead of increasing my daily rate, which is not ideal.
Does your auto mechanic or plumber or doctor charge by the hour? No, they give you a price for what you need. And they base their price on both market value and their cost (including their time).
Fixed fee for a large project can go wrong badly because early mistakes or missed requirements can set the schedule back and increase the complexity of the work. Break big projects into smaller tasks that you can reliably estimate. Review progress with the customer frequently. Know the business value of your work, not just how long it will take.