Ask HN: Consulting work on the weekends -- what should I know to protect myself?

2 points by mmanfrin 12y ago ↗ HN

An old coworker has asked for help in an area I have an expertise in. I've told them I can only work on the weekends and evenings, so that it does not interfere with my current job. We'll be signing a contract -- what should I look out for? How do I properly measure time worked? How do I handle emails (do I time myself when I read and respond to emails to bill?).

Any advice is helpful, thank you.

2 comments

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migrantgeek 12y ago ↗

I am doing the same thing right now. I had a lot of trouble billing. I'm just horrible at recording everything.

Now I have something like a retainer. The idea being that I get paid X dollars per month that includes 15 hours of work. If I end up working more than that, I bill $150 per hour. Because this customer is very low maintenance, I've never done anything near 15 hours in a month.

I think I actually get paid slightly less but it's more predictable for both parties.

icedchai 12y ago ↗

Personally I just keep a log (as a text file) of date and hours worked, and a one or two line description. When I do the monthly invoices, I use that log.

In 10+ years of consulting, I've never gotten a complaint about the detail of my invoices.

Don't nickle and dime your clients with emails. If you're writing a document or something that needs to be emailed, sure, bill for the documentation work.

I also don't bill for anything that takes less than 5 minutes, like one line text updates, etc. It's not worth my time to track that stuff.