Charge for meeting time?
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- Danski
Do you? Just curious.
- mrdobolina0
I generally just add it my hours worked on the project.
- TransFatty0
depends how long the meetings are
- noneck0
Depends.
If your client is a time-burgler then yes.
On the other hand, I just had a two-hour client meeting with a really cool client. We only spent half an hour talking about the project, the other 1.5 hours was spent shootin the chit. I *may* bill 0.5hr for that 2hr meeting.
- freedom0
What if client schedules a phone call to go over an email that is very clear and explains everything?
I just had a phone call where the client essentially read the email and then abruptly had to go to another meeting.
Complete waste of my time talking to him and he wasn't that nice.
- Plus there were a few emails to schedule the phone call.freedom
- MrT0
If they are a real clock-sucker then I usually do. Often when they see them all on the bill, it results in less meetings...
- Knuckleberry0
Yes, if they have no set direction. No, if they know what they want and use my time wisely.
- wagshaft0
After SOW signed: Yes. Before: No.
- doesnotexist0
always worked into the price—it's part of the process. and my price is never just a calculation of estimated hours.
- d_rek0
Yes.
- ETM0
Yes, hourly. Most of my clients are long term/on-going, rather than just one project, so it's necessary,
- if that's the case, why don't you do a retainer?doesnotexist
- ohhhhhsnap0
YES!
- Continuity0
Yes. Why?
1) It's time you're committing to the client and their project. Time you could be spending on other clients, or drumming up new business;
2) It's counted as productive time used to move a project forward (regardless of if there's progress or not);
3) It falls under project/account management, which is an absolutely billable service.Look at it this way: if you're in an agency, and you have a meeting about a project — regardless of whether it's an internal team meeting, or a client meeting — you then enter the time in your agency's time reporting system. The agency then bills that time to the client, because it's time and resources committed to that project/client.
What's good for agencies is good for you. Don't sell yourself short; act like the business you are.
- That said, project and account management should ideal be worked into your initial cost estimate.Continuity
- flashbender0
Definitely - it is your time that the client ultimately is paying for - whether you are coding, sketching, thinking, or speaking with them.
Think of it the same as a lawyer - you don't just pay a lawyer to show up in court with you - everytime they answer the phone the meter is running.
That being said, I tend to do what other people mentioned and bury it in the charges as 'project management' or something like that
- formed0
No. 90% of our projects are flat fees. Most clients have asked not to have meetings, so it generally works out fine.
- "generally"doesnotexist
- It works out. "Generally" as I don't track and compare the secondsformed
- also keeps clients happyformed