Poll: When you apply an hourly rate on a project, when does your counting start? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "When you apply an hourly rate on a project, when does your counting start?".
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| | | | | When starting the actual work | May 11, 2021 |
I don’t charge directly what I have to do before or after the job in question but obviously all these things are considered when I calculate my rates. I charge by the hour for revision, proofreading, editing and transcreation, but also when I’m required to update some translations or to use formats like Excel or Powerpoint.
| | | | | On receipt of email | May 11, 2021 |
I charge for everything from start to finish, including breaks, round it up and then add a bit for luck
| | | | neilmac
Spain
Local time: 16:58
Spanish to English
+ ...
I used to charge by the hour for revision/proofing, and would usually just estimate more or less how long the job took, from start to finish. However, the client started asking for an estimate before authorising the work, which meant I had to count the words to be revised and apply a per word rate. I was quite surprised to find that I had been undercutting myself quite a lot. So now I'm quite happy to quote them a budget estimate before taking any jobs on, and the clients are happy because they ... See more I used to charge by the hour for revision/proofing, and would usually just estimate more or less how long the job took, from start to finish. However, the client started asking for an estimate before authorising the work, which meant I had to count the words to be revised and apply a per word rate. I was quite surprised to find that I had been undercutting myself quite a lot. So now I'm quite happy to quote them a budget estimate before taking any jobs on, and the clients are happy because they are jumping through the hoops required by their accounting departments or the powers that be. I still think it's kind of ridiculous though, as they always insist on getting the "best price", which they would have been if they had just kept on letting me charge by the hour.
[Edited at 2021-05-11 15:43 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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R. Alex Jenkins 
Brazil
Local time: 11:58
Member (2006)
Portuguese to English
+ ...
It depends on the agreement that you have with the client, but usually you need to swallow up administration work such as organizing your folders, spreadsheets and communication aspects as separate from the work itself, which can be frustrating at times because you can spend more time organizing and communicating than actually getting paid. I estimate a ratio of around 2:1 for work x admin to be a little extreme, so you need to get that swinging in your favor.
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Ice Scream wrote:
I charge for everything from start to finish, including breaks, round it up and then add a bit for luck
That is basically fraud, no wonder you hide behind a false identity.
| | | | Michael Harris
Germany
Local time: 16:58
Member (2006)
German to English
| Come on Richard | May 11, 2021 |
Richard Purdom wrote: Ice Scream wrote:
I charge for everything from start to finish, including breaks, round it up and then add a bit for luck That is basically fraud, no wonder you hide behind a false identity.
Do you really believe what Scream has written? He forgot to write that his shopping tours are also included. Try not to take everything seriously:-)
| | | | Michele Fauble
United States
Local time: 07:58
Member (2006)
Norwegian to English
+ ...
Michael Harris wrote: Richard Purdom wrote: Ice Scream wrote:
I charge for everything from start to finish, including breaks, round it up and then add a bit for luck That is basically fraud, no wonder you hide behind a false identity. Do you really believe what Scream has written? He forgot to write that his shopping tours are also included. Try not to take everything seriously:-)
Chris is not to be taken seriously???
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Nikolay Novitskiy
Russian Federation
Local time: 19:58
Member (2018)
English to Russian
| I do the same | May 12, 2021 |
Ice Scream wrote:
I charge for everything from start to finish, including breaks, round it up and then add a bit for luck
I agree with the poster. All the administrative work, as well as recreational pauses should be compensated for the following reasons:
- According to The Labor Code of Russia, a 10 min. recreational pause should be granted each hour, if the person is working with display terminals and inputs text from the keyboard. It means that even when working for yourself, you must provide you these recreational pauses according to the law, and the client should pay for this time as well.
- The administrative work (reading the e-mail, communicating with the client, delivering the task, etc.) costs time. It's your expences which should be included in your price.
[Edited at 2021-05-12 04:37 GMT]
| | | | Kay Denney
France
Local time: 16:58
French to English
What does "file preparation" mean here? If I have to do something to the files before I actually start proofreading or transcribing or whatever, I won't be doing that for free. It's actually the kind of thing that would annoy the hell out of me, so I'd need to bill it just to stay sane.
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