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I do pad my estimates, but not my actual billables, because that would be dishonest in my book.
To err is human. Fortune favors the monsters.
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If you haven't heard of Erik Dietrich[^] look him up.
I followed him a few years ago, but life happens. He wrote the book I linked, which I haven't read, but his take on billing by the hour is don't. Bill by the project instead.
To put it another way, years ago when a product was created to be sold, the price was set based on the cost to make it plus a bit of profit. Today the price is set on how much people are willing to pay, doesn't matter how much it cost to make it.
So in the same sense, it doesn't matter how long it will take you to create something, but what is the client willing to pay.
Again hasn't really applied to me but it might be worth a bit of research to see if it applies to your situation.
Anyway, hope this might help.
Jack of all trades, master of none, though often times better than master of one.
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My system: adjust time estimates up and hourly rate down.
In other words charge for a project what most developers would charge. If you can do it twice as fast that leaves you with spare time to enjoy life or take on other projects. Also gives you a cushion for those days when you don't feel up to speed or simply caught a cold.
On inflation adjustment: if we all adjust our rates at (or above) the inflation level, the inflation will continue to go up and we are caught in a price spiral. The solution is to endure a little hardship after the pandemic windfall when governments printed money like there is no tomorrow. In case you are asking, I practice what I preach: this year my rates went up only 5% although inflation was close to 7.
Mircea
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That's more or less what I actually wanted to mean, you explained it better 
M.D.V. 
If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about?
Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you
Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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Mircea Neacsu wrote: I practice what I preach: this year my rates went up only 5% although inflation was close to 7.
Props to you man. I'm just amazed at how many people are cool with just another "legal" form of theft the government does. That's all inflation is, the secret tax. Because the last thing governments will stop doing is spending money they don't have.
Jeremy Falcon
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Something similar happens to me also sometimes, but unfortunately it happens far too seldom.
The preconditions for me are then:
- I'm very interested in the matter
- I am very interested in realizing such an application myself
- It's a (well-) known topic and I don't have to familiarize myself with it first
- The idea for such an application has been in my head for weeks and has somehow become concrete in my subconscious.
In such a case, I will still charge a real price. And this really without a bad conscience or having the feeling, of acting unfairly.
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Do not follow any advice that suggests you charge 5 hours when really doing 3. Not only is that unethical, if your clients ever found out you'll never keep them. Nobody works with liars twice.
You said you don't solicit and do not wish to do project quotes, so as mentioned you could also raise your rates. But in doing so, make sure clients understand its because you'll get it done quicker. Quality clients do not mind paying for quality; they mind being ripped off and lied to. So anyone suggesting you become dishonest about hours is just wrong.
Also, make sure you're actually worth it. No offense, but bragging about yourself will not fool anyone of substance. So many people lie in this industry. Other industries too of course, but those who have been around the block understand the amount of BS floating around.
There is another option, charge your clients for blocks of hours of your time. They buy 100 hours, you get it done in 30 and they're happy, they already bought a chunk so you keep the remainder. The downside to this is, people will want to use what they pay for. So they may come up with silly stuff for the remaining 70 to get their money's worth. Not recommended, but it's another option.
Jeremy Falcon
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Jeremy Falcon wrote: No offense, but bragging about yourself will not fool anyone of substance.
And I appreciate that, because I don't like working for suckers.  I know I can do what I can do and I know what I'm worth. What I said in my op about me is just best effort observations. If it means tooting my own horn in the process of making a point, I figure I may as well do it. The alternative is to simply not make the point in the first place.
Jeremy Falcon wrote: There is another option, charge your clients for blocks of hours of your time.
That's interesting idea, and one I'm going to mull over, despite its potential drawbacks.
To err is human. Fortune favors the monsters.
modified 26-Jan-23 19:46pm.
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honey the codewitch wrote: And I appreciate that, because I don't like working for suckers.
Glad you have the right attitude. It's what really does separate the winners from the... well... non-winners. 
Jeremy Falcon
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Only my two cents, but also experience should be payed....
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100% agree with you there, buddy. No matter how quickly you can type, some things you just can't learn without having gone through the battlefield yourself.
Jeremy Falcon
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I'm sorry to hear that you're feeling overwhelmed. It's important to take time for yourself and to prioritize self-care. It can be helpful to make a list of tasks that need to be done and then break them down into smaller, more manageable chunks. It can also be helpful to reach out to friends and family for support.
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What is your IDE to develop this App? I am interested in learning to write my own App this year...
diligent hands rule....
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i just used visual studio
To err is human. Fortune favors the monsters.
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Consider quoting your current rate with a minimum required hours.
My rate is X, and I will bill a minimum of Y hours for this project. Gives you a huge incentive to beat Y.
Or have a base engagement fee a la plumbing. $Z to show up plus X per hour.
Have you hired a plumber lately?
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What is your error rate? When you write some code and the customer pays for it, how do handle code issues (that may or may not be your doing?) Many moons ago, when I worked as you do, I provided my customer an honest estimate of the time to completion, but I provide free service if it failed because of my mistake or mistake of my subs. If it was user error because sloppy code or interface issues, same thing, mostly my problem (sometimes). This is sort of business 101, but it helps to get it all up front to the customer. I never lost a customer because of quality. I lost some because they were cheats and wouldn't pay, but shame on me for not detecting in advance. BYW (no secret) a lot of customer relations is word of mouth, a powerful weapon and/or tool.
"A little time, a little trouble, your better day"
Badfinger
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Errors are part of the cost of doing business. I charge the same bugs or no. Bugs to me, are basically just things that slow down a project.
At any rate, my error rate heavily depends on the code I'm writing, but all in all I produce reasonable code I think.
To err is human. Fortune favors the monsters.
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My experience: An app is never finished!
"Go forth into the source" - Neal Morse
"Hope is contagious"
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yup, but that goes without saying
"A little time, a little trouble, your better day"
Badfinger
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For fans of Bethesda's Elder Scrolls franchise, this is the dungeon crawler that kicked off the series.
It's basically retrogaming at this point, as it's nothing like morrowind, oblivion or skyrim. Still, for nostalgia or otherwise, just to experience TES' humble origins, now is the time to get it gratis.
I'd provide a link, but Steam users can just search Daggerfall.
To err is human. Fortune favors the monsters.
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As far as I know it is available on Bethesda site since quite a lot of time, I downloaded it in 2011 if I remember it correctly.
GCS/GE d--(d) s-/+ a C+++ U+++ P-- L+@ E-- W+++ N+ o+ K- w+++ O? M-- V? PS+ PE Y+ PGP t+ 5? X R+++ tv-- b+(+++) DI+++ D++ G e++ h--- r+++ y+++* Weapons extension: ma- k++ F+2 X
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Didn't know that, but it might be more convenient for steam users (esp Steambox users) to get it via Steam anyway.
To err is human. Fortune favors the monsters.
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Definitely, when I can I use Steam (but not for MMOs, never for MMOs).
GCS/GE d--(d) s-/+ a C+++ U+++ P-- L+@ E-- W+++ N+ o+ K- w+++ O? M-- V? PS+ PE Y+ PGP t+ 5? X R+++ tv-- b+(+++) DI+++ D++ G e++ h--- r+++ y+++* Weapons extension: ma- k++ F+2 X
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As it seems this version is pretty bugged, the people recommend to install the mod version from GoG
M.D.V. 
If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about?
Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you
Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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Wu hoo, got a public holiday today. And like a true blue Aussie I've taken a bludge[^] day tomorrow to get the 4 day weekend.
It's almost 19:30 and its still 30 degrees outside. Got to a top of 37, and you guessed, it our air-con is out of action. The new one gets installed on the 9th Feb.
It was a good day, the kids (& grandson who is now 4 months old) came round and had a BBQ.
Glad we have a pool, have been in and out all day; & we avoid the beach where the entire population seems to occupy a single stretch.
// TODO: Insert something here Top ten reasons why I'm lazy
1.
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