I'm just starting out doing some web work on the side in addition to my full time job. I have a client that fired the person admin-ing their site. I did an "emergency-get-this-fixed-so-it-works" job and got an offer to get $570 for the work. I basically based my rate foregoing from that job. I then did some fixes that are about double that rate. It took me awhile to clean up the mess and figure things out, so I charged them $1300.00.

Now they are choking on that rate and want my justification. I'm in a dillema, because I want to stand my ground on the price because I think that was fair for the amount that they wanted fixed. The previous person burned them and was charging double for basically doing nothing at all. They are hesitant because they were burned.

Should I drop the price so I can keep this client and if so, how would I word it, vs. saying something dumb like "sorry, I didn't mean to charge you that much, but this instead $XXX.YY"?

They were asking me if I was billing them hourly. I wrote out all the details in the invoice but they didn't think it was "worth" it. I basically wracked my brain trying to figure out the stuff the guy left (missing passwords, bad database design, etc.), so that is why I was charging them for "battle pay"...my time, my headache.

How do I phrase this nicely so I get paid and keep a client? Should I show weakness and just give them a 25% discount and if so, how do I say it? What would you guys do?

(Since this is my first real client, I've not done the contract things and such. Actually a friend on the inside of the company was the one who recommended me...they are kinda trying me out I guess, but they were happy so far till I billed them my worth, and that I don't want to degrade myself as some "walmart" cheapo person)

Thanks!

Best of luck. There's no exact way to justify a charge that you made up out of the blue. The only rational thing to do is quote them a per hour charge and specify the number of hours of work. If you think you're worth that hourly rate, stick with it. They're probably already thinking about hiring someone else.

Should I show weakness and just give them a 25% discountNo. Absolutely not. This sends two messages to them.

1. You must have been ripping them off from the very beginning, since you're now agreeing with them your time is worth less than you originally quoted them.

2. They can push you around all they want.

If they want justification (and this is very fair for them to ask), list out everything you did and how much time it took. Multiply it against your hourly rate (now would be a great time to figure out how much you're worth per hour - you're not salaried by them).

But make it clear in as nice a way as possible that the quality of work you do for them justifies your price, and the same way you wouldn't ask them to accept lower quality work, you expect they'll honor your price.

1. You must have been ripping them off from the very beginning, since you're now agreeing with them your time is worth less than you originally quoted them.


I partially agree with this. It really depends on the relationship you want with this company. If you think they are going to provide alot of work, then maybe lowering the price may help your chances. (I would say maybe 10%, not 25%)

Another option would be to tell them that this is the price for what you've done, but as they continue to give you work you can offer them a discounted rate (Similar to the way licensing works with software, the more you buy the lower rates you can get, from a resellers standpoint.) I have a client that gives me lots of work, so I give them a lower rate then other clients.

I partially agree with this. It really depends on the relationship you want with this company. If you think they are going to provide alot of work, then maybe lowering the price may help your chances. (I would say maybe 10%, not 25%)Maybe, but OP did specifically state this was the first project he did with them, and you don't ever discount people based on the promise for potential work! That's probably the #1 scenario in which designers get screwed by clients, promising lots of future work when they only want a quick discount.

If you want to discount a customer based on volume, by all means to do, but make sure the volume exists and you're contracted to do it first ;)

You can always give them a free hour of work for every 20 they contract with you, or something like that. That way, they get a discount, and they get rewarded for sending you volumes of work, as opposed to being rewarded for nagging you :)

I agree with "the_pm" on standing firm on this. Because it is the first time they deal with you and they are afraid of getting ripped off. If you don't insist on your time's worth, you are telling them that you ARE ripping them off by lowering your bill.

When I take on so-called emergency call like this, I make it clear that I bill them either by the hourly rate or a flat rate. Don't blame yourself on this. Just insist on the original bill. If they don't pay, they are not worth your future time either.

Since they got ripped off before, they might be simply pulling your chain here. Another thing to look at is the size of their business. If they have a good number of employees, $1300 web job is nothing to their budget. Just go for it.

. If they have a good number of employees, $1300 web job is nothing to their budget.
That's the point. But also be ready to ask yourself what will you do if they don't agree on the price you'll fix? Will you be able to find other clients?

That's the point. But also be ready to ask yourself what will you do if they don't agree on the price you'll fix? Will you be able to find other clients?
To add in Lorem Ipsum's train of though. Your client may possibly disagree on the price you fix, and to avoid getting into a very awkward situation, provide an option B - a succession of steps to follow in case thing turn that way.

Good luck :agree:

Your best bet is to flood them with as much information about what you did as possible so that it's all clearly justified. If all you give the client is a dollar amount, that's all they're going to see and in their mind, what they *think* they got is never going to match what they're paying.

The more info you can give them on what you actually spent the time on, the more comfortable they'll feel. Then from now on there are two words that will be your best friends. 'Specs' and 'Contracts.'