| If you offer any type of small business consulting | | | | worthwhile profit. |
| services, one of the hardest things that you will | | | | You will also need to look around to see what your |
| encounter is setting fees for those services. Trying | | | | competitors are charging because if you set your |
| to determine what fees to charge for your services | | | | rate too high you won't land any jobs. And when you |
| can be rather intimidating because of how many | | | | set them too low, you will go out of business quickly. |
| different choices you have in billing your clients. | | | | Fixed or flat rates are another popular option |
| But also because of how many factors are involved | | | | because your clients know what to expect up front |
| in determining what you need to charge. | | | | because the amount that you are charging is going to |
| There are many different billing methods that you | | | | be based directly on the job that you are doing and |
| can use with your clients, but the hardest part is | | | | the results you will deliver. |
| trying to decide which method is going to work best | | | | Charging a fixed or flat rate can be tricky because if |
| for your consulting business. | | | | you miscalculate the time you need to do the job |
| The various billing methods that you can choose from | | | | you can end up losing money because of how much |
| are hourly rates, fixed rates, contingency rates, a flat | | | | time spent doing the job. |
| fee plus any expenses you incur, or a daily fee | | | | One of the benefits about flat or fixed rates is that |
| where you add on your expenses. | | | | there are hardly ever any disputes over the final bill |
| The only way to determine what method is going to | | | | because the price was agreed upon beforehand. |
| work best for your business is to compare the | | | | To figure out what to charge for a flat or fixed rate, |
| different methods and select the one that fits your | | | | you will need to look at the total job, sometimes |
| needs. | | | | breaking it down into smaller assignments is easier. |
| Charging an hourly rate or a daily rate is the most | | | | When looking at the job, you need to establish how |
| popular billing method that consulting businesses opt | | | | long it is going to take you to do the job. That is |
| for because of how much clients prefer this method. | | | | why it is often easier to look at smaller assignments. |
| To determine your hourly or daily rate you will need | | | | Once you have verified how long it will take you to |
| to first figure out how many billable hours there are | | | | do the overall job, you need to include the overhead |
| in a year for your business. | | | | expenses your business has. That way you can |
| When determining the billable hours you need to | | | | ensure that you are charging enough and still earn a |
| remember that time spent on marketing, | | | | profit. Depending on the choice you make, you can |
| administrative tasks, and any other functions involved | | | | quote the job as a whole or you can break it down |
| in running the business cannot be included as billable | | | | into smaller assignments. |
| because you cannot charge the clients for them. | | | | The above fee options for your small business |
| After finding out how many billable hours there are in | | | | consulting services are the most common. But as |
| the year, you need to figure out your overhead | | | | with anything you can combine the different |
| expenses. You need to determine your overhead | | | | methods or choose a method that is totally unique to |
| expenses because you need to assign those to your | | | | you. It all comes down to what your client wants and |
| hourly rate to ensure that you charge enough to | | | | is happy with. |
| cover the expenses, but also so you can still reach a | | | | |