How much should I charge?

[malehot888]

Hi Guys,

I was offered to emulate an existing report that my friend needs to complete for her company. She is contracting out work to me and I need to know how much I should charge her.

She has given me a report that was created a long time ago by a person that worked at the head office. I am supposed to look at it and create a new report with modifications that suits what she needs.

So the nitty gritty:
There is one main summary worksheet with 30 columns and 120 rows. Every column has an unique formula - these formulas are quite complex as they link to many other cells/worksheets. These are not your simple vlookup formulas - every cell has embedded formulas and it will take time to decipher what all the formulas are for. My excel skills are intermediate but I still need to look at this existing report and find out exactly how every cell relates to one another.

That being said, I need to know how much I should charge my friend's company. I need to be fair but I also don't want to undercut myself. I'm going to be conservative and say I need 40 hours to complete this project. She has told me that $1000 US + is doable. What would be a fair quote?

Thanks in advance guys!

 

[Domski]

Hi,

Not easy to say. I guess it depends on a few things:

- The amount of work involved
- The level of expertise required
- How professional a job you're likely to do
- How good a friend she is

Not something I'd really like to put a dollar figure on really.

Sorry for not being more helpful.

Dom

 

[malehot888]

Hey Dom,

Thanks for replying! It's hard to put a dollar figure on it due to the lack of information that I provided. She is a good friend (but that is besides the point b/c her company is paying for it) and she works for a MAJOR international newspaper.

As for complexity, I would say the person who built the report is an expert. I can tell that he/she spent a lot of time building the report as there are complicated formulas going here and there (pretty much every cell in the summary page has a versitile formula that changes when one cell changes). I estimate half my time understanding how the report is built and the other half building it. I talked to my friend and she says 2 - 3 weeks timeframe is acceptable. That being said, how much would a "consultant" charge by the hour?

To give you reference in my experience in excel, I build KPI reports for the oldest and one of the largest retail company in North America, so my excel skills aren't that shabby.

 

[Oaktree]

This may give you some idea:

http://www.mrexcel.com/forum/showthread.php?t=181205

 

[gwkenny]

First you say your skills are intermediate, then you say they aren't too shabby.

You need to be more definitive in your answer.

From your first post, it seems you can bill $25 an hour. For an intermediate Excel user, that's okay (though you have to qualify that with where you are at. In New York City that's at the bottom end).

"As for complexity, I would say the person who built the report is an expert. I can tell that he/she spent a lot of time building the report as there are complicated formulas going here and there (pretty much every cell in the summary page has a versitile formula that changes when one cell changes)."

You are probably right, but I'd wait till you understand the spreadsheet before making the comment. I've re-worked other "Excel Expert" spreadsheets and cut up to half the formulas as redundant.

Unless demand on my time is greater than I'm willing to give, I usually bill according to the needs of the customer. If your client doesn't require any VBA, then $25 is okay. If your client requires VBA, I'd say you need to raise your price to the $40 to $50 range. If you are bringing additional experience to the project (for example finance experience or in your case, specific knowledge of newspaper media and business operations thereof to enhance the project) you can raise the price accordingly (a little to a hell of a lot = couple hundred an hour).

MORE IMPORTANT THAN PRICING
1) DELIVERABLES: Clearly hammer out the deliverables with your friend/client. It almost always changes so having it clearly defined in the beginning helps when renegotiating extra time/fee for changes added.

2) COMMUNICATION: Every few days, spend 30 minutes documenting what you have done, what's next to be done, and where you are in the timeline with regards to the whole project. Ensures everyone is on the same page and no surprised crop up if the deadline is not met and/or changes alter the project beyond the scope initially stated.

Bottom line is that no one can really tell you what you should price yourself at. It is really what you are comfortable with accepting and a lot depends on circumstance (do you have a portfolio to back your experience and references up, your relationship with your employer, etc...).

Good luck to you!