I think it is un justifiable, to tack on. That is, to "Estimate" a job for say, 7-900, and then to charge 1200.
I take the position that as soon as you see it will be over the est by more than 50-100 bucks, you had better contact the person paying the bill, and begin including them, in the process. They deserve to know what is happening.
N
Justifying a bill for more than some estimate
> I think it is un justifiable, to tack on. That is, to "Estimate" a job for say, 7-900, and then to charge 1200.
>
> I take the position that as soon as you see it will be over the est by more than 50-100 bucks, you had better contact the person paying the bill, and begin including them, in the process. They deserve to know what is happening.
I'd say that it depends upon the client. If you bill for your services on a time and expenses basis, as I do, and the client understands that, then if something takes longer than you thought it would, it's perfectly rational that the bill will reflect that. You can mention that you've encountered problems and the bottom line on the bill is nothing more than to be expected.
On the other hand if you're dealing with the price-conscious client who may have only retained you because you mentioned a number that fit the amount of money in the coffee can under the floor boards, yes, you do need to prepare them for the invoice that they are about to receive.
If I estimated a job for 7-900 and at the end I wished I had estimated 1200, I would never ask for difference. I would have still made some profit on that job.
Now if I estimated 7-9000 and wished I had estimated 15,000, then a visit with the client as soon as whatever unforeseen problems arose might be in order, the sooner the better, but being successful is a crap shoot.
I don't recall but a couple of times, I have attempted to bill more on a project without a major change in scope or some other valid reason other than just bad estimating.
I work my estimates in a flat fee basis since I have no clients around here willing to pay T&M, so either I hit a home run, or a single or the occasional strike out.
Now if I worked for a big box company and did not hit the mark on my estimates on a consistent basis, I would anticipate my job would be in peril.
Randy
Well said, Randy. :good:
> I think it is un justifiable, to tack on. That is, to "Estimate" a job for say, 7-900, and then to charge 1200.
I think you are confusing "estimate" with "fixed fee".
> I take the position that as soon as you see it will be over the est by more than 50-100 bucks, you had better contact the person paying the bill, and begin including them, in the process. They deserve to know what is happening.
$50 is about 20 minutes of crew time here in Tulsa, same as Portland. That's cutting it pretty fine.
A client came in with a lot to be subdivided. We estimated about 50k. He went elsewhere and they estimated 5k. He came back and we suggested he get an iron-clad agreement with the other firm. He went with the other firm but apparently did not get the iron-clad agreement. They change-work-ordered him up to about 70k. He returned and asked how much to complete their efforts.
50k.
I know a surveyor that does that kind of thing.
When we give a price, it is dependent on the scope of the project. On the RARE occasions where it was way more than what was anticipated, I have stopped the project and called the client and let them know what was going on and that the price was going to go up, or we would eat what we had in it and go home.
IF the client, midstream, changes the scope of the project, all bets are off and the project STOPS until an adjusted price can be given.
Losing a few hundred bucks every now and then, but having the EXCELLENT reputation that your word is your bond is better advertising than you can buy.
If you always "estimate" a job and always go over the estimate, you will have problems. People often ask how much a job will cost because they want to know how much to budget for, or need to know if they can afford the job. Do you sometimes charge more and other times charge less for your estimate? If you estimate a job for $1,000 and it goes better than expected do you charge less?
I say it depends on the client and the job. If a client tells you they don't have the money to go over a certain amount, get that understanding up front and give them a "not-to-exceed" estimate. If it breaks bad, eat the difference. Or if they want a ballpark figure tell them a price and +/- X%. If you can't provide an estimate because you just don't know what it will take to accomplish the particular job, give them your rate and let them know up front that the final cost is indeterminate.
No one likes low-ballers who all of a sudden say it will cost more than they estimated.
I never give "Estimates" only "Quotes". Yes there are times that I wish I had quoted 1200 instead of the 900, but all the times that I quoted 1200 and the "Time/Material" was only 900 more than make up for it. The key is that I make sure my client's who are shopping around know that my quote is a quote and most of the other guys they are calling will very often go over their estimates.
I also try to quote on the high side, so I work less but make what I need. 🙂 Those looking for a low-baller are usually the jobs I do not want anyway. :'(