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Fellow spiceheads,

I currently work full time as an IT infrastructure and an opportunity has come up for me to support the IT for a brand new business out of my full time hours. Mainly advice/consultant work and fixing general hardware/software problems as they arise.

I need to iron out specifics etc but for any work I do for them they would want me to invoice them. My problem is this is the first time I’ve ever been in this situation and don’t have a clue on how much to charge per hour for my time. He’s currently paying someone “alot” (not disclosed to me) for a poor service and I’ve already done a few favours for them which they are happy with so don’t want to take advantage but want to make sure I get a fair deal.

Any advice on how much my fellow spiceheads would charge for their own time would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks

18 Spice ups
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Rates vary by work and location, but I’ve done from $100-$150/hr in the past.

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That sounds like there is more to it then. RAte wise it depends on your area, but if you do work and invoice them under your name and stuff first thing I would look for how things are legally in case something come back to you. Like some kind of insurance etc.

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Here is a list of what Geek Squad charges.

http://stevendamico.com/geeksquad-rates-list/

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Denis is right, 100-150 for personal. A company doing the same thing would charge 150-200.

Remember if you make over 600 a year from them you’ll get a 1099. Good practice to put 1/3 the money in an account to pay uncle sam at the end of the year.

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It really does. I would call a couple of local PC repair shops and ask their hourly rate. Then at least you have some kind of starting point.

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I set my rates to lose clients, I don’t enjoy private work at all.

100/h - I don’t leave my house

150/h - within 20 minute drive of my house within normal hours

150/h min1h - outside of normal hours I don’t leave my house

300/h min1h - within 20 minute drive of my house outside of normal hours

Rate multiplier scale as follows:

Close family that I like: hourly rate x zero + food + booze(if warranted)

Client watches: HR x 1.5

Client says anything: HR x 3

Client offers advice (of any sort): HR x 10

Additional modifiers:

Client I like: HR x .9

Client that I enjoy working for (ultra rare): HR x 0.75

Client has cookies and will share: HR x 0.95

Client has GOOD coffee: HR x 0.9

Client admits to breaking it: HR x 0.75

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This

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Yep, same here. When I worked for a consulting firm and would get home users asking for help, I would bill the firm’s normal hourly rate @ ~$100 an hour and would usually do an hour minimum. Most home users weren’t interested after the first invoice.

You want me to come to your house, climb over your dogs, pull your computer out from underneath the desk so I can reconnect the 1/4 " speaker cable that you pulled out when you were plugging in your USB Christmas tree?

Yeah, that’ll be a bill.

You didn’t offer me coffee? Bill and a half.

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I just realized that OP is in England. What those of us in the US charge is likely to irrelevant.

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Or maybe just barter your help for services / work from the recipient.

Technically, you should still pay tax, but it’s harder for the IRS to track you down if nothing is written down. Great if you know the people you are trading with.

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Usually about 150/hr however, I will add the cost of fuel and tolls.

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Yeah, cause we don’t charge an hourly rate in crumpets and warm beer. /s

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Also known as the A-hole tax.

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Hi guys thanks for your responses, I presumed alot of the responses would be from over the pond but it’s still helpful for me to roughly gauge the norm. As alot of the responses so far do seem to be very similar!

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That’s a nice idea I will be doing that today! Thanks

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Some other things to consider - are you planning to do this on a regular basis or just sometimes? Will it be an income stream or just some extra cash? Is it something you’re going to like doing or will it be a serious annoyance, but you’re willing to do it to help people?

When I first started my shop I made sure I was cheaper than everyone else around me, to get business. As time went by that changed. I needed to raise my rates to pay the bills, but undercutting everyone else wasn’t needed any longer because I had a solid customer base.

There is no right or wrong here. There are a lot of things to consider and at the end of the day it’s up to you to decide which things matter.

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Hi Larry,
To begin with at least, it will just be something I do on the odd occasion say 2 to 4 times a month ( I presume) just for some extra cash. I will only be helping out this one company as my partner has just started and it is a brand new business who are struggling getting the right help and support.

I’m sure I’ll enjoy it and maybe in the future I would look to start spreading and offering my services elsewhere. But this is just an extra along side my full time job which I’m not planning on changing/leaving any time soon.

My dilemma is that I want to help these guys out so don’t want to charge a fortune, especially as I can only help them outside my full time hours, but at the same time I can’t afford to just give my time away and I don’t want to them to start wanting me more and more because I’m not charging enough.

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Well, again, you’ve got to make the final call on what makes the most sense to you. Personally, based on what you just said, I would charge the same as the local places. They know you do good work so they already want you so there’s no reason to undercharge in an attempt to get their business.

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Since you can only work certain hours it limits their timeframes they would normally have with other dedicated support/consulting companies. I can see the small discount in that regard (and to be nice), but still give yourself a decent rate as your skills are viable and by what you described better than their past experiences. If you carry out work for them I would set up clear terms on what you are doing, expectations, and areas of responsibility to keep yourself safe. For example setting up a new system, but no on-going support (just setup) and price to what you feel.

Good as well.

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