Keep meticulous logs.

If you work on a graphic on your local PC for an hour, no online log is
going to show that, so keep everything written down or in a text/Word
document (one per client).  Document the date, the start and end times, and
the project or unit of a project.  After that, a certain level of trust
comes in to the picture.  They have to trust that you're not padding your
times, and they do that because you provide quality work in the shortest
possible time.

-------------------------------------------------------------
Steve Mount, Software Engineer            steve(at)saltyrain.com
Home Site                            http://www.saltyrain.com
US Constitution Online          http://www.usconstitution.net
Clear your Soul            http://www.anonymousconfession.com

----- Original Message -----
From: "Mike Taylor" <lonewolf(at)one.net>
To: <hwg-business(at)hwg.org>
Sent: Friday, December 14, 2001 12:05 PM
Subject: Proving billable hours?


> I am new to this list, checked the FAQ, and could find no mention of how
> to prove billable hours.
>
> My intention is to charge customers by the hour instead of offering them
> "package" deals, because I feel that such packages would make the client
> feel like they'd need to throw needless work my way in order to justify
> the price of such a package.
>
> I'm unclear, however, how it'd be possible to prove to a client that I
> worked the hours I did.  Some ISP's offer log files where it shows the
> time I logged in, but if their ISP doesn't supply this information, I
> don't see a clear way to achieve this.
>
> Can some of you out there share how you go about proving your billable
> hours?
>
> Thanks,
> Mike

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