One of the things I find hardest about freelancing is providing quotations for work. Perhaps I am a bit too uptight and British about the whole thing and just flinch a bit when talking about money.
Still, my squeamishness aside, quoting isn’t only something freelancers have to get used to, it’s something we need to get good at doing very accurately to avoid losing work or working for peanuts.
Here are some of the things I have learned the hard way about quoting since I started freelancing.
- Be transparent. Something I have had good feedback on from clients is providing a very transparent quote, which specifies how many hours I think the work will take (and sometimes why), what my hourly rate is, any extras and how last minute changes will be handled. To a client the lone figure you quote them can seem plucked out of the air if it isn’t qualified. I wouldn’t employ a kitchen fitter without a parts and labour quote…and I apply that same principle to my clients these days.
- Don’t undersell yourself. The best quote isn’t necessarily the lowest one. In the topsy-turvy world of some freelance bidding sites and certain clients it might be…but they are a whole other discussion. In the early days especially, it can be tempting for freelancers to take on any work that is offered or to ‘win’ work by offering bargain bin prices. By underselling your services, you could end up rushing the work and doing it badly, thus losing work. You’ll also be wasting time at the expense of chasing better-paid work. Granted, I did take some under-paid sideline work when I first started out and it boosted my CV and portfolio. However, as a full-time freelancer there’s no way I could afford to do it now. And I’d be chewing my own arm off with resentment if I did, so why bother?
- Time is money. Your quote obviously has to be mainly based on the amount of time you will spend on the work. Any freelancer worth their salt knows this. However, many fail to take the next step and find a way to work out how long something will take. This might seem an obvious point but in my early freelance days I found quoting quite painful– these days, not so much (apart from the whole talking about money thing!) and a lot of it is due to time tracking.
When I was employed I used to detest filling in timesheets. Now I see how useful they can be! If you are guessing at how long things might take, submitting quotes will feel like a stab in the dark every time.
I just use a spreadsheet to track my time spent on tasks and projects. It’s invaluable as a reference when quoting for new work. There are loads of widgets and gizmos available to help you track time these days too. I haven’t had the time (or technical courage) to try any of them yet but if anyone has any recommendations, do add them on the comments thread for this post.
- Don’t forget the extras. This one came to me part way through a three-hour meeting that I wasn’t technically being paid for…Don’t forget that there are usually extra tasks that will take up time and some freelancers forget to take these into account. For example as a freelance writer, most of my time is taken up…er, writing. However, almost all my work involves emailing, phone calls and sometimes visits as well. It’s essential that you include these extras and the costs as well as time they incur or you’ll be selling yourself short. Of course, if things get really daft you can always bring it up with the client, but it always looks far more professional and lessens later disputes if you have discussed it in advance.
- Last-minute changes. Who hasn’t heard the infamous “just a few last minute changes” and felt their heart sink? You heart won’t sink if you have agreed with your client in advance how these fiddly bits will be handled financially. It works differently with different clients and different sectors. Often I factor a certain amount of time in for possible tweaks and the client accepts this. Other times I quote a flat fee for a project plus an hourly rate for any subsequent changes (this can make clients a little less tinker-happy as well!).
I hope these tips help some freelancers with quoting – something that can occasionally seem like more of a dark art than an everyday task. I’d love to hear some of the tips you’ve picked up along the way for accurate and efficient quoting too, you can join in the chat on the forum here.
Sarah Wray
Dec 17, 2008
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