1. If I charge time, all the risk is the clients – if the work takes me a long-time,the client picks up the tab. I should have the experience to price the work correctly.
2. It is not fair on either party for work to be taken on without knowing what the price would be. Most clients are nervous of giving people an open-ended cheque book!
3. Billing for time focuses us on effort and not necessarily on results.
4. Reward based on time encourages inefficiency and ultimately the firm will not be competitive.
5. As time can’t be charged, I am constantly looking to demonstrate the value I add by way of my expertise through spotting opportunities for innovation, to improve profitability and deliver high levels of service. Typically, these are the only things that clients are willing to pay for.
6. Fixed price agreements encourage us to search out efficiency savings in our work processes. This makes me more competitive and allows me to attract new business, maintain service and grow.
7. Equally there are times through my experience where I save a client, or make a client, a significant sum of money. Whilst it may take me minutes to spot that opportunity it is as a result of years of investing time in myself and my systems that has enabled me to achieve that. It is therefore unfair on me to have to charge a proportion of one hour for that experience.
