How much should I charge for desktop tech?

emmo16

Hi,

A friends company are looking for a desktop technician to support 25 pc's and maybe some macs. They will need to be able to call me when the pc goes down and I have to come in and either fix it there or take it away. There maybe only one or two a month. They have a guy on call at the moment but want to cut cost as they pay him a on call rate.

What they want to know is what my hourly rate I would be. But I actually have no idea what the going rate is for this kind of work or how I would charge them.

Would anyone know what the going rate is at the moment and how I should charge them. They need to know by the end of the week. I would also like to be as competitive as possible

I am currently working in full time in Desktop support for a large company (5000+ pc's) as a contractor but this is through a agency so i have my own company and accountant set up.

gonzothegreat

I've often been asked for an hourly rate but it's hard to put a price on it if it's only a couple of jobs a month, I usually charge 33.00 euro an hour and they will often ask for a price per unit or job. If they agree the hourly rate happy days, if not you can price per job. The main thing is you don't want to do yourself short. Good luck.

emmo16

Thanks gonzothegreat.
How much would you charge say you had to re install windows and all the apps which may take 3hrs or replace some hardware eg harddrive or motherboard. I am also wondering if I should charge a call out fee

Overheal

callout fee: yes. fuel is money. travel time is money.

remember he's a friend, but this is a business proposition. Keep it professional, if friendly-professional. Im sure "for a friend" I've done buttloads of free support, for family and the like.

I would personally charge them at least 30/hr plus expenses (like new hardware, paste, dusting, etc)

emmo16

I should have said it was for a company a friend works so the personal think sort of goes out the window

I think i might go with the 30hr
Would anyone have a example of a expenses sheet I could get a idea from so i know what to charge. Im guessing if a hard drive goes down I just go out and buy one and charge them for that ex vat.
Sorry for alll the questions but its all new to me. I have always just worked in companys full time.

gonzothegreat

Think it through, it's hard to get a bit of work now and it's nice to keep it you never know what it will lead to. A callout charge is a defo and if your going to be on call, maybe a charge for dealing with the problem within 24 hours.

Overheal

emmo16 wrote: »

I should have said it was for a company a friend works so the personal think sort of goes out the window

I think i might go with the 30hr
Would anyone have a example of a expenses sheet I could get a idea from so i know what to charge. Im guessing if a hard drive goes down I just go out and buy one and charge them for that ex vat.
Sorry for alll the questions but its all new to me. I have always just worked in companys full time.

well i mean, I work for a self owned flooring and they asked me to spruce up their rigs cos i knew some ****. Naturally enough I just did it on the clock, my wages. Meh. Hardly going to tell my boss to give me an extra 20 an hour, you know but yes I mean just tell them Hey You need more RAM heres how much it will cost. And then let them authorize. I wouldnt do something like that without authorization. Some expenses (dust cans, etc) go ahead, like.