How much should I charge /hour

lilolil

Hi All - I've just got a phonecall from my previous manager asking me if I would like a bit of consultancy like work in my old job - basically they would ring me up when they would need me and I would be able to do the work in my own time - evenings/weekends etc.. My Salary when leaving them about 2 years ago was approx 35k... What kind of money should I charge them per/hour if I decide to take it - Any advice welcome!

Thanks
L

Rew

What type of work is it?

WhiteWashMan

hmmm, nice question.

isnt there a salary rate thing done by the irish times every year? do they have consultancy work in there?

for this i really dont have an answer for you, but if i had no clue, could get no info, and it was up to me, for part time consultancy work, id waggle my finger in the air and come back with about 1.5 times what i used to be on.

after all, if you only get 10 hours out of them, you may as well get about 300 euro out of them (very rough maths there now!)

lilolil

Kind of IT consultancy - maintaining Access databases and processing a production line from production through to payments - they haven't a clue and I have basically! I could really charge what I liked but I was thinking about €50 hour??? Does this seem astronomical?? :eek:

nesf

35K a year is in the region of 20 an hour off the top of my head, minimum I'd look for would be 30, but I'd probably push for 35-50. Reasons: Consultancy work is generally more expensive than a salary, arrange a good rate with them since this is not a salary, and you don't need to be doing it, assuming you are in full time employment atm of course. If that is the case, then you will be doing this work in your spare time and because of that you shouldn't do it for low renumeration.

But, this advice is for what I'd consider to be consultancy work, ie important/critical stuff. Not coming in to tidy up the records or do pretty basic stuff which they won't have a problem getting someone else to do. If this work is something pretty standard then you won't be able to squeeze alot out of them, but you should still be looking for over basic for it.

Bear in mind here though, you might want to do this out of loyality if they were good to you so you might just take 30 and be doing them a favour for old times sake. If they didn't treat you well, then push them for all that they are worth.

Going rates in sales iirc are roughly double standard (at least!) for consultancy work versus salary. But you can get away with that in sales since generally if you are doing consultancy work for them you are generating a good bit of revenue (ie sourcing clients or brokering deals with larger companies). If you were just going back to your old company to do a bit of sales work in the field, well then it isn't doing consultancy really and you should look for whatever the basic is plus overtime for you doing it out of hours, or a modest increase in the basic commission.

The General

wow, arent you not funny?

Kernel32

I would definitely go to the high end, 50+ an hour. I have done consulting work and the way I look at it, it breaks into to major areas for pricing. If your taking on a consulting job based on market rates then your rate has to be based on what you're worth in the market. This means someone else could do the job as well as you and no one has an advantage.

If an old employer/client comes to you because you have specific knowledge of an application, product or process then your rate is based on how much you're worth to that client, not how much your worth in the market. You charge a premium for that and you would be justified in doing it.

This is how I generally do business and it has worked well, aim high and negotiate to an acceptable middle ground.

SouperComputer

for consulting, charge at least 75ph. Thats based on the assumption that they want a consultant and not somebody to actually execute the work. Of course, if they pay you top Euro for that too, great!

I charge some clients 150ph depending on the situation.

The bottom line is that it has to be worth both your while.

35ph may sound great, but add travel time & possibly unsocible (spelling) hours that gets effecitvley reduced to much less.

WhiteWashMan

sigh, im such a muppet sometimes....

damnyanks

WhiteWashMan wrote:

damnyanks is damn fine and sexy...

Think you are confusing them with soupafreak ?

Eoin

One thing to bear in mind is that when you are working on a consultancy basis, the company does not have to pay anything towards your Pension, PRSI etc, so make sure you account for that.

SouperComputer

well, there you go.

my mistake.

although, i like your attitude.

SouperComputer

::::::group hug:::::::

seo-ireland

SouperComputer you baffle me.

The best thng I think to do maybe is to give an hourly rate that is above what you are comfortable with. If you do this over the phone you can judge their reaction and act accordingly. If they are hesitant then you may change or stick to your guns. If they say yes straight away then you can spend the rest of the day kicking yourself as to why you didn't ask for more

Best of luck.

SouperComputer

SouperComputer you baffle me.

y?

The General

WhiteWashMan wrote:

sigh, im such a muppet sometimes....

we know :rolleyes: