Always believed in fixed rates, but a client nightmare showed me the flaw.

I stubbornly stuck to fixed-rate pricing for years, thinking it shielded me from scope creep. Then a project blew up with endless revisions, and I was basically working for free. Now I demand hourly billing or ironclad change orders upfront. That disaster wasted my time and nearly killed my cash flow. Lesson learned the hard way.

3 comments

3 Comments

victor_wright11d ago

How do you handle pushback from clients when you switch to hourly? They always seem to think it's a trick to charge more, even though it protects everyone. Must be a tough sell after they're used to fixed prices.

jesseblack11d ago

Oh yeah, the old "fixed rate" trick. It's basically just giving the client a free all-you-can-eat buffet of your time. Glad you found the escape hatch.

bethl9511d ago

Wait, really? I mean a fixed rate can work if you set super clear limits first. Idk, maybe it's just me but I've seen it go okay when everyone knows the rules.