Oh man, I’ve been soooo busy!  I have this one site I’ve been working on, and now am about to pass the deadline with the site only about 90% complete.  I’m not worried about it so much because there were a number of scope changes, and I had to do some work that was a little out of my usual responsibilities.  I don’t normally handle the task of wireframing a site, that generally falls to the designers and planning people, and it ate up far more time than I had budgeted.  In the end, the project will still be profitable, but not quite as much so as it would have been without the added scope.

So, the reason I’m busy is a good one, but the bad news is I didn’t charge enough extra because I didn’t include out-of-scope charges in my contract. Funny how we learn these little things as we go. For example, I didn’t include things such as graphic design or wireframe layout as being extra charge items, and have been struggling with how to bill for them.  Until now.  I’m just going to put them onto a second invoice, stating that an estimate is exactly that - an estimate - and that the final charges ended up being slightly more.  We’re not talking about a lot of money in the overall scheme of things, but I’m glad I always disclaim my estimates as such.

Being that I’m just starting out, I need to set a precedent on how I handle my billing. The first time is the most important, and later on down the line I can make ‘deals’ on a case-by-case basis. I’ve seen other businesses succumb to the pressures of their clients to do them a ‘favor’, but in the end, all it does is hurt the poor guy who’s trying to make a living.

So, there we go, a nutshell reason why I haven’t been posting.  Trust me, I’ve been here.

A quick shout out to Gillick, I saw your comments in the Forecaster, and even though I have a pair of beach-loving dogs, I’m totally on your side, brother! Shame on Crystal Goodrich and SoPoDog for letting things get to this point.