How to charge for a development job

[Meredi86]

Hey guys, I am starting to get to the point of having people approach me for development jobs, or for me to start thinking a bit more about actively looking for jobs. But i am a complete novice in this area at the moment and have only ever skimmed over this section of the forum. As such i have no real idea as to how/what i should be charging for my time and code. So i wanted to post up here and ask what other people generally think or do with regards to this.

I know that there needs to be an agreement laid out for both parties that should detail the ownership of the code and other such potential legal issues, and that is something that i should be able to do, though any advice on that would also be welcome.

thanks in advance Joe

[Meredi86]

No thoughts on this?

[panzeriti]

Your first step should be to determine how much you would like to be paid per hour. Based on my experiences the going rate is anywhere from $50-$100 per hour. Some gigs will pay per hour as others will pay per job. When it comes to a flat rate job I try to determine as accurately as possible how many hours the job will take and then I multiply that number by my rate. On flat rate jobs, you usually want to get payouts on milestones and something up front.

This should get you started. Good Luck!

[dennno]

Adding to what panzeriti said, you might also want to look into where you're providing your services. Different countries may have different rates. There might also be other details like taxes etc. For example in Australia you'll have to charge them the GST rate on top of your service fees otherwise you'll have to pay for it yourself.

The same probably applies for ownership of code and other legal details. It differs per country, so if you're looking for jobs outside your country make sure to do some research on their laws.

The most important thing for me to consider with these jobs is the reputation of the company I'm providing services to. Unless I was hired by someone I know personally I wouldn't really accept a job from a random user at some website. This is from my experience as a web freelancer. Most of my stuff for iPhone I keep for myself

[Meredi86]

awesome, thats all pretty much what i was thinking, but didn't want to go off and wither over or undercharge.

Cheers guys.