> Tell them that if your estimate goes horribly wrong and it turns out that the job is vastly more complex than you thought (but you couldn't know ahead of time), they owe you nothing if they decide to stop the job at that point. If they want to continue, of course, they can pay you more based on a new estimate.
I do it exactly like that, it's a good rule.
It gives people certainty, and it's not only the small customers that like it.
Also, if you build this into your contract it gives you an out. I've known too many people who were perfectly willing to sign up for a fixed payment job, thinking they were overestimating, only to find out that the specs were too vague or there was too much rewriting such that it took more than twice as long as expected.
Comments
> Tell them that if your estimate goes horribly wrong and it turns out that the job is vastly more complex than you thought (but you couldn't know ahead of time), they owe you nothing if they decide to stop the job at that point. If they want to continue, of course, they can pay you more based on a new estimate.
I do it exactly like that, it's a good rule.
It gives people certainty, and it's not only the small customers that like it.
Also, if you build this into your contract it gives you an out. I've known too many people who were perfectly willing to sign up for a fixed payment job, thinking they were overestimating, only to find out that the specs were too vague or there was too much rewriting such that it took more than twice as long as expected.
This sounds like a nice compromise.