I know there are like two questions about freelance rates posted every day on this forum, so I did my homework and read that one should charge from US$ 50.00 to 75.00 depending on company, experience and location.
I am expected to provide a fee estimate regarding the following kind of freelance work:
-brand logo design
-corporate design (logo, business cards, etc…)
-leaflets
Should I just give them my hourly rate? …allowing them to use the invoice to calculate how much time I spent working.
2.Or should I rather set a fixed cost for each assignment? …knowing that it will (very likely) take more time than I planned.
I’d suggest giving them a preset determined cost (like $500 or something.) Then, in the same proposal, state that changes above and beyond the original work will be charged at an hourly rate.
That at least allows the company to have a general idea of the cost. Otherwise, they’re shooting in the dark and can be unpleasantly surprised when the final bill comes. If it’s way more than they had expected, it’s a given that you won’t do business with them again.
whitecollar’s advice is solid. The only thing I have to add is be very precise as to design acceptance.
For example, your proposal or “work for hire” agreement should have have who is responsible at the client company for setting specification and signing off on design acceptance.
Not doing this, burned me once. I entered a contract with a manager who was not authorized to specify or accept a product design. I designed the product to the managers specifications. When the CEO, who needed to sign the invoice and wanted to review the design, saw the final product, he rejected it. I had to start all over using the CEO’s input. This wasted both time and money. Unfortunately, I did fixed rate pricing, with no mechanism for project overrun. Lesson learned!
2.Or should I rather set a fixed cost for each assignment? …knowing that it will (very likely) take more time than I planned.
if you know ahead of time it will take longer… wtf… use the larger estimate.
if you give someone a fixed project fee, tell them what they get for that fixed fee. they don’t get you forever, for a fixed fee, they get you to do a particular thing… maybe it means you present them with 12 concepts, each different in some way, and then you allow them to make 3 rounds of changes. after that, they can either hire you to do more work on it, or take what you’ve given them.
a good proposal is not just a number that the client will pay …it outlines what will be done, when it will be finished, how you’re going to get paid for it, and everything else … everything else!!! involved in the project from start to finish.
all your deliverables, who owns what, and who doesn’t own what. formats, timelines, and most importantly the SCOPE AND NATURE of the project.