Need advice for determining consulting fee

[volcs0]

Here is the short version.

I'm a physician at a big hospital / academic medical center. For the past six years, I have been the sole developer of all web content for our department (about 150 people). Where there was nothing before, I have implemented a full content management system, and I developed a suite of about 15 inter-related PHP/SQL driven applications for patient scheduling, tracking, etc., on which the department now relies for functionality.

I'm moving this summer, and they asked another person in the department to take over the position. Since this person has very little website experience and no programming background, they envision that he will oversee the site but contract out the programming work.

He has asked me to tell him what my rates would be as a consultant once I leave. I could certainly use the extra cash, so this could work well for both of us.

In general, I imagine that for maintenance, there would be maybe 5 hours of work per month. These tasks would be along the lines of "Add this person to the distribution list" or "Can you default this checkbox to on" or "Can you add this to the drop-down menu".

Of course, if I need to develop new (or extend current) applications, the time commitment would be much more. If they need a new scheduling form, it might take me 15 hours to develop and test it.

So, I'm thinking that some sort of retainer fee plus hourly fee would apply here, but I really have no idea. Currently, I don't get paid specifically for this work, but a sizeable percent of my "effort" has been dedicated to these tasks. I don't know what their budget for this work is, but I imagine that it is in the low 5 figures.

Thanks for the advice.

-sam

[Jem]

$75 - $100/hour as a guess.

You have a benefit in that you built and KNOW the system.

They would likely pay at least that much with someone else.

Plus, you are a *known* entity, whereas someone new (at bargain rates) might just screw things up.

[lost in space]

Given your experience with the people, the environment and the system you've built, they'd be lucky getting your services for $100/hr.

[clay]

I'd say go the retainer route for the first period of time--whether it's 6 months or a year. If you feel like you're being taken advantage of after that time, you can always change the agreement, if you feel like it's working out pretty well, extend the contract. Spell out exactly what services you'll provide under the retainer (i.e. X hours development a month, X hours development of new features/month, X hours content updates, X number of support requests), and don't be afraid to go into great detail. PUT EVERYTHING IN WRITING AND GET SIGNATURES FROM THE PEOPLE WHO WRITE YOUR CHECK!! Even though you know the people involved, you don't want to be innundated with "can you just make this one simple/quick change" requests and feel like you're being taken advantage of. You'll also want to let them know what they can expect from you in terms of turnaround time on requests (may need to give different times for different types of work) and when they need to pay, and what happens if they don't. Or, to simplify, you could simply say that the retainer covers X number of hours/month, working on whatever they want you to do.

At any rate, you'll need to come up with an hourly rate to figure out your retainer, and then what the hourly rate would be over that number of hours. $100 seems like a very good deal for the client--$125-$150 might be closer to what you should ask. Think about what your expenses are and what similar people in your area might earn. Give them a slight break under the retainer (i.e. 10 hours for the price of 9, etc) and then charge the full hourly rate after that. Don't be apologetic about your rate. If they do any looking for another developer, they'll quickly find that your rate is very reasonable, and there'll be no "lost time" in the startup phase for a new developer to learn about your solution.

good luck figuring this out--I wish you the best.

[volcs0]

Thanks everyone. This is very useful. I will draft up a proposal for the hospital.

-sam