Thanks for the excellent advice.
I typically base my schematic fee based on what I figure the job will take me on a per hour basis, though I do not break it down that way for my clients. Instead I spell out the scope of services and then present my time based estimate as a ‘not-to-exceed’ number. Sometimes it comes in under that number, at which point I only bill them for the actual time the project has taken. More often than not, I put in more hours than I figured I would, but cannot bill anyone for.
I mainly do this because I am still starting out, and I want the work to carry an impression. So I will do more drawings than required to make myself worth a referral.
Again thanks. I am particularly drawn to this idea of not trying to knock it out of the ball park with each project, but to generate a steady work flow. That is what I needed to hear.
