Charging for functional design

When I get requests from people asking if I can build them something, quite often a lot of information is missing. So an important part of my job is to figure out what the client needs/wants. That's what the first meeting/telephone calls/emails are for. However, quite often this process involves a lot more then just a single conversation. So that's taking up a lot of time. Time I don't charge for, at the moment. Now I was thinking, wouldn't it make sense to make that discovery process a project on its own? So if a client comes to me with a question to develop their project, a lot of information is missing and I know that going to figure everything out, do some research, etc is going to take quite some time I will tell them that we will make this a first small project. To create a document/functional design document. For which I charge them X amount. Then after that, we can go to the next phase and I can build their project for them. Or they can even take the functional design to some other party. It makes sense to me and maybe this is common practice already for many people. But I'm interested in what your thoughts are.

Doug_S

For a second I thought this topic was about charging extra for designs that were actually useful. Yeah, that I would have come out strongly against.

Lawyers charge for consultations. When we're meeting to discuss a project we don't just sit by passively, we discuss it, give ideas, voice concerns, etc. That's our expertise and we should be compensated for it.

So, in short, charge them for whatever work you do. Talking to them about their project is still work.

mattiman

Ah, I now see how the subject of the topic can be read in different ways ;)
In my language the "functional design" is used for the document describing exactly what the website/app is about, what functionality there is, what content, who will be responsible for what, etc.

I agree. Of course I can't charge someone the moment they come to me the first time. It's generally expected that such a first meeting/conversation is free of charge. But I do have to make sure that if there's more time involved we come to some sort of agreement about how to charge for that time.

I guess the issue I encounter often is that people don't realize how much work there is to be done before I can even give a proposal for the work. (or how much work is involved anyway). For example, I might get a short email from a client, asking if I can build them a "survey" and how much that will cost. I'll send back an email with a couple of questions. What kind of survey, what do they want to do with it, etc. Then after getting back the first answers, I discover this is actually much more complex then initially thought. It's not a simple 20-question poll they want, but a system including admin access, admin customizable features for the survey, they want to be able to look at the data, give access to their clients for the survey, import user data, etc. Now suddenly we're talking about a medium sized project. They sent out a 5-line email and expect a quick answer. But the discovery process alone will at least take a couple of hours of work/meetings before we are sure what exactly is needed and has to be done. before I know what work will be involved in actually building the thing.

Doug_S

It's still consultation. Therefore, it's still billable. I usually point out that I invoice for consultation meetings but that if they choose me the cost just gets rolled into the price of the project.

boagworld

I agree that this sounds very much like chargeable consultancy work. At Headscape we are increasingly finding that clients are willing to pay for us to work with them to put together a rocksolid brief. I believe that ultimately this saves the client money because the project is less likely to encounter problems further down the line and the final website will almost certainly be more effective.

daveheward

I genuinely believe clients should. I think our time should always be paid for. However, what you generally find is that you can't advise / sell the client additional things such as SEO if you don't do your research first. The simple answer is limit yourself to quick research (10mins or so) and follow it up once they commit to doing it. The last thing you want to do is spend 3 hours working on a brief and they turn around and say, "it's too much for me" or "I think we should hold off for a while". Major bummer! Especially if you've put work in before this point. Conversely depending on the client, prior research will improve your pitch and make you more likely to win the business in the first place!

wickes36

I agree clients should pay - what we often see is some clients go to great lengths to learn about the web (if they don't already know about it) so they can better understand what constitutes a brief / functional spec. Then some clients do not and require the agency to work this up. In these cases there is a lot of consultancy work required from the agency to establish exactly what is required when there is a lack of detail forthcoming.

Much of this work is merely articulating clearly the detail required to produce the site, and isn't therefore entirely beyond the reaches of a non-webbies, but either way, someone has to do it and therefore it should be chargeable.

The difference between a project with a good brief such as this, and without will be staggering and therefore ought to justify the payment.

Pankaj_Netleon

Agree with @mattiman @boagworld @daveheward @Doug_S
 one of my client sent me an email that he want a simple site to sell their dry fruits, and then I told him to come on skype to discuss about that, And you can't believe that we discussed for next 7 days then to finalize the Task List.
As he was not aware with the complexities and he was thinking that I always have some plugin and ready module to just install and go.
I got my consultation charges from that client,when i requested to add that with project fee.

We should analyze in first meeting that what and how much efforts will go with it.

jpamental

I've been in the habit for several years now of suggesting a small and very well-defined initial project to do just that - clarify the goals, users & their needs, important content/features based on audience & metrics for success and pull that into a document that is the deliverable for that first project. This way the client is getting off on the right foot, we get paid for our time and everyone has the proper incentive and perspective. If the client wants to continue on, at that point we all have a better working relationship and the project is well-enough defined that we can give a reasonable quote to complete it. Or the client can take the original deliverable and any other shop can take that as a starting point and go from there. I've found it quite successful and have only lost one job because of sticking to that approach over the past 3 years or so. 

ShaunMccran

I like the angle of your article. I'm currently working for a marketing agency and the first big surprise for me here came when I discovered that they do not charge for that 'information discovery'. Often clients have outlines for projects or specific requirements but they aren't fully fleshed out. I am amazed sometimes how much additional information comes out of this phase of a project, and just how little thought some clients have put into their project plans. I have started defining this 'discovery' phase as a specific project phase, that way it is billed alongside the rest of the project.

marcus67

Beware of clients proffering "big" budgets for complex projects, especially start-ups. Many of these people are simply looking for a free spec. 

This is one of main reasons why Headscape has never done any start-up work.  

Darren

marcus67 said:

Beware of clients proffering "big" budgets for complex projects, especially start-ups. Many of these people are simply looking for a free spec. 

This is one of main reasons why Headscape has never done any start-up work.  

We do an awful lot of start up business. The tip for that is do your research on the company and it's starting direction if you think you can get good repeat business from them and they can make their idea work in the long term then it can be a good thing. Often times they aren't quoting big budgets but shares in their fledgling company. If its worth the investment it can pay off. If its not leave it as it will drive you to insanity as they ask for a 30,000 pound site for 3000 as their "budget isn't what we first envisaged, the funding did not materialise according to projections"

Doug_S

I've worked with startups and had it go terribly wrong. Then, I've worked with startups and had it be some of my favorite work.

It really depends. The best advice I can give is if you don't feel 100% comfortable that the startup is well-funded and the guys in charge are competent then walk away.