How much would you charge for setup a small network

pesinet

Hi people, i have a client that want that build a new APP Server for the company from scratch, they have a small network 2 server and 8 PC. I think that $60.00 per h will be fine but i have no idea. Can you give me some advice.

Thanks.

dynamik

On-site work? You could probably charge 2-3 times that. Go with what you're comfortable with. You may be interested in taking less in order to secure the work and experience. Money's not everything.

Also, I build my own PCs at home and some for the office I work at, but I'm really not comfortable doing it for clients. I don't want to deal with hardware problems. I'd much rather have them call Dell or someone if a motherboard dies. Obscure hardware problems can soak up tons of time, especially if you don't have an inventory of parts, and small businesses aren't too keen on forking out a lot of dough for that type of thing. I could see many cases where it'd be cheaper to just buy a new machine. If I were you, I'd just charge them for consulting on what time of machine to get, and your time for setting it up.

blargoe

I'm charging 60 for a similar situation, but I get regular work from them and it's people I know. Otherwise I'd probably charge at least 90/hr, or maybe have a flat rate schedule based on what kind of work it is (firewall configuration is worth more than installing MS Office, for example).

pesinet

Thanks

pwjohnston

pesinet wrote:

Hi people, i have a client that want that build a new APP Server for the company from scratch, they have a small network 2 server and 8 PC. I think that $60.00 per h will be fine but i have no idea. Can you give me some advice.

Thanks.

I worked for two different companies in Philly doing small networks and they generally charged between 85 and 120 /hr for that level work.

astorrs

blargoe wrote:

...or maybe have a flat rate schedule based on what kind of work it is (firewall configuration is worth more than installing MS Office, for example).

Save yourself future problems - "one rate to rule them all" - never offer the same client multiple rates for different types of work performed by the same person. Your time is all the same so why should you rate differ? Also you are leaving yourself open to arguing about invoices all the time (which doesn't build client relationships), you think it is "systems admin" level work @ $120/hr but they feel its more like "desktop admin" @ $85 - who's right?

pLuhhmm

id charge 200$ b/c im a greedy

astorrs

pLuhhmm wrote:

id charge 200$ b/c im a greedy

Then you'll probably never work. I could get someone with 15 years experience for <$180.

But if we're dreaming, my new rate is $1350/hr billed "by the second".

Mishra

astorrs wrote:

pLuhhmm wrote:

id charge 200$ b/c im a greedy

Then you'll probably never work. I could get someone with 15 years experience for <$180.

But if we're dreaming, my new rate is $1350/hr billed "by the second".

I require entire home ownership transfers into my name for $1.

dtlokee

It doesn't matter how much you charge it still needs to be done correctly, don't think a company will be more understanding when you crash their network because you charge less.

1MeanAdmin

astorrs wrote:

blargoe wrote:

...or maybe have a flat rate schedule based on what kind of work it is (firewall configuration is worth more than installing MS Office, for example).

Save yourself future problems - "one rate to rule them all" - never offer the same client multiple rates for different types of work performed by the same person. Your time is all the same so why should you rate differ? Also you are leaving yourself open to arguing about invoices all the time (which doesn't build client relationships), you think it is "systems admin" level work @ $120/hr but they feel its more like "desktop admin" @ $85 - who's right?

Agreed.
But sometimes it is nearly impossible not to offer a flat rate. When one says he'll charge $100/hr, a lot of small businesses want to know in advance how many hours it'll take. Sometimes this happens because they don't trust that you will not waste time in order to bill more or they may not have the money in a bank that week or anything else. They will try to extort some type of guarantee that the work will not cost more than X dollars.
Personally I encountered this a lot when I was doing these kind of jobs working for myself.

astorrs

midiman wrote:

astorrs wrote:

blargoe wrote:

...or maybe have a flat rate schedule based on what kind of work it is (firewall configuration is worth more than installing MS Office, for example).

Save yourself future problems - "one rate to rule them all" - never offer the same client multiple rates for different types of work performed by the same person. Your time is all the same so why should you rate differ? Also you are leaving yourself open to arguing about invoices all the time (which doesn't build client relationships), you think it is "systems admin" level work @ $120/hr but they feel its more like "desktop admin" @ $85 - who's right?

Agreed.
But sometimes it is nearly impossible not to offer a flat rate. When one says he'll charge $100/hr, a lot of small businesses want to know in advance how many hours it'll take. Sometimes this happens because they don't trust that you will not waste time in order to bill more or they may not have the money in a bank that week or anything else. They will try to extort some type of guarantee that the work will not cost more than X dollars.
Personally I encountered this a lot when I was doing these kind of jobs working for myself.

Oh don't get me wrong, I fully appreciate and agree with fixed billing where it works for both parties.

What blargoe was suggesting (if I understood correctly) was having different hourly rates depending on the work being done for the same client even if the work was performed by the same person - and that is what I was objecting to.

garv221

$65/hour. The hourly dollar amount is only a number I can multiply by on the bill to get the amount I feel the job costs as a whole.