When You Should Charge Hourly

Usually, it’s not smart to charge by the hour. You can only make so much money charging by the hour, because your rates can only get so high. (Once hourly rates rise above $100, people start to wonder if you’re a lawyer.)

Usually, it’s best to charge based on the value that you bring. Of course the value that you bring clients should exceed the amount that you charge, but not by an outrageous amount!

Usually. But sometimes, it makes sense to charge by the hour. I find it best to charge by the hour when I’m doing work that I don’t often do, or when I’m doing work I don’t want to be doing. 

When I’m doing work I don’t want to be doing, it’s because a friend asked me to do something I used to do. I don’t want to get discouraged, or spend extra time doing this work off the clock, so charging hourly is what motivates me the best in these cases. 

When I’m doing work I don’t often do, I charge by the hour because I haven’t built out a full business model for it yet. Tossing a big number out for an all-in rate would lead to confusion on both ends, since I don’t really know what the work entails, and I can’t explain it well. 

Charging by value and project is crucial, but in the short-term, it’s ok to charge by the hour. 

Good luck out there!