Costs, fees and charges - the $64,000 question
The first thing to say is that the fee isn't $64,000! (Nor do I accept payment by Monopoly money. Sorry about that.)
The second thing to say is that the day rate on this page is for specific consultancy work with organisations - Writing, Interviews and Discussions and Stories, and Research and Evaluation.
So the third thing to say is that It's not about any of my fiction work or about the voice aspects of that work that I'm developing. If you're interested in any of these please contact me directly for more details.
How are consultancy costs worked out?
I come at costs and charges in three ways.
Firstly, you can tell me your budget and I will work out with you what's possible to do within that - always aiming to achieve what will best support and enhance your work. This approach is often used when people have more modest budgets (less than, say, £2,500) because it makes sense to spend time together working out how to make the very best use of limited funds.
Secondly, you give me the details of the piece of work and I then work out the likely cost, and explain how I will go about doing the project. This method is often used for much larger pieces of work - perhaps projects with budgets of £10,000 or more, although I have sometimes worked with organisations that ask a number of consultants to submit a tender for much smaller budgets. (Not our collective favourite approach, it should be said. Tenders are a lot of work.)
Thirdly, you can offer a set fee for a set piece of work. This is used most often for speaking engagements, but there areother types of work where this can be a useful approach.
How can I help you?
My contracts have ranged from working for a day a week over several months, to just doing one day.
Organisations sometimes baulk at the idea of using a consultant, but in my experience they are often then pleasantly surprised by how much can be achieved in only a few days. That's partly because I'm just focusing on the project in hand - I don't have internal meetings to attend, or other organisational demands.
Consultants - or freelancers - like me often get called in when organisations need an expert, or they have too much on and need support to get things completed on time. There are plenty of other reasons to seek to use someone else's skills, experience, and time - even for a very short period of time.
The daily rate
Most consultants working across health, care and housing matters charge for their work by using a daily rate - an amount for each day's work.
Sometimes the level of this daily rate is such that people who aren't consultants believe we earn a fortune, because they think we earn this every day (*sound of many consultants around the UK laughing*). We don't.
The daily rate is an odd device, since all jobs also benefit from some 'free' time. This might be the time taken to keep up to date with developments or to undertake our own training and professional development, time taken to carry out detailed background research about the job before starting it, and time taken to discuss the project with various people before a contract is issued. Or the project may hit delays outside our control; or end up needing 'just a little bit (*ahem*) more of your time'. There are all sorts of other ways that 'time freebies' are given and added to the work, largely because most consultants/freelancers want to do as good a job as possible (although we also aim to do so without becoming personally bankrupt in the process).
My daily rate varies depending very much on the nature of the work. For example, if I'm leading something then the rate's higher. It might be higher if I've got a mentoring role, or specialist analytical skills or experience are needed. In general terms, the daily rate falls anywhere between £175 to £600. I know what you're thinking: anyone now asking me to do some work for them will immediately rush in expecting the lowest rate! Except, of course, those I work with understand that this isn't how it works. That's because I'm lucky. I work with people and organisations who match what they offer as day rates with what's actually being asked of me without being daft about it. (I have worked in the past with people who weren't at all fair about what they paid, but not any more :-) )
I'm not registered for VAT, so there's no extra to add there.
What's included?
The rate includes all my costs except travel and - if needed - overnight accommodation. Travel means second class train fares (aiming for the best available deals) or whatever the organisation pays for mileage if I need to drive (I have a car and clean driving licence).
Overnight accommodation has in the past meant staying in the housing association's (the client's) guest room (fine by me!). I have worked for far too long in the (often poorly resourced) voluntary sector to waste budgets (yours or mine). But it's unusual for there to be any other extra charges - unless particular materials are needed (such as throwaway cameras, used for a project with people who went to one of two day centres in Oxfordshire).
If I write a report, my fee doesn't include any design or printing costs - just the time for me to do it. If you're not sure what's included, please ask.
Get in touch
If the range you are able to pay falls below the lower levels, or your total budget is truly tiny, you can still always get in touch and ask. The worst that will happen is that I (very politely) say no!
The first thing to say is that the fee isn't $64,000! (Nor do I accept payment by Monopoly money. Sorry about that.)
The second thing to say is that the day rate on this page is for specific consultancy work with organisations - Writing, Interviews and Discussions and Stories, and Research and Evaluation.
So the third thing to say is that It's not about any of my fiction work or about the voice aspects of that work that I'm developing. If you're interested in any of these please contact me directly for more details.
How are consultancy costs worked out?
I come at costs and charges in three ways.
Firstly, you can tell me your budget and I will work out with you what's possible to do within that - always aiming to achieve what will best support and enhance your work. This approach is often used when people have more modest budgets (less than, say, £2,500) because it makes sense to spend time together working out how to make the very best use of limited funds.
Secondly, you give me the details of the piece of work and I then work out the likely cost, and explain how I will go about doing the project. This method is often used for much larger pieces of work - perhaps projects with budgets of £10,000 or more, although I have sometimes worked with organisations that ask a number of consultants to submit a tender for much smaller budgets. (Not our collective favourite approach, it should be said. Tenders are a lot of work.)
Thirdly, you can offer a set fee for a set piece of work. This is used most often for speaking engagements, but there areother types of work where this can be a useful approach.
How can I help you?
My contracts have ranged from working for a day a week over several months, to just doing one day.
Organisations sometimes baulk at the idea of using a consultant, but in my experience they are often then pleasantly surprised by how much can be achieved in only a few days. That's partly because I'm just focusing on the project in hand - I don't have internal meetings to attend, or other organisational demands.
Consultants - or freelancers - like me often get called in when organisations need an expert, or they have too much on and need support to get things completed on time. There are plenty of other reasons to seek to use someone else's skills, experience, and time - even for a very short period of time.
The daily rate
Most consultants working across health, care and housing matters charge for their work by using a daily rate - an amount for each day's work.
Sometimes the level of this daily rate is such that people who aren't consultants believe we earn a fortune, because they think we earn this every day (*sound of many consultants around the UK laughing*). We don't.
The daily rate is an odd device, since all jobs also benefit from some 'free' time. This might be the time taken to keep up to date with developments or to undertake our own training and professional development, time taken to carry out detailed background research about the job before starting it, and time taken to discuss the project with various people before a contract is issued. Or the project may hit delays outside our control; or end up needing 'just a little bit (*ahem*) more of your time'. There are all sorts of other ways that 'time freebies' are given and added to the work, largely because most consultants/freelancers want to do as good a job as possible (although we also aim to do so without becoming personally bankrupt in the process).
My daily rate varies depending very much on the nature of the work. For example, if I'm leading something then the rate's higher. It might be higher if I've got a mentoring role, or specialist analytical skills or experience are needed. In general terms, the daily rate falls anywhere between £175 to £600. I know what you're thinking: anyone now asking me to do some work for them will immediately rush in expecting the lowest rate! Except, of course, those I work with understand that this isn't how it works. That's because I'm lucky. I work with people and organisations who match what they offer as day rates with what's actually being asked of me without being daft about it. (I have worked in the past with people who weren't at all fair about what they paid, but not any more :-) )
I'm not registered for VAT, so there's no extra to add there.
What's included?
The rate includes all my costs except travel and - if needed - overnight accommodation. Travel means second class train fares (aiming for the best available deals) or whatever the organisation pays for mileage if I need to drive (I have a car and clean driving licence).
Overnight accommodation has in the past meant staying in the housing association's (the client's) guest room (fine by me!). I have worked for far too long in the (often poorly resourced) voluntary sector to waste budgets (yours or mine). But it's unusual for there to be any other extra charges - unless particular materials are needed (such as throwaway cameras, used for a project with people who went to one of two day centres in Oxfordshire).
If I write a report, my fee doesn't include any design or printing costs - just the time for me to do it. If you're not sure what's included, please ask.
Get in touch
If the range you are able to pay falls below the lower levels, or your total budget is truly tiny, you can still always get in touch and ask. The worst that will happen is that I (very politely) say no!
