Many virtual assistants start by charging an hourly rate. This can pose some challenges:

• Clients often have a hard time perceiving the value they receive for the hourly rate they are charged.
• How do you justify an increase in your rates?
• Tracking time takes time that customers don’t want to pay.

A better option is to move clients from an hourly rate to a project rate. The benefits of charging a flat fee for a project include:

• Customers perceive greater value received for their money
• A higher project fee is easier for clients to accept
• No more time tracking means more time to work for clients = more pay

How can you move a client from an hourly rate to a project rate? What if they object? Is it really better?

Let’s use a real life example to show how this can be done to the mutual benefit of you, the virtual assistant, and your client. I’ll call this client “Cindy.”

Cindy and her virtual assistant have worked together for almost five years. Cindy had her assistant do a variety of tasks, including submitting articles, scheduling blog posts, following up by email with contacts, and sending out newsletters. Originally the virtual assistant charged an hourly rate that included all of these tasks. The assistant had to keep track of her time, down to the minute, and submit a monthly ledger showing how she used her time. She then billed Cindy for another 10 hours.

After about a year, the virtual assistant realized that she could do more if she didn’t have to control every minute of her time. She had realized how long it took her to do each of these tasks and that she could do them more efficiently if she charged by the project rather than by the hour.

So he proposed to Cindy a change in how he would bill for services. Instead of hourly, she would now charge a flat fee for each article submitted, another flat fee for scheduling blog posts, another project fee for sending out the bi-monthly newsletter.

This would free up the virtual assistant’s time, as she would no longer have to keep track of her hours. Cindy herself would know exactly what it would cost her each month to perform these tasks and she would know exactly what she would get in return. She allowed Cindy to create a budget and never wonder if her assistant was running out of hours.

This worked well for both Cindy and her virtual assistant. About a year later, the virtual assistant proposed a fee increase for scheduling blog posts. He gave Cindy 60 days notice so there were no surprises. Cindy wasn’t sure she could handle that rate increase at the time. She worked together with her virtual assistant and they reached an agreement to try it out for 60 days. If it still didn’t work out, they would review the situation and negotiate a rate that would work for both of them.

Tips for switching a client from an hourly rate to a project rate:

• Create an addendum to your existing contract that outlines your proposed change
• Give your client 60 days notice so there are no surprises
• Be reasonable and flexible