Re: [PHP] Working as a PHP/database developer..

From: Joshua D. Drake (jd_at_commandprompt.com)
Date: 12/02/03 

Date: Mon, 1 Dec 2003 22:14:01 -0800 (PST)
To: Justin French <justin@indent.com.au>

Hello,

  As a development company who has been profitable for 6 years I suggest
the following:

  1. There are no fixed fees. All time will be billed.
  2. Put everything in writing. If they want you to change the f to F make
them put it in writing.
  3. If you do have a flat fee for something... make it something you
already have code for or have a procedure for. Even then, make sure
you have a test case for the procedure. If the test case fails it is
time and materials.
  4. Require a downpayment of at least 30% of the total "ESTIMATE". Our
estimates are usually something like:

    15,000 - 22,000

    7500.00 (we do 50% down) would be required to begin work. When
then hit the 15k they have to pay up to the 15k.

Sincerely,

Joshua D. Drake

On Tue, 2 Dec 2003, Justin French wrote:

> On Tuesday, December 2, 2003, at 12:04 PM, Video Populares et
> Optimates wrote:
>
> > Ahoy!
> >
> > I'm sitting here, pondering on a problem that has just occurred to me.
> > Having a short though intensive period of experience with PHP, I'm now
> > in the process of being "swallowed" up by a group of web designers.
> > That is, I've been offered a job opportunity.
> >
> > Now, how do you charge your services? Do you do it on a time-slot
> > basis (seems kind of awkard to me since much PHP code can be reused a
> > l o t!) or do you do it on the basis of the size of projects and
> > whether new code has to be developed etc etc?
>
> What's the matter with re-using the code and charging the same rate for
> it? You're a business, and you're supposed to make money. I currently
> charge by the hour, but I'm trying whereever possible to move away from
> hourly rates into fixed price services. Why?
>
> a) The client knows exactly what to expect in terms of price and result
> b) I don't spend half my days quoting every last detail of a job
> c) I have the opportunity to re-use code over and over, making a
> PROFIT, rather than braking even all the time
>
>
> > Another question is: Since they are the owners of the web servers
> > (also in control of the web admins.), they effectively control the PHP
> > code that I develop. How do I make sure that I'm not just used once
> > for a project and thereafter thrown on the trashbin, i.e. they take
> > the code and keep using it for many other projects without my
> > knowledge. As far as I'm concerned, a proper pay should be for each
> > project that my PHP code goes into. Or do you not agree? Very thankful
> > for your opinions here!
>
> Copyright is the simple answer, but it needs to be
> a) observed by your clients
> b) enforced by you when not observed by clients
>
> You can always compile your scripts, and supply them with compiled
> (encoded) products, rather than source scripts. This of course would
> depend on the copyright agreement you have with your clients.
>
> > And what is a proper pay?
>
> There's no decent answer to that -- there's soooooo many factors to
> take into consideration, like the market, the economic environment,
> your skills, your productivity, your client's budget, etc etc. The
> only accurate answer is "twice as much as half".
>
>
> > I would really like to get some tips on how to specify a partnership
> > with these web designers. I know about code obfuscators... but let's
> > get real. They don't come close to hiding code (from these web
> > designers and web admins.) as compiled software is hidden from end
> > users.
>
> Compiling with Zend encoder or similar, as stated above.
>
>
> > Perhaps someone here remembers my last post - which was about security
> > of PHP code (from viewing and unauthorized usage). Now, I'm kind of
> > put against the wall here. I want to get to it, i.e. get to the work.
> > But after some bad experiences *grunt*, I'm not willing to get
> > literally squished by blood sucking vampires (*clearing my throat*)
> > later on.
>
> You obviously aren't confident working with these people, so consider
> NOT working for them.
>
>
> Justin French
>
> 

-- 
Co-Founder
Command Prompt, Inc.
The wheel's spinning but the hamster's dead

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