When to charge an hourly vs. a flat rate

Both freelancers and those hiring them think about work in terms of hourly rate even when a flat rate has been negotiated. That is just the easiest way to think about value in terms of money and time. In some instances thinking only about money per hour negates the experience and effectiveness of the freelancer and results in lower quality work at a higher rate. On the flip side, when you’re embarking on new work or a new long-term relationship, it might make sense to think in terms of hours so that compensation accounts for unknown factors. Follow these two simple rules to get paid what you deserve and provide value to your clients.

Results instead of hours
If you deliver high quality results and have a strategic, replicable system for executing your work, you can often get a lot more done in one hour than someone who doesn’t. This means that, if you’re getting paid hourly, you’ve in fact lowered the amount you’re making by being good at what you do.

You can definitely increase your hourly rate to reflect the efficiency of your work but when your marketing your services to clients who have never worked with you before, paying a higher hourly rate for your services isn’t going to make sense until they have first-hand experience with your quality and efficiency.