Changing your fees in the middle of a project

[Cedric]

I recently stumbled upon an intriguing subject while chatting with a fellow freelancer, and I thought it'd be a fantastic point for us to discuss here.

The Scenario: You've taken on a freelance project, estimated the amount of work, and agreed upon a fee with your client. As the project progresses, unforeseen complexities arise. Maybe the scope widens, or perhaps you realize you under-quoted due to certain elements you initially overlooked. Whatever the reason, you're now in a situation where you believe a fee adjustment might be warranted.

Now, here are some points to spark our discussion:

Ethical considerations: Is it ethically sound to renegotiate your fees once a project is underway? Under what circumstances would it be acceptable?
Communication: How can you effectively and professionally communicate the need for a fee adjustment to your client without souring the relationship?
Contractual Agreements: For those who draft contracts before starting a project (which I hope is most of us!), how can we make them flexible enough to accommodate such changes while still ensuring both parties feel secure?
Evaluation: At what point do you decide that the additional tasks or complexities are significant enough to warrant a change in fee?
Alternatives to Fee Adjustment: Instead of adjusting the fee, are there other compromises that can be reached? Perhaps extending deadlines, adjusting the scope, or offering additional services in the future?

Have any of you ever found yourselves in this position? How did you handle it, and what were the outcomes? Any lessons learned?
This topic is a delicate one, and I believe there's no one-size-fits-all answer. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts!

 

[Empire]

I wouldn't do that to the current clients. Once the deal has been made and you sent the total cost of that product or services then accept it. Unless the client adds more ideas or adds another workload on top then you charge more. Gotta make the clients happy, not point charging them $50 then down the road say to them that your price has gone up via another $20 because the cost of living is gone up lol

If you want to put the prices up then do it to the new clients.

 

[Joeychgo]

perhaps you realize you under-quoted due to certain elements you initially overlooked.

In general, that would be my fault and not something I'm going to charge the client for.

 

[Ravenfreak]

I wouldn't charge the client extra for any hiccups that may come along, once the contract is set in stone whatever the client agreed to pay me will be the final price.

 

[Tracy]

If the project parameters remain the same.. it's not the clients problem that "complexities" arose... that falls upon the developer. And that developer simply needs to "eat" the additional work/cost and learn from it for future quoting of projects.
Now, if the client wants to expand what the original project scope was (additional features and such) then a renegotiation OR a surcharge is acceptable.
But as one commercial developer I knew that did "package" work for cities with his software and also did customizations for it told me... sometimes you win and sometimes you are lucky to break even when quoting costs for custom work. The more experienced the developer... the "closer" they can get to the actual costs of the project scope.

 

[Shortie]

I could never charge a client more after an agreed price no matter what happens that was unexpected.

Once I have made the deal and it has been agreed by both parties, I then tend to stick to that price and will not change it. Changing an agreed price last minute can also be bad for your reputation as well so never wise.

 

[Nomad]

I don't think it is ethical to raise your fees during the middle of work. If you underquoted your fees, if you did not realize the amount of work you have to do, it is not your client's mistake. I have never done that. However, I have had clients who wanted to reduce the fees in the middle of work and I have agreed on a couple of occassions.

 

[Empire]

Once I have made the deal and it has been agreed by both parties, I then tend to stick to that price and will not change it. Changing an agreed price last minute can also be bad for your reputation as well so never wise.

unless it became more work or clients requests more

 

[Shortie]

unless it became more work or clients requests more

That is very true, by then though I would have hoped to have completed the agreed work at the price agreed and a new order would then be negotiated and discussed.

If I felt that I should charge more for the work and the time taken then I would mention that but I would never change it mid order completion