Fee Structure
Our fee structure was updated on 2012-08-12. Our fee structure is governed by our Appointment Terms.
Initial meetings
We usually have an initial meeting with new clients to discuss their needs and how we can assist them. When you first meet with us, we will charge an initial fee, payable upfront, for the meeting which works out to roughly one and a half times our team member's hourly rate. For this you have 2 hours of our undivided attention. The first half hour is free.
You can use this time however you wish. We can spend an hour reviewing some documents for you and an hour chatting with you about them or the full 2 hours discussing what you need and how we can help you. Meetings also need not be in person (although they often are). We are happy to conduct our meetings over Skype, Google+ or over the phone.
Project-based fees
Where we quote you for a project (for example, drafting documents for you), the quote will often (but not necessarily) be a multiple of these fee units and set to an appropriate level, taking into account a variety of factors which include the project's complexity, urgency and scale, among others. We don't bill by the hour so we don't offer refunds for unused fees paid based on how much time we spend. We aim to set fees that are fair reflections of the effort and expertise that go into our work and frequently find our quotes are somewhat less than a time-based fee.
Project fees are payable in advance and we won't start any work until we receive the payment. In consideration for upfront payments, we discount our fees by 20%.
If you require more work done that isn't included in the original quote's scope, we're happy to do it and we will quote you on the additional fees for that work. Those additional fees will usually comprise additional fee units.
Retainer fees
Where we quote you on a retainer, it will be a multiple of our fee units and we set the fee at a level you are comfortable with. Retainers are then fixed for 3 months at a time, after which we will discuss whether to continue with the retainer for the next 3 months; adjust the retainer fee or drop it altogether. You can use a retainer for whatever you want. Some clients use it to call us from time to time to assist with various things. Other clients have specific projects in mind and prefer to structure them over a 3 month period. As long as its the sort of work we do, we don't mind how you use it.
As with project-based fees, retainers work on a use it or lose it basis. They are also pre-paid and expire at the end of the month in which they are to be used. We don't carry retainer fee balances over to successive months. Retainer fees are typically invoiced on the 1st of the month and due 15 days later. We will stop working if our retainers are not paid on time and will adjust the fees to remove the 20% if the retainers are paid after their due date (early payment is one of the reasons we discount our fees so much).
Hourly rates
While we prefer not to charge on an hourly basis, some of our clients prefer this. Paul's hourly rate is R2 250 and our consultants are charged out at various rates, depending on their expertise and seniority.
We will require deposits from clients who we are charging on an hourly basis as a matter of routine. We will start working once we have received the deposit. As with all rules, there are exceptions and we will assess these on a case by case basis.