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How much should I charge?

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  • How much should I charge?

    I've been fixing a computer for my aunt, and she's offered payment for it. so I'm trying to figure out how much I should charge...

    Here's the rundown of what I've done:

    At my aunt's house:
    -swap the hard drive out of the broken machine and into a "new" machine
    -The monitor then died. I took the box home, and my aunt paid for a new monitor

    at my place:
    -turns out Windows 98 hates it when you change hardware that much, it didn't even recognise the CD drive.
    -So I wiped it and did a clean install of Windows 2000 using a license I salvaged from a machine that got trashed last year
    -Also installed all the updates, nearly all drivers (just one left) and some software

    still to do:
    -install the last driver (modem driver, I can't find one online but I found the CD that goes with that particular modem)

    then after delivery:
    -set up the PC at my aunt's house
    -set up internet and email
    -install printer driver

    So, what sort of amount should I charge for such work? Of course I'll include a family discount but I'll work that out after I've worked out the base rate.

  • #2
    best bet is to use a job website to find similar jobs base your hourly wage from this or what the local pc store would have charged. apply family discount e.g 60% of what it would have cost at the local pc shop.

    don't know what country you are from but if its a one off job for family get them to give you the money at Christmas (gift) otherwise it needs to be declared on your tax return.

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    • #3
      Do what I do, say "no need, but whatever makes you feel better." She's family and you never know when you need her to help you someday. Unless you really really need the money, never charge family. It just ruins things down the road. If you really need the money, just tell your aunt that you need the money for blah blah blah. Then it probably won't matter what the amount is. It isn't really for the work but for helping family.

      But then again, in my family we do this kind of thing all the time. I'm the "oh crap, my computer needs help" guy. So I get to ask them to do "hey, this thing needs to get all the way downtown. can you drop it off for me."
      I've lost my mind ages ago. If you find it, please hide it.

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      • #4
        For family that insists on paying me for my services, I usually charge half the going rate.

        In your case, $80-100 for hard drive replacement, setup (which includes driver installs) and connection.

        Bear in mind, this is only if there's an insistence to pay me. Ordinarily, unless I'm being intentionally taken advantage of, I do not bill family.

        My aunt insists on paying me, but she also runs a business, so it is a case of her requesting me in a business manner, not as a family member.
        I AM the evil bastard!
        A+ Certified IT Technician

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        • #5
          Quoth lordlundar View Post
          Bear in mind, this is only if there's an insistence to pay me.
          That's what's happening here, my aunt's insisting on paying me because if I wasn't available she'd have paid someone else to do it and she'd rather give the money to me.

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          • #6
            Is she a good cook? I usually charge family a good, home-cooked meal--complete with leftovers to take home.
            The Rich keep getting richer because they keep doing what it was that made them rich. Ditto the Poor.
            "Hy kan tell dey is schmot qvestions, dey is makink my head hurt."
            Hoc spatio locantur.

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            • #7
              If she's got a skill - and most people do - and it's a skill you value, get her to do that for you. For instance, if she's a great knitter, ask her to knit you a sweater* that would take about X hours of skilled labour and Y dollars of materials.

              Calculate materials cost based on what it would cost your aunt at a major retailer, not what it costs you at that great little specialist shop down the way where they know you and you bring them work all the time.

              That way, your aunt gets to understand that you appreciate and value her skill, she gets an analogy she really understands about your skills, and she gets to 'pay' you in a way that makes sense to her - and you get a great sweater knitted with love and care!

              Also, using this trick might help get other family who are of the 'take advantage of' type off your back. Knitters and other specialist craft types often get people taking their skills for granted the same way we geeks do; but get the crafters of your family on your side and they might lean on the rest of the relatives for you.



              * or whatever she does.
              Seshat's self-help guide:
              1. Would you rather be right, or get the result you want?
              2. If you're consistently getting results you don't want, change what you do.
              3. Deal with the situation you have now, however it occurred.
              4. Accept the consequences of your decisions.

              "All I want is a pretty girl, a decent meal, and the right to shoot lightning at fools." - Anders, Dragon Age.

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              • #8
                Quoth Hibble View Post
                don't know what country you are from but if its a one off job for family get them to give you the money at Christmas (gift) otherwise it needs to be declared on your tax return.
                Not quite, you have to actually produce a bit of income before you have to start declaring income. Besides, if he started it like a business. Then he can charge all his equipment as part of expense which will wipe out any "profit" the business would have made on this charge.
                Quoth edible_hat View Post
                That's what's happening here, my aunt's insisting on paying me because if I wasn't available she'd have paid someone else to do it and she'd rather give the money to me.
                Well, then visit a shop and ask them what it cost to "blah, blah, blah" exactly what you did. Then you know what they charge, then you can tell your aunt that "store would have charge this to do what I did. but I don't have to pay for a lease for a large shop to have employees clean for me, etc......"
                I've lost my mind ages ago. If you find it, please hide it.

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                • #9
                  It depends, for me, if there's a physical cost to it. I wrote a little program for my grandfather, and told him he didn't need to pay me. Reason being, the only thing I did was sit in my chair and use my imagination and my fingers.

                  ...wow, that sounds dirty. It was actually a program that solved a math problem for him though.

                  If I have to drive somewhere and use parts out of my own supply and whatnot, then I'd probably be glad to be paid, because then that'll defray the costs to me. I charge $20 an hour for professional stuff, but for relatives I like it'd probably be 'whatever you think it's worth'
                  "Joi's CEO is about as sneaky and subtle as a two year old on crack driving an air craft carrier down Broadway." - Broomjockey

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                  • #10
                    lol a home-cooked meal sounds good heh.

                    i had a case like that... building a webpage for the church organist and a charity she ran. but it was fun for me so i insisted on not being paid. so she bought me subway once in a while on days i stayed extra long to help work on her stuff.

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