What to charge....??

Kidblue

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I was wondering if anyone could give me a little feedback regarding 'market value' of an area of programming which I am considering moving into.

I work for myself, and my normal line of business is PLC /HMI programming. I have a customer who wants me to capture various data items from his Allen Bradley PLC, store the data in a Database, and provide a front-end to interrogate the data. The customer does not know a great deal about how to achieve this, so I am able to suggest my preferred solution - which is to use RS LINX / DDE / MS Access with the front-end being written in MS Excel. Between my partner and I, we are able to do this, but have not done so on a commercial basis before, and have very little idea of the "market value" of the work we are proposing to complete.

We have built up a strong relationship with the customer - who trusts what we do for him, therefore we are in a relatively strong position to be able to command a decent price - but we would like it to be realistic. Should we be comparing rates for this type of work with the rates which we charge for PLC programming - or is this a more specialised field??

Any thoughts gratefully received! o_O
 
Personally, I don't see this new area as being substantially different from what you have been doing. Instead of automating the operation of the machine, you're automating the collection of data from it. It's a logical extension. Given that, I'd charge the same hourly rate as for any other project with that customer. Since you already know how the PLC programs work, even if there is someone out there who might quote a lower hourly rate, you'll be able to get the job done in fewer hours.

If the customer balks at the rate, you can always remind him that he's not simply paying you for an hour's work. He's also paying for your level of experience that allow you to get the job done in a hour.
 
I would be wary of entering the wonderful world of windows with software done on a commercial basis. As long as you are sure what happens when the next version of windows comes out (along with the associated office products) then fine, I would charge the same rate.
 
If this is your first time with such an application, I would probably go with the same rate.

Two things come to mind though:

As you gain experience with windows type programming, code re-use begins. If you build your own controls, libraries, etc. then you can command a higher price. Since each successive application takes less and less time to complete.

The other is you seem to have a captive audience with this client. If so, you may be able to raise the price and they will still say 'yes'. If their is alot of competition then you probably can't raise the price.
 
Why not employ a consultant (you) to study your customer's requirements and then, having charged some phenomenal sum to produce a single page of nothing padded out to a 50-page colour glossy booklet, recommend a company (you) as the only one capable of implementing the solution? Oh, and of course, don't forget that one of you needs to pay the other you a commission on this.

regards

Ken

PS : If the customer wants a truly independent view as a second (chargeable) opinion there always Smoke & Mirrors Inc.
 
It goes without saying Katratzi....Rate for the job PLUS PLCTalk commission - we build that in as standard now to all our quotes!! ;)

:site:

Thanks for the input people, it helps to know we weren't too far out with our thinking!! (y)

Seriously considering the Smoke & Mirrors Inc approach....
 

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