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Is it 'right' to raise your rates on such short notice? Wouldn't most contract work have stipulations regarding changes in price?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
In my experience, customers generally expect new rates to start with your fiscal year, and Jan 1 is an obvious start to a fiscal year. YMMV
January 1st is an obvious start to the calendar year, not the fiscal year. In the UK the fiscal year begins in early April, and while different countries do have different starts to the fiscal year, few of them (not, for example, UK or USA) start on January 1st.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
January 1st is an obvious start to the calendar year, not the fiscal year. In the UK the fiscal year begins in early April, and while different countries do have different starts to the fiscal year, few of them (not, for example, UK or USA) start on January 1st.
For many types of companies in the US, you have to basically convince the government to let you have one other than jan1 - dec 31.
"The U.S. government's fiscal year begins on October 1 of the previous calendar year and ends on September 30"
Or About.com:
"The Federal Fiscal Year runs from October 1 of the prior year through September 30 of the next year."
Earlier quoted context omitted.
For many types of companies in the US, you have to basically convince the government to let you have one other than jan1 - dec 31.
Not according to Wikipedia: "The U.S. government's fiscal year begins on October 1 of the previous calendar year and ends on September 30" Or About.com: "The Federal Fiscal Year runs from October 1 of the prior year through September 30 of the next year."
Completely different business but my dad got into the trap of leaving his rates constant for many years, so each year your in effect making less and the client has an expectation that the rates won't move.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
For many types of companies in the US, you have to basically convince the government to let you have one other than jan1 - dec 31.
Not according to Wikipedia: "The U.S. government's fiscal year begins on October 1 of the previous calendar year and ends on September 30" Or About.com: "The Federal Fiscal Year runs from October 1 of the prior year through September 30 of the next year."
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not according to Wikipedia: "The U.S. government's fiscal year begins on October 1 of the previous calendar year and ends on September 30" Or About.com: "The Federal Fiscal Year runs from October 1 of the prior year through September 30 of the next year."
That's the government's fiscal year, not your company's fiscal year.
Is it 'right' to raise your rates on such short notice? Wouldn't most contract work have stipulations regarding changes in price?
I have some clients, who came onboard very early on in my professional and personal development as a freelance dev, and who are still being billed at their original rates. I notified these clients at the beginning of November that I am working to bring all rates "on par" across the board.
Even clients who are currently receiving the benefit of your older, lower rates will agree to the economics of paying a competitive price for the same quality of service that you provide to your highest paying clients. The dialog that began in November has proven fruitful in terms of developing a strategy to get all of my current, ongoing clients to agree to the new rate structure.
Bottom line: Have too much work, or too many "potential clients" hounding you for proposals? Raise your rates. Want to keep your clients? Give them notice well ahead of time, then raise your rates.
Those templates are awfully written and I'd do it face-to-face anyway. I find people who drop bombshells in emails even though I see them all the time to be a particularly distasteful form of business associate.
That said, I'd still put e-mail as a better medium for this than the phone. Even if you worded it just right, it's awkward for the client too because it's not exactly something to celebrate but nor do they want to look cheap. E-mail provides the right level of formality for contractual/pricing discussions, IMHO at least.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
In my experience, customers generally expect new rates to start with your fiscal year, and Jan 1 is an obvious start to a fiscal year. YMMV
January 1st is an obvious start to the calendar year, not the fiscal year. In the UK the fiscal year begins in early April, and while different countries do have different starts to the fiscal year, few of them (not, for example, UK or USA) start on January 1st.
All US taxpayers can change their tax year by petitioning the IRS for a change of taxable year; this is usually granted without hassle for businesses (i.e, C-Corporations), but almost never for individuals.