How much to charge?

37Seconds · 12-31-2006, 06:21 AM

Hi...

My mom's boss (owns a small business) wants me to upgrade his office's 3 computers to XP (currently using 2000). He isn't quite sure if he wants to do just an upgrade or clean install and reinstall all software he needs. He is leaning towards doing the clean install though.

How much should I charge to do this for him? I want it to be a flat rate (not per hour). He generally uses another computer company to do such tasks which charge $80/hr, but he doesn't want to pay that much, so he has asked me to do it.

Please give suggestions for both the upgrade and clean install with re-installing all needed software.

Thanks!

scottydont2841 · 12-31-2006, 12:04 PM

well try shopping around for the XP software and multiple liscences not seperate copies of XP, cas its a little cheaper, and then depending on whether he wants the clean install or upgrade, id charge roughly $100 plus the cost of the software for upgrade, and $140 for the clean install plus software.

Chevy · 01-05-2007, 10:49 AM

ScottyD makes a good point. You can purchase a 3-pack (OEM) for less than 3 single licenses. (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116061)

Also, consider the logistics - If you can have access to the office on a Saturday (or whatever day they are closed), you can back up all three (an external drive would work), then install all three at once.

Also, look at what he was paying - $80 per hour. I use 3 hours as the base for any machine - that's OS, updates, apps, copying data back to My Docs, configuring email and network. He probably paid about $240 for each machine. You want to beat that by a significant amount ... $140 does that and more ... I'd go closer to $180.

Rough Pricing:

OS - $414 (or $138 each)

Backup Data / Restore - $90 (or $30 each)

Wipe / Reinstall (OS and Apps) - $240 (or $80 each)

Configure Networking and Peripherals - $150 (or $50 each)

Total - $894 (or $298 each)

You make ..... $480 (or $160 per system)

If you need to work around the employee's (always a PITA), you may want to charge a little more.

12-31-2006, 06:21 AM	#1 (permalink)
37Seconds Registered User Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 7 OS: Windows XP/Kubuntu Linux	How much to charge? Hi... My mom's boss (owns a small business) wants me to upgrade his office's 3 computers to XP (currently using 2000). He isn't quite sure if he wants to do just an upgrade or clean install and reinstall all software he needs. He is leaning towards doing the clean install though. How much should I charge to do this for him? I want it to be a flat rate (not per hour). He generally uses another computer company to do such tasks which charge $80/hr, but he doesn't want to pay that much, so he has asked me to do it. Please give suggestions for both the upgrade and clean install with re-installing all needed software. Thanks!

12-31-2006, 12:04 PM	#2 (permalink)
scottydont2841 Tech, Microsoft Support Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Bristol, England, UK. Posts: 1,169 OS: Vista Home Premium My System	well try shopping around for the XP software and multiple liscences not seperate copies of XP, cas its a little cheaper, and then depending on whether he wants the clean install or upgrade, id charge roughly $100 plus the cost of the software for upgrade, and $140 for the clean install plus software. __________________

01-05-2007, 10:49 AM	#3 (permalink)
Chevy Semi-Retired Manager, Microsoft Support Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Notlob Posts: 5,142 OS: Vista Ultimate My System	ScottyD makes a good point. You can purchase a 3-pack (OEM) for less than 3 single licenses. (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116061) Also, consider the logistics - If you can have access to the office on a Saturday (or whatever day they are closed), you can back up all three (an external drive would work), then install all three at once. Also, look at what he was paying - $80 per hour. I use 3 hours as the base for any machine - that's OS, updates, apps, copying data back to My Docs, configuring email and network. He probably paid about $240 for each machine. You want to beat that by a significant amount ... $140 does that and more ... I'd go closer to $180. Rough Pricing: OS - $414 (or $138 each) Backup Data / Restore - $90 (or $30 each) Wipe / Reinstall (OS and Apps) - $240 (or $80 each) Configure Networking and Peripherals - $150 (or $50 each) Total - $894 (or $298 each) You make ..... $480 (or $160 per system) If you need to work around the employee's (always a PITA), you may want to charge a little more. __________________ “My philosophy, like color television, is all there in black and white” -M. Python