Charging for a rush, travel, and weekend work

"I'd need it by Monday." It is four o'clock on Friday.

Or: the client is a hundred and eighty kilometres away and wants a meeting in person. Or the job needs work on a Sunday because that is the only day the premises are closed.

Three situations, one question: does it cost extra, and how do you say so.

The rule that decides everything: before, never after

A surcharge announced beforehand is an option the client chooses. The same one announced afterwards is a nasty surprise, and a nasty surprise gets argued with even when every line of it is justified.

It is exactly the mechanism in billing an extra revision: the client does not dispute the amount, they dispute not having had the choice. A supplement whose principle they accepted is a supplement paid without comment.

Which means the real work is not in Friday evening's negotiation. It is in the four lines written into the quote six weeks earlier.

The four supplements that justify themselves

Urgency

What gets charged for is not "it's urgent", it is what the urgency costs you, and that is the thing to be able to name.

A Monday deadline arriving on Friday does not make you work faster: it makes you push something else back, work the weekend, or both. It is the pushing back that costs, because it has an effect on a second job and a second client.

A surcharge of thirty to fifty per cent is the norm and defends itself in one sentence. Below thirty you are buying the inconvenience for nothing; above fifty you are saying no with a number, which is sometimes exactly right but is better said with words.

Travel

Three things to count, and the third is the one systematically forgotten.

The mileage, which is arithmetic and not up for debate. Actual expenses if there are any. And travel time, which is working time: three hours in a car are three hours in which you produce nothing and can do nothing else.

Most freelancers charge the first two and give away the third, which is the largest of the three. A two-hundred- kilometre round trip for a one-hour meeting is half a day, not an hour.

Charge travel at a reduced rate if you like, that is common and well accepted. But charge it.

Work outside normal hours

Evenings, weekends, a public holiday, overnight. Same logic as urgency, and the same range.

One useful note: it is the best accepted of the four, because the client immediately understands what it is. Nobody finds it odd that a Sunday costs more.

The extra meeting

This one is more delicate and needs judgement.

What is not charged for: the scoping meeting, the normal exchanges of the job, a ten-minute call. That is the trade, and charging for it makes you look like a meter.

What is charged for: the fourth ninety-minute meeting on a project that planned for two, especially with different people each time. That is no longer coordination, it is an advisory service, and it has a real cost in getting back into things, as in how long a job actually takes.

The sentence that lets the client choose

This is the heart of it, and it beats both a refusal and a resigned yes.

Monday is doable. It means pushing another job back and working Saturday, so it comes with a forty per cent surcharge. Otherwise, with no surcharge, I can deliver Thursday. Tell me which you prefer.

Four things work in there, and none of them is firmness:

• It is doable. You are not saying no, which is half the reason this lands.
• You say what it actually costs, in one sentence, without complaining. The client had not thought about the pushing back, and once they do the surcharge becomes obvious.
• You give a free alternative. This is the decisive element: they are not choosing between paying and not having it, they are choosing between paying and waiting. A choice gets made, an ultimatum gets endured.
• You leave the choice to them. And half the time they pick Thursday, which tells you the urgency was not one.

What to have written beforehand

Four lines in the quote or your terms, useless until the day they are worth a great deal:

Standard lead time: two weeks. Rush delivery (under five working days): 40% surcharge. Travel: 60p per mile plus travel time at half rate. Weekend or public holiday work: 40% surcharge.

The only real effort is writing them once. After that, Friday evening's conversation is no longer a negotiation: it is a reminder of something the client read and accepted, and there is nothing to defend.

One case where you should not surcharge

When the urgency is your own doing. A delay on your side that forces a weekend is not a rush, it is catching up, and it has no business on an invoice.

It is also what makes your other surcharges credible. A supplier who surcharges everything, their own delays included, is not expensive: they are inconsistent, and inconsistency is what a client notices.

Frequently asked questions

How much should you add for a rush job?

Thirty to fifty per cent is the norm. Below thirty you are buying the inconvenience for nothing; above fifty you are saying no with a number, which is sometimes right but is better said with words.

Should you charge for travel time?

Yes. It is the largest of the three parts of a trip and the one most often given away. Three hours in a car are three hours in which you produce nothing. At half rate if you like, but charged.

How do you announce a surcharge without putting the client off?

By offering a free alternative. "Monday is doable with a 40% surcharge, otherwise I deliver Thursday at no extra cost" makes them choose between paying and waiting, whereas a surcharge alone makes them choose between paying and not having it.

Can you charge for an extra meeting?

Scoping and the normal exchanges of a job, no, that is the trade. The fourth ninety-minute meeting on a project that planned for two, yes: that is no longer coordination, and it has a real cost in getting back into things.

When should you not add a surcharge?

When the urgency is your own doing. A delay on your side that forces weekend work is catching up, not a rush. It is also what keeps your other surcharges credible.