how should I charge..?

[Extras]

I have developed an e-commerce web site for a client and it has worked fine for about six months or so. I used to host the site for them via a reseller agreement with a hosting company. As luck would have it the network administrator at the client has talked my client into moving the site to his friend's company. But, the client still wants me to be their "tech support" i.e. handle any technical question on their behalf with the hosting company.

My question is how should I charge for something like this? It sounds like a service contract? Maybe a retainer? Am totally at loss - would welcome suggestions that point me in the right direction...

 

[forPCTECHS]

My suggestion would be to charge at an hourly rate until you have enough hours to work with before figuring out a service contract.

Keep track of these hours that build up for the work you perform and after time (usually a year of service) you'll then be able to decide how much you should charge for a service contract from these hours.

You don't want to lowball your price on a contract and at the same time you don't want to propose to high.

So if you charge hourly your sure to get paid for your time.

Best of Luck! Matt Lowell

http://www.forPCTECHS.com

High-Tech Tools & Tool Kits for Techs -Publishers of:
"The PC Technician's Guide to Profits"

 

[Extras]

Thanks for responding...i have found that we end up helping them for anywhere from 5-10 hours per month.

So how can I use this data to...should the service contract include 8 hours of work and then additional expenses can be added if service exceeds that level?

Appreciate your guidance!