What do you need to know?

I am here to work with my clients, where the relationship makes the most mutual sense to benefit everyone. Therefore, although the typical billing arrangement is the billable hour, there are others out there that may make more sense for a given relationship. I am open to discussing any of these options as they make sense for your company and your needs.

Here is what I cover in this post:

• Hourly Billing 

• Monthly Billing / Reduced Hourly Rates

• Subscription Billing

• Flat Fee

Hourly Billing

The billable hour is probably the most common billing arrangement between attorney and client. The attorney has a set rate, and fees are incurred for each increment of an hour that is worked at that rate. The attorney may provide an estimate before commencing work, but the product is ultimately billed out at whatever the rate is times whatever the amount of time it took to work the project.

Monthly Billing / Reduced Hourly Rates

If there is continued/consistent work that is being performed for a client, a reduced hourly fee can be provided in exchange for a minimum of amount of hours. In this case, a reduced hourly rate can be provided for if a minimum number of hours is met/paid each month. Generally, the estimate underestimates the amount of work that will be performed for the month, which is paid at a lower hourly amount, and any overages needed above the allotted minimum monthly amount is paid hourly at a regular rate. If the hours for the month go below the allotted minimum time, the minimum amount is paid in exchange for the reduced rates.

Subscription Billing

The hourly billing may result in variable amounts being charged in each month or pay period. Some clients may want a more even expectation of costs. The subscription billing therefore provides less volatility between pay period. This arrangement is more like a contract attorney. If you need an attorney for one day a month or a week a month, then this may be an option.

This option is generally available after a relationship is established. The fee is a monthly payment regardless of the hours actually billed. Usually, there is also a maximum amount of available work imposed to ensure expectations are still aligned. The amount of the fee is an approximate average of the amount worked over time. The arrangement can be updated based on the amount of work that is actually worked in the preceding months (generally averaged over 2-6 month intervals). The payment is therefore a representation that was worked in the previous time frames but is averaged over time so the budget is more consistent and reliable for the company. The monthly rate is approximately the hourly rate multiplied by the average time allotted for the month.  The billing rate depends on the approximate amount of time for the month.

FLAT FEE

Flat fees are where a given product or action is given a single cost to perform, regardless of the amount of time it takes to achieve the project. Flat fees are typically performed on discrete actions or items. A flat fee schedule can be worked out for a given scope of work based on the needs of the individual project and client.