I've had a new client request a web site in 2 weeks. Not only I already find that pretty quick but I'm totally loaded so I charged a rush fee that I was comfortable with. I wrote the rush fee in my quote and figured that it would remind them to plan ahead of time for the next project. However, I also see there are downfalls to this as the client tried to negotiate (getting the rush fee lowered).
Do you write rush fees in your price quotes or do you just keep that to yourself and why?
Yes, I would line-item a rush fee to make it very clear that they are asking for something above-and-beyond the norm.
And if you want to let them negotiate it, that's certainly up to you.
A rush fee is a premium. You are telling your client that you do not normally turn a project around this quickly, and the client is paying you to put aside other work and prioritize this project.
I would have no problem putting that into the quote and calling it what it is:
PROJECT ESTIMATE: $X,000
RUSH FEE: YY% or $YYY
TOTAL PROJECT ESTIMATE FOR DELIVERY ON DATE: $Z,000
However, as Scott points out, it's up to you to decide what constitutes a rush. If it's a situation where "this would normally take three weeks and I'm doing it in two," I would follow Scott's reasoning and build that into the quote without a line item. "This would normally take three weeks and I'm doing it in three days" would get a line item from me. Consider the client when making this distinction.
Customarily I only cite rush fees for same day or overnight projects where there's a clear rush involved.
In my experience, clients can't really argue the addition of a rush fee when they know they are asking for an unreasonable turnaround. But, as you've discovered, they will argue every time if there's a minimum of three or four days until delivery. They don't really see that as a rush, although it very well can be on your part.
Any project which extends past same or next day, but is shorter than I'd like, doesn't have what I would refer to as a "rush" fee. There's nothing specifically called out in quotes to indicate stress due to short delivery dates and any additional fees due to that stress are built into the project fees.
This is merely how I handle it..... not sure if it's right or wrong, but it works for me :)
I would certainly write rush fee in my quotes, but most of my clients will almost always negotiate the price.
Because no matter what you put in the quotes, if the clients really want to negotiate with you they will find ways to do so. But I agree putting "rush fees" in the quotes for the intended purpose is the right way to go to make sure the client understand.
