[consulting] List for Independent Drupal Consultants -- Estimation Process?...

[Dave Terry]

We use Quickbooks to track time and send out invoices.  We were using
dotProject to track tickets and general project management, but did not like
- there were mainly usability issues and we switched to ActiveCollab
(www.activecollab.com) and would give a strong endorsement.

Another question I wanted to throw out..how do you estimate projects?  Do
you have a "formula" you use - do you typically provide prospects with a
ballpark quote first to gauge their reaction or always provide a formal
proposal?   What kind of specs (if any) do you require from the customer
before you'll bid on a project?


Thanks in advance for any insight,

Dave 
Mediacurrent

 

From: consulting-bounces at drupal.org [mailto:consulting-bounces at drupal.org]
On Behalf Of Michael Thorne
Sent: Monday, January 12, 2009 3:02 AM
To: A list for Drupal consultants and Drupal service/hosting providers
Subject: Re: [consulting] List for Independent Drupal Consultants -- Anyone?

 

I also love FreshBooks.com.  Awesome time-tracking for projects/tasks
integrated with online invoicing.

On Sat, Jan 10, 2009 at 12:57 PM, David Shaver <d.a.shaver at dashaver.com>
wrote:

I use FreshBooks for my client invoicing it work great
David A. Shaver                                         
D. A. Shaver Web Design
Web Page Design for Small Business
www.dashaver.com   
Prairie State Runner          
Illinois Running & Racing Calendar
www.prairiestaterunner.com  
PO Box 594 Galesburg,IL 61402-0594     
309.343.0027                                                   





On Sat, Jan 10, 2009 at 11:43 AM, Dave Myburgh <davemyb at gmail.com> wrote:

How about this: we use this list as it does include independents, and if the
powers that be object to that, then we can start a separate list?

I, for one, would be interested to hear how others manage their time,
particularly with respect to keeping track of client billable hours. At the
moment I use a small freeware timer program that can keep a list of
different timers. So when I start work on a project, I select the timer for
the project, click the start button and get to work. When I'm done, I stop
the timer. At the end of the month, I check the monthly total and bill the
client.

Up until now, I haven't done much on the project management side i.e.
keeping track of bugs, requests, etc. using an issue tracker system. I
started looking at creating a system using OG and Project modules, but a
friend suggested Redmine, which I eventually got installed and started
using. Now I just need the clients to use it. Does anyone have any ideas for
this?

Well, I think that's enough to get the ball rolling, so I'll leave it at
that for now. Looking forward to hearing from everyone else.

Dave



On Sat, Jan 10, 2009 at 12:05 PM, Adam Mordecai <mordecai at advomatic.com>
wrote:

The majority of people on this list are independent developers, to splinter
it even more would cause a low traffic list to be even more low traffic.  

On Jan 10, 2009, at 7:57 AM, Sam Cohen wrote:


Hi everyone,

I'm an independent Drupal consultant and I have purposely decided to not
grow and become a web shop or work for another web shop. I like being a
one-person operation.  

I think being an independent, a one man or woman "shop," comes with many
unique challenges and I was wondering if any other Indies out there would be
interested in starting a separate email list just for Independent Drupal
Consultants, in order to share advice on things like time management,
working with clients, managing work load, etc.  

If so, please email me at sam at samcohen.com and I'll start a list.

Thanks,
Sam

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-- 
-------------------------------------------------------
              Dave Myburgh

            Mybes Informatik
[ creative & professional web design ]

  http://www.mybesinformatik.com
  email:dave at mybesinformatik.com <mailto:email%3Adave at mybesinformatik.com> 
-------------------------------------------------------

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