Visual Basic Limitations

[DataMiser]

What is a $250 software to you?
What is a $2500 software to you?
What is a $10,000 software to you?

Your prices are all over the place, and its understandable, as no two software applications are the same... But what makes those programs valued at the prices you gave them?

I understand my questions was incredibly vague - just trying to get some rough ideas.

so... "For a software that can do X, I charge $250", or "For a software that can do X, Y and Z, I charge $2500+".
I'm not looking for the recipe to your secret sauce - I'm just trying to get an idea as to how you would price a particular project.

There are lots of factors other than what the software can do, such as how much time am I going to need to spend talking about it to get the details right. Is it a project I am going to enjoy doing and maybe learn something along the way. Is it a project were I can reuse existing code. Is there a potential to resell to other customers later. Is the customer asking for the source code. What mood I am in at the time

And of course how much time I think it will actually take to code the project, test and debug.

[codenewbie]

Would anybody be willing to talk about how they price projects, and maybe give some example projects and prices?

More information that "what mood I was in at the time" would be helpful lol (thanks DataMiser, your post was still somewhat helpful).
And I do know that I'm asking a vague question - I suppose I cant expect much from that

[.paul.]

it depends how specifically tailored it is to your customer's needs

[DataMiser]

Well like I said there are a lot of factors, for example I have worked with some customers who know their way around a computer and have good communication skills which help to speed things along very nicely whereas I have worked with some customers were even simple things take 3 to 4 times longer than you would think it should mostly due to lack of understanding on their part or poor communication. Quite often a customer will tell you what they want but then you find out that is not what they want.

Repeat customers are much easier to price accurately and fairly as you can get a good feel as to how much time will be wasted along the way hashing things out and holding their hand if need be.

It really doesn't matter so much what the program is going to do, at least not to me. Pricing is basically based on how long it should take to write the code, how much time I expect to have to spend on phone calls and emails and such

It isn't easy coming up with a good price, so many things to consider and always some unknowns along the way. In many cases you just have to give your best guess while keeping in mind how much you have to have and how much you think the customer is willing to pay. Never go below what you have to have unless it is a good customer that will keep coming back and never go above what the customer will pay unless you don't really want the job.

[codenewbie]

Anyone else willing to share some info?

[techgnome]

When I was doing the freelance thing... I'd look at the complexity, the estimated number of hours I think it'll take... what the client is setting at the expected timeframe... I might estimate that it will only take 20 hours, but if I have to compress that 20 hours into 2 days... I might go a little higher in the price, as opposed to say a 2 week, it takes some of the pressure off... then I'll also take into consideration if it will be fun, challenging or if I'm just wasting my talents... actually, often that's something I look at to see if I even want to take it on...

After sometime, I found out I wasn't really interested in doing the freelancing thing... it's a constant job-hunt... you're constantly hitting the boards looking for the next gig... essentially doing the job interview over and over and over again... and just like the job interview for a regular job, you'll apply/bid for tons of them but may only get a small percentage... meh... it wasn't for me. Some people can do it, some can't.

DM brings up a point about repeat customers... sometimes if I see an opportunity, I might drop the price some if I think it will help spark a more long-term relationship.


Ultimately though, I take the estimated amount of time, add a fudge factor to it, times that by my hourly rate (which varies based on the above) and then add in a little bit more, and let the negotiations kick in...

-tg

[DataMiser]

I should also point out that you have to be careful on pricing for what seems to be a repeat customer. Often you may talk with a customer that talks a big game about upcoming projects and how they may be able to throw a lot of work your way. More often than not they are just looking for a better price and if they get it you will never hear from them again. This seems to be the case about 90% of the time when it is your first job for said customer.

I have a couple that have been throwing me work for years and if one of those customers calls and needs a project completed on a tight budget I will find a way to make it work if at all possible because I know I will get more work from them and it will all even out in the end.

[codenewbie]

What is the approx hourly rate you guys are charging?
I understand that it varies on the scope of the work, and the market you are in - still just trying to get some idea.

I freelance in Graphic Design on the side - I typically ask $50-$80/hr depending on the work involved.

[DataMiser]

I do not do any by the hour but in estimating a project I will use a number between $75-$125 depending on the customer and project, In many cases I actually have someone selling for me in those cases I price the project around $75 to leave room for the seller to increase the price and make some money on it. In cases where I work directly for the end customer I use the higher rate.

[Uranium-235]

cheap, quick gui apps, thats what VB is good for. But you can do other stuff, basically from what I understand, most .net references/structures hit across all 3 languages (vB, C#, C++). So yes, you can use direct3d in vb and make a fps game. Its not a good idea though cause as stated before, VB does not perform well, but it does good enough for windows gui apps, and thats what matters

Now that I understand .net. I might start looking into c#. Its structure is closer to my main language (PHP) than vb

[kareninstructor]

Speaking of large projects, we are currently replacing Oregon Department of Revenue’s entire current core system, which will span over five years using 95% VB.NET with the remainder in C Sharp and Java. The project pushes out what we call sprints across the timeline, which means the final product will not be implemented five years from now, but spread out over time.

Important factors are proper design, the right people working on code and the backend database configured properly with a good schema. Other aspects include utilizing some external resources for collaborating up with other agencies, private partners and the feds. The volume of data moving is massive yet no issues with working with VB.NET as we have many solutions in place in the current system and work just fine in real time for some while other processes are nightly task. Just last week Microsoft was in working with us on one part of the project and was truly impressed with the people they sent in, two of the most intellegent people I have ever met.

Many other states have taken the same path as we have some in progress, others currently being used successfully.