Bill for clients emailing/ phone calls to the engineer ?

[gene6]

Its much easier to track a field worker than an engineer.
Designers and Engineers are typically paid a salary.
And it seems like their time can be hard to pin down to a particular clients project for billing.

How do you bill for an engineers time?
What about answering clients questions and emails?
If a attorney sends a $90 bill for an email, no big deal.
If a electrician or trades person billed for answering a clients question on email eyebrows would raise.
Whats the right stride for an engineering time?

 

[retirede]

When I worked for a company that designed and sold custom equipment, Engineering time was figured into the overhead and never itemized.
We knew up front that some customers (especially government and military represented by a big Engineering firm) would require more overhead and bake it in accordingly.

Lawyers can do it that way because that is really their end product - information and advice.

 

[Strathead]

Whatever the market allows, is my answer. $70-100 per hour would be reasonable. It is all about making sure the client knows he/she will be paying for the service.

 

[petersonra]

Whatever the market allows, is my answer. $70-100 per hour would be reasonable. It is all about making sure the client knows he/she will be paying for the service.

for an engineer? more like $150 at the low end.

 

[gene6]

When I worked for a company that designed and sold custom equipment, Engineering time was figured into the overhead and never itemized.
We knew up front that some customers (especially government and military represented by a big Engineering firm) would require more overhead and bake it in accordingly.

OK thats pretty similar here.
But do you track the engineers productive time per project?
And what % of the engineers time should be professional development, or non-billable?

Lawyers can do it that way because that is really their end product - information and advice.

Ha they get away with everything. And they are very good about documenting their time.
What about when a client calls/emails and wants to run a few things by the engineer for a upcoming project or prospective project?

It is all about making sure the client knows he/she will be paying for the service.

Exactly I am curious how others bill for this. EDIT I meant to say how to structure this arrangement.

for an engineer? more like $150 at the low end.

Engineering has become more competitive locally as it can be done from 'anywhere' including abroad as long as the firm as a stamp in our state.

 

[retirede]

OK thats pretty similar here.
But do you track the engineers productive time per project?
And what % of the engineers time should be professional development, or non-billable?

Yes, we tracked, but just to measure how accurate our estimates were. The bid price was already firm, so the tracking had no bearing on what the customer paid - it was only to help improve the accuracy of future estimates.

Since none of the time was directly billable, I’m not sure how to answer the second part. I don’t recall if we ever compared project hours vs non-project hours (utilization) or not.

 

[gadfly56]

When we sell a project it's usually a lump sum and the engineering time is built into the budget. We track all employee time. Personally, if I touch a project (phone call, e-mail, etc) I charge a quarter hour, the smallest increment we enter per management. As retirede says, largely for making sure our estimates are accurate. Unlike my last company, where the design was our product, in my current job, it's just one piece on the way to the final product.

 

[gene6]

When we sell a project it's usually a lump sum and the engineering time is built into the budget. We track all employee time. Personally, if I touch a project (phone call, e-mail, etc) I charge a quarter hour, the smallest increment we enter per management.

Good info, thank you.
How much time are you budgeted for 'non billable' or professional development time?
10% 20% ?

 

[gadfly56]

Good info, thank you.
How much time are you budgeted for 'non billable' or professional development time?
10% 20% ?

Probably 2-3 hours per month. We have internal training, and since I'm a PE, I need 12 hours per year of professional development. The techs also get about 2-3 hours per month for fire alarm, sprinkler, and safety.

 

[Coppersmith]

I have certain clients who require consulting time. I charge them my hourly labor rate to review plans, answer phone questions, research products, write letters, and the like. For phone questions I always give the first five minutes free. After that, I charge them in 1/10 hours increments. This works well for clients who want to supply their own material. I say "Fine, just have all the material here when I arrive to do the work. If I have to go get material, or the material you purchased is not usable, I'll charge you going to get what I need. If you need me to make a material list, I have to charge you for the time involved."

 

[Strathead]

for an engineer? more like $150 at the low end.

Yeah, I'm in Florida. Rates are lower here, and I was mistakenly thinking of engineering under the EC license, not by a licensed Engineer.

 

[gadfly56]

Yeah, I'm in Florida. Rates are lower here, and I was mistakenly thinking of engineering under the EC license, not by a licensed Engineer.

I think you or someone else in FL has mentioned that in Florida, there is a threshold below which an EC can do the engineering, otherwise it has to be a PE.

 

[Strathead]

I think it is 600A single phase residential and 800A commercial 240V max, although I did a 400 amp 480v feeder and bus duct once.