What is a retainer fee?
A retainer fee is a deposit made by the client to a professional, to secure their services for the future project. This is something that will need to be addressed within the proposal and can be deducted from the overall cost. As this payment usually funds the initial costs of the project, it is good practice to hold those funds ‘in a separate account from the hourly wages of the consultant, freelancer, or lawyer. This ensures that money is not used for personal purposes before the services are fully performed .’
Costs
I chose to set my fee as a UX freelancer at £12 an hour. This is above minimum wage but would still match my skill level in accordance with what more experienced designers are receiving. I was initially going to choose £11 but I would also be carrying out the branding aspect of the project as well as research and creating the final product. As I theoretically needed an external software developer/programmer/engineer to create a booking system within the site, I researched the average wage and got their hourly rate. This was then multiplied by the time Id required them to add within the costs of the project.
I struggled a bit with the tax part of the invoice. Self-employed tax rates information can be found here and change according to the bracket in which you earn. I would be in the ‘£12,571 and £50,270’ bracket so I would pay 20% tax. I used this invoice generator to create the itemised invoice below. Data collection prices are something I had to consider in my costs in the research phase of the project so I researched price plans for the software survey monkey, and used that as a gauge for part of the costs within my proposal. The research was a large and important part of the timeline and I think I have justified this in the sample proposal schedule within my document. I used a Gantt Chart, I downloaded a free template here. Gannt charts are a great project management asset and allow a ‘birdseye view’ of progress. You can easily view milestones as well as changing deadlines and work well for Agile/Waterfall methodologies. I discovered this chart during my research and found it a little tricky to get used to but I can definitely see the benefits of using one in a team project. I choose to include one as it is important for the client to see where their money is going, after all, I am asking for nearly £30,000. As I know I won’t be the cheapest proposal that they will read I have to let them see why my proposal is value for money as well as a unique approach to the project.
This blog on what goes into the cost of UX design – reiterated that ‘quality UX design is expensive’ and why justifying my prices were so important. It discusses the discovery/planning phase, research/strategy, concept phase right down to the details of usability – this is something I tried to echo in my own proposal. That the final product is not a simple process and that to make money, money would have to be spent.
This blog on the life or timeline of a research project helped me gauge how long my proposed project timeline would be. Again, I justified this in my project approach and scope of work – which was then reflected in my pricing. I feel like I have done a lot of research for this project and that is why I felt confident in approaching the project on a larger scale – also it is theoretical and that makes it much easier to ask for thirty grand.
Technical/Legal language
I used terms and conditions from the website ‘Solid Ground’ to help word my general assumptions and technical language throughout my document, and changed it to suit my project. As well as the book as a reference to the way a proposal should be structured I looked at this example of a UX contract ownership/usage rights. I reworded this to suit my project as even though I am proposing the client can keep the rights to the work I have included a clause that I as the designer will be allowed to showcase it for my portfolio etc. The website ‘The Law Insider‘ is another reference point I used for ownership and rights sample clauses as well as other legal wording to construct the assumptions section. The tone of voice can play a big part in the consideration of a proposal. The ownership rights and usage section is where it’s vital you show the client you have considered its content seriously.
The Finished Proposal
Invoice
