Lawyers bill in six minute increments.
God that sounds like a nightmare. I code. The idea of having to keep a detailed log of every piece of work in even increment of 15 minutes sounds painful.
Lawyers and fractional CXOs are not that much different. Out bill rates are not identical, but they are not that different.
Every fractional I have has a stroy about a client that did not care about hourly breakdowns, then until they did. Budgets change, markets shift, new leadership changes focus. Any number of things can happen over time, that would make a client shift their mindset, and start to ask for breakouts.
If you do not have hourly breakouts, its not good.
Never Level Down
Leveling down is when I default to a clients expectations. I and a number of other CTOs have learned that hard way that clients change expectations over time. If during the start of a project you kickoff with a large retainer, then slowly update the client as the retainer is consumed, you need to document the consumption.
First, every project has a ‘honeymoon period’. When company hires a fractional, when a problem gets a solution the client feels good. A solution was found. Everyone is happy. I have found that relaxed clients always become more detail oriented with time.
Always. So plan for it. When the client tells you they don’t need an hourly breakdown, don’t listen. My lawyers don’t. They provide a breakdown. Not an invoice. Not a summary. A task by task, hour by hour break down. It’s just good hygiene.
Be World Class
During Techstars in 2018 our managing director has a moto. Be world class. I loved him for that wording. I have carried and used that wording for years. I have expanded that idea to mean, don’t solve a problem, solve it in a way that exceeds expectations. Good enough is simple. Taking the time to do it right is world class.
So we build this tool to make time recording stupid easy. Made it part of your day, versus an extra overhead task for your day. Let make your calendar your record. Your calendar entries have summaries. Any good solution lowers congnive work, and drive up producitvbyt.
So keep your billable accurate to the minute. Break the work into calendar time blocks. Leave gaps between tasks, since we all have bio breaks. Providing a detail breakout that shwo the work, the time and place in the day, shows your client that you care about the details, even if thgey do not.
Good time and billing hygiene make you work class, and allows your cliewnt to have proof, from hour one that they can trust you.