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RATES Our
strategy regarding billing rates is a simple one: Offer the best possible
quality of service at a reasonable, competitive cost.
Hourly rates are on a sliding scale ranging from $95 to $125 per hour. Travel time is billed one-way, not both ways.
Pre-approved expenses that are incurred and directly project-related are
submitted for reimbursement with no additional surcharges, markup, or
administrative fees. Daily rates can also be quoted if desired.
An example of a typical $95 per hour engagement would be with a local
Northwest Arkansas company having relatively long-term, ongoing initiatives that are
expected to last for months or years. A $125 per hour engagement would
typically be a short-term project, a project that is sporadic in time
requirements, a project that is out of the Northwest Arkansas area and
requires travel, or a combination of the above.
Applied Computer Technology is able to offer highly competitive rates
because we effectively utilize technology for communication, collaboration, and business
process
automation. In other words, we practice what we preach. We maximize the use of
electronically networked, well-equipped, reasonable sized offices as well
as home-based offices to
minimize overhead. We feel that our customers want to pay for our
experience and expertise, not our opulent office space.
Since every project is unique, please feel free to contact
us to discuss your individual needs. Your initial consultation is done
with our compliments.
Some sage advice to consider before engaging outside
consultants:
The following suggestions have been learned the hard way by many business
owners and managers. They represent some classic mistakes to
avoid when outsourcing consulting services.
- Insist
on seeing verifiable credentials, track records and references before
engaging the services of any consultant.
- Simply
comparing hourly rates can be very misleading. A highly skilled professional with years of experience can do things in a matter of minutes
that would take an inexperienced person literally hours or days to
accomplish, especially in the computer technology field.
- It
is to your advantage to look at the true overall cost of a project.
Consider the real cost of scrapping a project after months of false
starts, wasted time, monetary expense and frustration due to engaging an
inexperienced person simply because he or she was "cheap." You are
almost always better off hiring a seasoned professional who can work on their own with
minimal supervision and get the job done right the first time.
- If
you have a well-defined task or project, it is to your advantage to obtain
an estimate of the time required, the project schedule, and the
overall expense. However, it is important to be flexible and realize that
this is an estimate and that things can change during the implementation process. If it costs an
additional 10% or 20% to get the job done right as opposed to insisting on
an unrealistically low project budget which forces shortcuts to be made,
you are better off
doing it right the first time.
- It
is common knowledge that software changes cost from ten to one hundred times as
much after the software has been released than it costs to implement changes during the development cycle. If a "consultant" is not aware
of this fact and does not insist on learning all of the details
before going to work on your project, you haven't found the right person
for the job.
- Don't
assume that because you have a competent in-house information systems
department that they can do everything under the sun. They are often overwhelmed and
should be allowed to concentrate on achieving their primary goals.
Utilize outsourced help when you have special projects or need specialized
knowledge and experience.
- Trustworthiness,
experience and work ethic are very likely the most important qualities to look for when
engaging an outsourced consultant.
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