Billing
Make billing clear before work starts.
Understand how scope, payment timing, invoices, retainers, and external costs are handled before you approve work.
Ask before approving work whenever billing affects scope, timing, cost, or responsibility.
Billing models
Match the billing model to the work
The sensible model depends on how much diagnosis, access, and ongoing responsibility the work requires.
Small advice or first-response work
Written context often makes it possible to scope a sensible first paid step.
Project work
Agree the scope, deliverable, price or estimate, and decision point before implementation starts.
Retainer or ongoing work
Define what is included, how priority works, and what happens when work exceeds the agreed scope.
Hourly or on-demand work
This fits work that cannot be priced responsibly before diagnosis.
Third-party costs
Hosting, domains, plugins, APIs, ads, licences, and external tools are separate unless they are explicitly included.
Scope before price
The price depends on the real scope.
A WordPress fix, SEO review, Cloudflare cleanup, AI workflow, or managed technical issue can be tiny or complex. The billing model should follow the real risk, access needs, urgency, and amount of diagnosis required.
If something is unclear, ask before approving the work. Written questions leave a clear record of scope, assumptions, and next steps.
Before approval
Settle these four questions
Payment timing, price, scope changes, and external costs should be clear before work starts.
When is payment due?
Small tasks may be billed immediately. Projects may use an upfront payment or milestones. Retainers are normally billed for the agreed period.
Can you give a fixed price?
Yes, when the scope is clear enough. If diagnosis comes first, a smaller paid review may be needed before a fixed implementation price is responsible.
What if the work changes?
If the scope changes materially, pause, explain the change, and agree the next step before the billing expectation changes.
Who pays for external services?
The client normally pays for hosting, domains, plugin licences, APIs, ads, and third-party tools unless another arrangement is agreed in writing.
Billing question
Ask before the work begins.
If a billing question affects scope, timing, cost, or responsibility, use the prepared email before you approve the work.