Double Billing 2 Clients

[TheFaQQer]

Agree with NLUK, if you're working at home billing for an automated test then that would mean contractors on site can knock off two hours early and claim the compile or their test is running, so they can still charge, or the garage mechanic can charge for 8 hours because he had the battery charger on overnight.

No-one will find out but it sure aint legal.

Is there a case reference for the legality of this?

[northernladuk]

Is there a case reference for the legality of this?

I bet you know the answer to this . It's more a commercial issue than a legal one.

[TheCyclingProgrammer]

I generally let common sense guide me on things like this. If you're biking for a "professional day" then that's a days worth of value whether it takes 4, 6, 8 or 10 hours. If your contract terms allow for you to bill for a day if you spend any time at all on a project, then by all means bill two clients if you feel you've delivered value to both of them on that day.

If a project requires running an automated test suite that takes a long time to run, I don't see why you should not bill for the time it's running. You'd be billing if you were on site.

As an independent consultant, you should be approaching the client and explaining to them that their long, slow test suite is costing them time, money and productivity, and here's how you can help them improve it....more billable work.

[d000hg]

If a project requires running an automated test suite that takes a long time to run, I don't see why you should not bill for the time it's running. You'd be billing if you were on site.

You'd be working on something else on site while the tests were running, unless you're so terrible a contractor you hit "run" and then sit gaping at the screen for the next 6 hours.

[northernladuk]

If a project requires running an automated test suite that takes a long time to run, I don't see why you should not bill for the time it's running. You'd be billing if you were on site.

Yeah but the key difference is you don't sit on your arse doing nothing watching an automated script running. You are doing other work for the client... which in this case the OP isn't.

[Unix]

If you can double bill and get away with it then of course go for it, the clients only care about you delivering, not micromanaging every second. If I could manage it I would have 4 clients and charge them all a full days rate because I can do 4x the work that average permie can do.

[Platypus]

If you can double bill and get away with it then of course go for it, the clients only care about you delivering, not micromanaging every second. If I could manage it I would have 4 clients and charge them all a full days rate because I can do 4x the work that average permie can do.

^ Agree

[BlasterBates]

Well if you can bill for an automated test running why not get a slower computer and then you can bill for even more. This is the logic of the argument.

You could get a very slow computer indeed, go to the Bahamas have a two week holiday and then bill the client.

Only in a fixed price contract can you bill an item like an automated test, a time and materials contract you bill the time you spend actually working. If a car mechanic puts your battery on the charger overnight he doesn't charge you 8 hours of his time, he charges you the ten minutes it takes to put the battery on the charger, and the next ten minutes to put it back.

What is there in a contract that prevents you from using a slower computer? the answer is nothing because a client wouldn't expect you to do that.

It's complete nonsense to suggest you can bill a client while something is compiling, or a test run is going on and you're at home with your feet up.

You can bill for the use of the equipment but not "personal time", because you are spending that time working for another client, and that is what the contract is about. A fixed price contract will give a price for the test and then if you automate it and you're quicker you bill the same amount, that's fine.