Best way to handle post-contract support?

[NibblyPig]

Just wrapping up a contract here, but as I wrote 90% of their software, they are a little worried that in a couple of months something horrible might go wrong or they might get stuck trying to understand something, or basically something might go wrong and they need my help again.

They suggested that they 'buy' some hours of time off me now, and then in the future they can cash them in for some support.

I will probably be in another contract pretty soon. So I'm not sure how post-support would work with this (my contract will definitely say I can work multiple jobs for IR35 reasons, but time-wise if they need help in a hurry, I don't know the drill). I'm also not entirely sure about the best format for offering a post support contract, i.e. a retainer with an hourly rate might be better?

Does anyone have any experience of this, what might offer me the most benefit and least trouble going down the line? I don't anticipate any problems that a quick e-mail or phone call won't solve, so it would likely be a tidy bonus. But I've never done this before, so any advice is appreciated

[SimonMac]

Just wrapping up a contract here, but as I wrote 90% of their software, they are a little worried that in a couple of months something horrible might go wrong or they might get stuck trying to understand something, or basically something might go wrong and they need my help again.

They suggested that they 'buy' some hours of time off me now, and then in the future they can cash them in for some support.

I will probably be in another contract pretty soon. So I'm not sure how post-support would work with this (my contract will definitely say I can work multiple jobs for IR35 reasons, but time-wise if they need help in a hurry, I don't know the drill). I'm also not entirely sure about the best format for offering a post support contract, i.e. a retainer with an hourly rate might be better?

Does anyone have any experience of this, what might offer me the most benefit and least trouble going down the line? I don't anticipate any problems that a quick e-mail or phone call won't solve, so it would likely be a tidy bonus. But I've never done this before, so any advice is appreciated

If you do go down that route, make sure there is a timeline for the use of these hours, early life support is common place, but should last no more than 90 days, you will also need to structure SLA's otherwise if they are in the tuplie they could expect you to drop what ever you are working on and fix it there an then

[DaveB]

Just wrapping up a contract here, but as I wrote 90% of their software, they are a little worried that in a couple of months something horrible might go wrong or they might get stuck trying to understand something, or basically something might go wrong and they need my help again.

They suggested that they 'buy' some hours of time off me now, and then in the future they can cash them in for some support.

I will probably be in another contract pretty soon. So I'm not sure how post-support would work with this (my contract will definitely say I can work multiple jobs for IR35 reasons, but time-wise if they need help in a hurry, I don't know the drill). I'm also not entirely sure about the best format for offering a post support contract, i.e. a retainer with an hourly rate might be better?

Does anyone have any experience of this, what might offer me the most benefit and least trouble going down the line? I don't anticipate any problems that a quick e-mail or phone call won't solve, so it would likely be a tidy bonus. But I've never done this before, so any advice is appreciated

The way I've worked stuff like this before is to go via a call off contract where they give you a PO for x number of days (or other unit) work that they can call on as needed. You bill them against that each time you do something for them.

You will need to set out the business terms for this, like availability, reponse times minimum charges etc.

IPSE have a number of contract templates that might prove useful for this if you are a memeber.

[jmo21]

Be very careful when discussing SLA's, and use that as a way to try and get remote access if they don't already have it.

If you can get remote access, you might be able to avoid having to take a day off from a new contract for example which would cost you money.

[NibblyPig]

The way I've worked stuff like this before is to go via a call off contract where they give you a PO for x number of days (or other unit) work that they can call on as needed. You bill them against that each time you do something for them.

You will need to set out the business terms for this, like availability, reponse times minimum charges etc.

IPSE have a number of contract templates that might prove useful for this if you are a memeber.

Thanks that sounds reasonable - do you charge a fee on top of that, like a retainer? Or are you happy for them to pay nothing if they end up needing nothing?

I'm not familiar with IPSE I will look into that.

I appreciate all the advice.

[DaveB]

Thanks that sounds reasonable - do you charge a fee on top of that, like a retainer? Or are you happy for them to pay nothing if they end up needing nothing?

I'm not familiar with IPSE I will look into that.

I appreciate all the advice.

If I do nothing they pay nothing, but it's agreed that it's based on my availability and it's generally not time critical. It's not technical support as such, but Consultancy / SME support. Generally they will ask if I can attend a meeting or review some documentation for them and I fit it around other commitments. Generally worked out at a couple of days billable time per month.

It's not about the money so much on jobs like this, but it's a huge pointer to being outside IR35.

[NibblyPig]

It's not about the money so much on jobs like this, but it's a huge pointer to being outside IR35.

I thought that too. I wasn't sure with a zero-hours type agreement that it would really count. HMRC might want to see them actually paying me some money to prove there is an agreement there. Of course, this is moot if they actually use some of their hours.

I think I might just go for your suggestion, although if they just want me to e-mail them some info, or field a 5 minute phone call, I don't know how to bill for that (or how to word the SLA / terms of payment for short bits of work).

[DaveB]

I thought that too. I wasn't sure with a zero-hours type agreement that it would really count. HMRC might want to see them actually paying me some money to prove there is an agreement there. Of course, this is moot if they actually use some of their hours.

I think I might just go for your suggestion, although if they just want me to e-mail them some info, or field a 5 minute phone call, I don't know how to bill for that (or how to word the SLA / terms of payment for short bits of work).

I do it on a toting up basis. Minimum billable period is half a day, but if there are odd bits an pieces that it would be cheeky to charge that for I'll wait until I've done a few and them bill them in one go for it, making sure the invoice clearly states what it covers. I usually send in once invoice at the end of the month covering all work done that month.

[TheFaQQer]

IPSE have a number of contract templates that might prove useful for this if you are a memeber.

Failing that, TheCyclingProgrammer might let you have a look at his contract template for being on retainer.

[WordIsBond]

I'm using a retainer system. Why not? If the client is willing to pay for it, it's potentially a nice little bonus. It gives them peace of mind that you'll provide some level of availability, it gives you a nice little income stream which you might not even have to work for, all you have to do is guarantee some availability.

£X buys up to Y hours a month, anything beyond that is dependent on your availability and will be at £Z / hour. They pay £X, you work Y hours, and you've done well. They pay £X, you work Y-5 hours, and you're starting to think about taking a weekend in Paris on the extra money they are paying you.

You definitely want it understood that your work will be off-site. If they want you to come in, that will be at a big premium.

Alternatively, you could offer to extend for a month and do some extensive training of someone there.

Note this: A retainer is best for support. It shouldn't be, "We've not used the time we paid for with our retainer this month, please work those hours adding another feature." That should be a separate contract. So support retainers should be kept fairly low so they aren't trying to play games with them. If you set it low enough, it won't get a lot of scrutiny and might last a lot longer than they really need it.