Delivering additional work to the client

[Murder1]

Always wanting to maintain the ethos of "think like a business, act like a business" I'm considering spending some of my own time outside the contracted hours to develop a new application as I know what the client wants but its currently down their priority list.

The hope would be to be able to demo the work and sell in what I've delivered. I wondered if anyone had any experience of this being successful or is the client going to find it difficult to get their head around paying for it over and above the daily rate even though the work was done outside of the current contract?

Can I even do this or will the agent want a cut of anything as well?

[DirtyDog]

If the client turned round and said "you did that while working for us", how do you show that it wasn't? If your contract is for a professional working day, then you are probably limiting yourself to something that you do on weekends.

If the client knows you know how to do it, and have already done it in the past, then if I was them, I'd be including it in your next contract offer, with the assumption that since you have done it before, and have access to that code, you should be able to knock it up for them in next to no time.

If the agency gets wind of it, then what does your contract say? Check to see if there is anything due to the agency if you sell to this client while still working there.

Can't see it working for an existing client, but if you knew something that a previous client wanted / needed, then I'd develop that and try to sell that to the previous clients.

[Murder1]

Thankfully the agile methodology that we currently use means the client would know full well that I couldn't have done it within the contracted hours and it would have had to have come from "additional" hours on my behalf.

As for the agent I'm going to look into that as my biggest fear is that it will be they would want some of it and it could therefore be a non-starter already depending on what they'd want.

[DirtyDog]

Thankfully the agile methodology that we currently use means the client would know full well that I couldn't have done it within the contracted hours and it would have had to have come from "additional" hours on my behalf.

So you invoice on an hourly basis rather than a professional working day?

[Murder1]

So you invoice on an hourly basis rather than a professional working day?

The contract states a daily rate but with a specified number of hours - so make of that what you will.

[BigRed]

The contract states a daily rate but with a specified number of hours - so make of that what you will.

That'll be one of those professional working day of not less than 8hrs but could often be 12 for no extra payment type of days. Think elastic, you can stretch it but can't shrink it.

[Murder1]

That'll be one of those professional working day of not less than 8hrs but could often be 12 for no extra payment type of days. Think elastic, you can stretch it but can't shrink it.

States 7.5 and they've been very considerate when I approach that figure so I don't think the issue here would be that they would want anything for free - I just think they would be more likely to say no thanks can't afford that on top of the rate.

[psychocandy]

Nah. Pound to a pinch of tulip client will assume you've done this during the day and be miffed that you're asking them to pay extra.

[Antman]

Can't you pitch it to them as a fixed price piece of work?

I say this as it's something I'd like to do instead of being a bum on a seat (hey - I resent that!)

Takes you out of IR35 and into the world of retainers.

[Murder1]

I think I'll pitch it and then maybe do a very slim prototype. My main concern is now more to do with how the agent would want their pound of flesh rather than how the client would see it.

I'll post back when/if I get an answer from the client