How much to charge

[BigupPemberleyMassive]

I don't know what to charge. Someone I used to work with is setting up their own company. At the moment it is just them but what they asked me to do was check through the company email inbox a few times a day, Mon-Sat.

It is mainly getting rid of spam because a lot of that gets through. If a real email comes through and it is a very simple question I can also answer it. I don't want to give too many details but for example if it's asking if we also do harvesters and I will say, no, only tractors.

lf there is a more involved question to forward it to them.

I would check probably 9am, lunch time and, 3 pm and 6 pm. There is not much mail yet. They said £10 per hour but I'm not sure how to charge it.

On the one hand, it is just a few minutes checking, but on the other hand, four times a day I need to stop what I'm doing and focus on them.

Advice welcome.

I would ask them for clarification. They could think 4 checks a day, 10 min a check = 200min a week = £33.33

Or they might assume 2hrs a day = £100

They've said to leave it to me and to invoice what seems fair to me.

If they are asking for Saturday too then that could have an impact on your personal life so personally I’d want more for that day.

I would say you want £10 per hour and each check counts as an hour's money.

You cannot do anything of value around those times, and some will take longer than others to deal with / reply etc.

So £40. Don't underestimate how much that will eat into your day.

Charge 2 hours/ day.

As I think it’s quite restrictive and you should factor that into your charge.

See, you and the poster above have said opposite things. On the one hand, I need the money and am not just doing it to be kind. But on the other hand, I don't want to take the Mick.

Op, from your pov you will need to stop what you are doing 4 times a day; log onto a new system / email account; read the emails; make a business decision; action accordingly.

£40 a day is a very cheap pa rate. I would definitely charge that if I were you. Don't start low thinking you can raise your rates either, it'll never happen!

But what I would do is be really clear with them from the very beginning. I will do Xxx for £40 per day (better than hourly rate and covers if you're under).

It’s not taking the mick.
They want someone reliable and professionalism I guess. Or do as the pp said and charge a day rate. Don’t undersell yourself.

I’ll bet virtual assistants are charging a lot more.

Is this sex work or only fans etc? I only ask because A. they need to PAY someone to deal with spam, B. They don’t seem concerned about the cost and C. You seem quite cagey about what type of business it is.

If so I would name your price. And I would do so in 1 hour blocks minimum to cover the inconvenience of having to stop and start what ever you’re doing.

Two VAs I know charge between £25 to £35 an hour, mainly audio typing (although that does include specialist legal terminology), if that helps you set a rate at all. There are apps out there that can help you track your time; or you could use the timer/stopwatch function on your phone and input the times into a spreadsheet. I suspect it's likely to be taking more time than you realise, based on personal experience.

The obvious think to do is time yourself for a week and see how long its actually taking you on average, then set that as your weekly rate.

I'd charge 1 hour per day and then, say, 15 minutes per email.

Charge what makes it worth while to you and they can decide if that's worth if for them. For me to commit to this I think I'd want £25 a day.

If email numbers will increase I would allow for that too. It may be quiet now but will it pick up?

@headintheproverbial

I'd charge 1 hour per day and then, say, 15 minutes per email.

15 minutes for each spam email deleted? No one would pay that would they?

Even forwarding one on or doing a few words reply wouldnt are more than a couple of minutes

The only way to know how long you spend is to time it as a pp suggested

I'd do this for £10 an hour, it sounds like money for nothing. All you to do is have the emails on your phone, easy to fit around whatever else you're doing imo

Just look at the clock when you start and when you stop until you get an idea of how long it's taking you.

I don’t think you can charge for the actual work done. Mainly as what you’re being asked to do is really restrictive to your day.
I’d say each time you check it is a £10 charge and if that check goes beyond the hour it’s another £10.
The only possible reason I would not go this is if I was looking to take on other clients as a VA and then I’d look into what pricing structures others offered.

I would charge a day rate to cover up to say 2 hours. Then bill over that if the volume is above that. I would have thought a standing charge of ££30 was reasonable. They are paying for you to be available very regularly throughout the day not just 2 hours in one part of the day.

Thank you for the suggestions.

Pp, how on earth do you jump to sex work just because someone does want to give outing information?