Fixed price contract - should I?

[dimots]

I have received an invitation to quote for a contract to provide support services to a large company. They want a full, firm & fixed price for a specified time period. There are a number of projects ongoing that I would be required to support. I have worked for this company before, but last time it was on a rate per hour basis.

I am wary about bidding on this basis in case I end up massively overworked - the projects are not specified specifically in the spec, but it is specified that there is a requirement to attend project meetings etc and no firm number put on these. On the other hand I know this company does not generally expect long hours from its staff and I would not be able to work when employees are not (work cannot be done from home, or alone).

So should I bid, or is it too risky? If I do, what should I charge? I thought of charging my normal weekly rate multiplied by number of weeks, but is this too low for the risks involved? I don't have any other work at the moment other than a zero hours contract which is only giving me about 4 hrs a week. This has been the situation for over a year now despite my looking for alternative work.

Put your own limits into the quote.

You could limit your time, i.e. "a maximum of 20 hours per week" and stipulate a rate for excess time.

Or you could limit it to exact project scope.

You need to include some form wording to prevent "mission creep".

If you don't put in limits, it's effectively a blank cheque for them.

Thanks, the blank cheque thing is my fear! I have been told that the price is based on the whole full time equivalent for 6 months support. Told not to include hours or rates in the offer.
I am wary!