How I work

I find the most succesful projects are those where both parties have expectations going in as to how each other’s work. With that in mind, I’ve set out my usual working arrangements in the below document.

Initial Consultation

The majority of projects with new clients usually begin with a short, 30-45 minute call where I discuss with the client their goals for the project, approximate budget and timeline, and any potential issues I may have spotted. This call is usually done over my preferred video conferencing software (Zoom), but can be done via phone or an alternative system (Microsoft Teams, Google Hangouts).

If you would like me to attend a meeting in person, this can be arranged, but my time and any associated travel expenses (such as train fare) will be charged.

Rates & payment terms

My rates are £50 per hour, or £400 per day. The minimum invoice time for new clients is two hours (£100), while the minimum invoice time for current clients is half an hour (£25).

All invoices are on strict 30 day terms.

I prefer to accept payments via BACS (bank transfer) or IBAN (international transfers). I can also accept payments via PayPal, although there may be additional fees involved.

In the event of an invoice going more than 30 days overdue, statutory interest calculated at 8% plus the Bank of England base rate is payable on all balances.

Project signoff terms

For larger projects, upon verbal acceptance of the quote I give you a provisional start date of the project, at which point 25% of the estimated time for said project will be assigned to you on a provisional basis. For these dates to be confirmed fully, a signed contract and the first deposit must be paid. Both of these will be provided upon verbal agreement of the project.

If both of these are not provided a week before the provisional start date, then those dates will be released and new provisional dates will be assigned.

To ensure client focus on the project, the contract will include a contract completion date (approximately 3 months after the estimated completion date). Unless otherwise discussed, if the project is not live by that date, the full amount for the project will be invoiced.

When I work

My standard support and response times are as follows:

• Telephone support: 9:00am to 5:00pm UTC Monday – Thursday, 9:00am to 1:00pm Friday Email support: monitored 7:30am to 6:30pm UTC Monday – Friday
• Emails received outside of 9am – 5pm will be collected, however no action can be guaranteed until the next working day.

If I am engaged in work, I temporarily pause my inbox to focus on work. However, I tend to check emails up to 4 times a day even with this focus (8:30am, 12:00pm, 2:00pm, 4:30pm).

Emails from existing clients are prioritised over new quote requests.

Urgent client requests (such as the site going down or being hacked) should be communicated over telephone, text message or Slack. Clients on maintenance packages will have a third party uptime monitoring that notifies me via Slack message. In the unlikely event of multiple emergencies happening at the same time, then it will be dealt with on a “first come, first served” basis, but communication will be established with all parties.

Where I work

I work in my home in Newton-le-Willows, Merseyside – although I can occasionally work in a local cafe. I’m happy to travel to a client or third party’s site to attend a meeting or do short-term work, and all travel time is covered by the client unless stated otherwise.

Should I need to travel internationally for a client, all travel expenses (including flights and accommodation) and reasonable travel time will be covered by the client unless stated otherwise.

Existing commitments & holidays

I currently have ongoing commitments with a range of clients, which are assigned on a days/month basis and estimated completion dates are provided to reflect these commitments.

When I take holidays, I communicate this to existing clients with maintenance packages and those with ongoing projects at least one month in advance. I also remind clients one month and one week before I’m due to go away. During my holidays, I take my laptop with me to handle urgent enquiries, such as a website going down or being hacked. Non-urgent enquiries will be addressed upon my return. If a non-urgent enquiry needs to be dealt with during my scheduled holiday, it will be charged at three times my standard hourly rate (£150/hour).

Although there is no guarantee of immediate availability, I will strive to make myself available as soon as possible for urgent enquiries.

Third party services

I will use third-party services (such as premium WordPress plugins and themes), if needed. I generally recommend that the client manage these aspects and will direct clients as to where they can purchase and manage them, as well as setting up myself as the technical contact. I can manage these on the client’s behalf, but a 10% administrative fee will be charged. Any ongoing support will be charged at an hourly rate.

Data protection & insurance

I am registered with the ICO as a data controller with reference: ZA820013. Winwar Media Limited trading as Dwi’n Rhys also has professional insurance from Hiscox Ltd. to cover up-to £250,000 per claim.

Think I’ll be a good fit?

Superb! Drop me a message and I’ll get back to you within one business day.

Page inspired by both Paul Waring’s and Jem Turner’s “How I work” pages