Monthly Reports To The Client, How much detail should the client get on monthly billing statement Options

[battman]

Is there a reasonable standard of how much detail to provide on a client's monthly billing statement?
None, some or detailed? Should it be broken down by activity and if so within what major categories?
Should activities be associated with the hours involved?

In other words is there a "standard industry practice"?

Thanks for your thoughts,

battman

[piskie]

If the invoiced amount is $50 then very little detail is required.
If however, the Invoiced amount is $5,000 then some level of detailed breakdown is rightly expected.

The number of and range of activities is also a factor as is the agreed method of charging.
In short, when entering into a Client Agreement or Contract this should be established in a sensible way that is practical for you to provide yet sufficiently informative for the client to see where their money has gone.

[battman]

If the invoiced amount is $50 then very little detail is required.
If however, the Invoiced amount is $5,000 then some level of detailed breakdown is rightly expected.

The number of and range of activities is also a factor as is the agreed method of charging.
In short, when entering into a Client Agreement or Contract this should be established in a sensible way that is practical for you to provide yet sufficiently informative for the client to see where their money has gone.

At a level of $1,000 per month would a brief description of total hours spent then broken down into specific areas be a bare minimum?
Also general comments ie: spent x hours on META Tags for the following pages, submitted site to x new directories, etc., etc.

Thanks
battman

[torka]

AFAIK, there is no standard industry practice.

I think the goal should be to achieve balance so the client feels comfortable they're getting what they pay for, and you aren't overly burdened with recordkeeping and reporting requirements. What each client needs to reach that comfort level may vary, and your personal tolerance for detailed time recording may differ from someone else's.

IMO, what you report, how and when should be negotiated between you and your client.

--Torka (IMG:style_emoticons/default/mf_prop.gif)

[qwerty]

I prefer to bill weekly, and I break down everything, indicating what I did and how long it took. That way, if a given client thinks they're spending too much on a particular task, they can tell me so before they find out that I spent 20 hours on it over the course of a month.

[SEO_Gal]

Hi there,

I typically offer my hourly billable clients a breakdown in what I did for that time. However, the majority of my clients are in a "package" so a breakdown is not necessary.

The hourly clients I do have typically hire me purely for "consulting." In that case I do breakdown how many hours I used with which certain task.

Whatever way you figure it, be sure to use that practice as your standard.