At an hourly rate of 35-40 dollars (or even euros) I would let them pay EVERY minute, if not second. At my current rate (let's say 75 euros for large projects and somewhat higher for smaller ones) I don't mind not billing certain activities, esp. time I spend on vfp bugs/quircks/designflaws. I want a satisfied client and I know that this not only implies delivering good quality, but also sending bills that contain hours that they understand and agree on.

>I am going to disagree with you for one of the few times ever. Not that it isn't appropriate for you, because you are a world known authority. You can pretty much name your own rate and the client will be grateful to have you. For those of us down in the trenches trying to scrape by, driving a hard bargain is a risky strategy these days. With the economy, or the global economy, or whatever the reason is, I am seeing companies and recruiters looking for lower and lower rates. Just a couple of weeks ago I was red lined by a huge corporation (rhymes with Xerox) that can darned well afford it because I wouldn't agree to their $35-40 rate on a contract to hire. It was out of town and they wouldn't participate in expenses. I would have been away from home and eating PB&J every night. When they wouldn't budge I politely declined.
>
>My respect for you has not diminished in the least. Nice piece in CODE Magazine about the ASP.NET Web API, BTW. Just be cognizant that other developers are rowing different boats.
>
>
>>Todd,
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>>I do a lot of this myself and while it can be a pain at times, as long as you are getting paid for your time I think you're it's Ok to be the go to guy.
>>
>>Just make sure you make it clear a) that you are getting paid for answering questions and b) that there's a minimum time limit that applies everytime they bug you. The latter is important - it'll hopefully discourage the customer from constantly sending you notes and rather batching them together so they accrue at least the minimum time for your consulting.
>>
>>Finally make sure you count all your time in your billing including responding to emails etc.looking stuff up etc. - for real short term affairs like this you want to be sure you're getting paid for the full disruption time it causes to your day.
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>>If the customer is serious about getting answers from you they'll pay you without question. If they're being cheap you'll probably never hear from the them again :-)
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>>+++ Rick ---
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>>>I've got a client that is replacing my 15 year-old system with something new and has decided not to use me. "Nothing personal, just business" and we parted amicably.
>>>
>>>Once they made that decision, the Client has not used me for anything. They didn't ask for my help with an RFP, they didn't involve me in the data conversion, etc. They do however ask me questions - How does Table X relate to Table Y? What data structure do we pass the credit card processor and what format do they send back?
>>>
>>>Those questions are quick and easy to answer, but they are quick and easy to answer because of my expertise and years of experience. I feel like I'm selling myself short giving away that knowledge at my hourly programming rate. Also, and maybe it's petty, but I don't really feel like helping out the guy who's replacing me.
>>>
>>>So what to do? Suck it up, answer the questions, and charge the hourly rate? Tell them they are on their own at this point? Have a different hourly rate for this expertise? Tell them that if they want me standing by ready to help they'll have to pay me a retainer?