>Hi Ken:
>Ah, another point of view :o)
>
>You could be right. Mayhaps he wanted "functional specification document" but in more details - he wanted screens and how it went from screen to screen and back.

I would concur with Ken - most users think of a manual as the roadmap to a system. And he may have been wanting that roadmap before work was started. In and of itself, that's not a bad idea. Remember, in analysis and design, the sooner you start coding, the longer you'll be coding.

There is something to be said for the comment that he may have been expecting the specs for free. just so he can farm out the work to someone else. Hence, once the initial consultation was completed, I would write an estimate for the writing of specifications, paid up front. Once the specifications were finished and approved, another fee estimate can be calculated for the implementation of the project, payment of which is your judgement. But I'd charge for the specs up front, barring a high level of trust in and experience with the client.