>Here are my 2 cents on this issue and based on my dealing with Gov. Contracts:
>
>Fixed Price as defined by the US Gov. here applies to the project only. There are other types of contracts based on time and labor called time and labor in addition to cost reimburesment contract and cost+incentive. Explaining every type could be time consuming but in short the least profitable and the riskiest is Fixed price to the contractor and therefore it's in the best interest of the Gov. tht is why you have a preference here in the Gov. to award FP Contracts. As a contractor, it could be risky becuase of ill defined requirements by users that would typically trigger redesign, recoding and regression testing.

Hi Bob,

It is not always possible, or even prudent, to get time and materials contracts. Not always possible because clients are not always willing to commit to an "open ended deal", especially when they do not know the contractor. Would you agree to have your house reroofed on a time and materials deal without some sort of protection?

It is not always prudent because you may be leaving money on the table. Consider this, if you only bill for hours worked at an agreed upon rate, your income is limited to the hours you can actually work. That may be fine but what if a prospective client says, this application I want will save me $50,000 a year for the next ten years? Seems to me he would be willing to pay almost $500,000 for such an application and still be ahead of the game. You can build that app in 100 hours at $100/hr. The client would be ecstatic to get that app for 10 grand thus saving him $490,000.

I think the price of the app should consider both the value to the client and your expenses. Anything in between is fair game, limited only by your competition. Further, if you are hungry and have no other work, what would you have to lose other than your time?

My $.02.

Ken