what should I charge to set up wireless network?

[JulesMaximus]

I hooked up a wireless network for my boss and now one of her neighbors wants me to do the same for them. What should I charge for this? I was thinking around $75-100.

 

Yeah, I'd say that's about right. Do they have the required equipment, or will you be ordering/buying it? Also, you should see what kind of sketchy-ass hardware they've got. If they're trying to hook up a 6 year old IBM laptop with Windows 98, then it could take a lot longer than you expect. I'd go for $20-$30 an hour, rather than a flat fee.

 

[sygyzy]

$50 / hour.

 

[slycat]

remember to specify clearly that the charge is ONLY for initial setup and possibly 1 mths support.
Any extras or after 1mth...are separate charge...so they don't own u for lifetime tech suppt.

by the way, did ur boss pay u for his home work?...or were u going for brownie points?

 

[rgwalt]

I would do $50 or $75 for the first hour, and $25 for every hour after that. I wouldn't go with a flat fee because you never know how long it will take to get their machines working with the new gear. I would ask what kind of equipment they already have, and what they want the network to do. You shouldn't be responsible if they buy crappy equipment and you can get the network to run the way they want. Also, clearly define the extent of tech support you will provide. I second the notion of offering a set number of months of support.

R

 

[ucdnam]

Get the specifics, such as what kind of computers they want set up, operating systems, what kind of users, what they do with the computers, etc.

Setting up a wireless network is fairly simple and beats setting up a wired one. But, in the process of setting it up, you may find a windows 98 machine with some viruses or trojans and may need to notify the user and so forth.

 

[DT4K]

Originally posted by: sygyzy
$50 / hour.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: slycat
remember to specify clearly that the charge is ONLY for initial setup and possibly 1 mths support.
Any extras or after 1mth...are separate charge...so they don't own u for lifetime tech suppt.

by the way, did ur boss pay u for his home work?...or were u going for brownie points?

Brownie points...

 

[RossMAN]

$100 but make it thorough and devote at least 30 minutes to showing them how to use it, how to do basic troubleshooting, etc.