Bill for work not for reporting and explaining...
This isn't that tough of a call to make. If you are creating a report to your client or explaining something about what you did you should not charge for that work. It would be like have your auto mechanic charge you to explain what he or she did to your car. If your client needs instructions that take more than a few minutes to explain in a message or over the phone, then you need to remote the PC or server in question and do what needs to be done with the client observing if that would be important for the future. You do charge for remote assistance and the customer should have no objection to paying. As for "this is how most attorneys work" is not a good comparison to IT consultants. Most attorneys have a reputation for "nickle and diming" their clients, which is understood by their clients, so they don't call them unless it is really important. Customers call their IT consultants at the drop of hat and expect you to do something immediately. Attorneys never do anything immediately, except record the time spent on your call.
