Charging a client

I was in this same situation when I first started consulting.. I couldn't pin down one article or book that covered everything. Here are a few thoughts and suggestions
1. Start with your current salary (before taxes)
2. Add 15% for the Social Security that your current employer contributes.
3. Add between $1.00 to $5.00 for benefits an hour (ie Health Vision Dental Vacation)

That should give you what you have to have to make a lateral move in pay. This however does not include your timefor sales and downtime between projects. Do your homework as to what the going rate is for your area. The best way I've found to do that is call a couple generic PC Repair shops and find out what there bill rate is for onsight support. This should give you a rough idea as to wether your undercharging.

Good Luck.......

I found the book "The Complete Guide to Consulting Sucess" by Howard Shenson, et. al., to be informative. Chapter 9 gives a formula for calculating your daily rate, and gives examples of many different kinds of overhead expenses, like taxes and insurance, you should consider. However, the numbers it gives these catagories in examples are probably wildly different than what you would actually experience, depending on your area, so you'll still have to do some research on costs on your own. The book also discusses the clauses you should consider including in your contract or letter of agreement for a job.

You can also check out the surveys at www.realrates.com. The site collects rate information from contractors all over the country, for many kinds of IT work.