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An investment in knowledge pays the best interest. -Benjamin Franklin |
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Help is AvailableI get asked many times each week if I offer consulting or technical support for the programs I teach, like Microsoft Access, Excel, or web design. The answer is YES, I can help you with your project, or even build a project for you. There are several options available depending on your budget, how much help you require, and your time frame. Consulting & Training RatesHere are the different types of consulting services and training that I offer. These are my standard hourly rates if you wish to be billed per-hour.
Offline Support is anything that I can do on my own time. Generally the way that it works is you email me your questions, requirements, details, etc. and I will get back to you with either a detailed email or even a custom video response. This is my preferred method of consulting, and it works well for most of my clients. Live Help involves a real-time interaction at a scheduled time. This can be a phone call, online chat, instant messenger conversation, Google Hangout, Remote Windows Assistance, a Zoom session, and so on. If it involves a live connection between us, then it's considered Live Help or Training. In-Person training or support involves me travelling to your location to provide consulting, training, or other support. You are, of course, responsible for my additional travel expenses (hotel, flight, rental car if needed, etc.) if you're outside of the Fort Myers, Florida area. These fees are negotiable based on the project, of course. Contact me for details. Priority ServiceThe typical time for a response is generally 1 or 2 business days, depending on the complexity of your request and how many other clients are in front of you. If you want priority service (you need help NOW and want me to bump other projects) then I will charge you a priority service fee in addition to my hourly rate, usually $500 to $1000 depending on what other projects I currently am working on. Initial ConsultationTo get started, send me an email explaining your needs and what you would like me to help you with. Give me enough detail so that I understand what you need, but don't be too verbose. If it's going to take me half an hour to read through your question, then that's on the clock. Sorry. Be as concise as possible. I will tell you if your email is too long for a "free" initial consultation. Sending Me FilesIf you have a database, spreadsheet, web site, or other files you need help with and you need to send them to me, remove as much extraneous data from them as possible, ZIP them up, and email them to me. I will ONLY look at file submissions if they're for PAID support. Sorry, I just don't have the time to look at everyone's databases for free. There just aren't enough hours in the day. After you send your file click here to submit your payment. Even if I can't help you, the cost for me to download and look through your database is a strict minimum $100 troubleshooting charge. Keep in mind that it's almost always faster, easier, and cheaper for me to show you how to build something from scratch than it is for me to figure out what you've built so far and to fix it or add to it. I hate trying to tear apart other people's databases to find bugs or fix things. I'd rather build you something that I know works right the first time. Plus, if I have to look at your Access database with VBA code in it that means I need to be able to run it from a Trusted Location for the code to work. That means I have to take some time to look through ALL of the code in your database to make sure there's nothing malicious in there. That doesn't mean I don't trust you. YOU might not even know it's in there if you're infected with a virus yourself. So... hence the minimum cost I charge to look at your files. It's almost always quicker and easier for you to explain to me what you want to do, and I can teach you how to do it. If you need to show me something, and you don't want to pay the troubleshooting charge, send me a screen shot. I can see what you're talking about without actually having to look at your database file. Taking On ProjectsAs you can imagine, I've got a lot on my plate. Between recording my courses, my TechHelp videos, handling customer service emails, and working on projects for clients, I've got little free time. If you want me to take on a custom project for you, and I think it's something that would make a good video to add to my site, then I'm happy to add it to my list. This list is always quite long, however, so I can't make any promises as to how soon I'll be able to get to it. If you're in a hurry and need it done quickly, then I'll have to take it on as a paid job. I can either give you a quote for the entire project, or charge you hourly, depending on the nature of the product and the amount of support you need. Jobs that I can turn into lessons for my other students will always cost YOU less up front. Let Me Build Your DatabaseIf you don't want to invest the time or money into learning how to build your own database, or if your database is horribly broken, it may be more cost effective to let me build it for you. I have over 30 years of experience building custom database solutions of all types. How much does a custom database project cost? That's hard to say. I can work with you on an hourly basis, or I can give you a quote for your entire project. If you'd prefer a project-based quote, start by making a list of ALL of the features that you want your database to have (customer management, contact tracking, phone call list, order entry, inventory management, accounts payable, etc.) and anything specific to your business. Then, I'll put together a quote based on your needs. I've built simple $100 starter template databases, and I've built $20,000 mega-projects for clients. Again, it's completely dependent upon your needs. Fixed Price v. HourlyWhile I am happy to give fixed price estimates for products that I build from scratch, any service that involves me working with a project that you have started will be billed strictly by the hour. I cannot gauge the condition that your database is in unless I get under the hood and tear it apart first, plus I'll have to take time to learn and figure out what you've done so far. I know how long it takes me to build certain types of databases. I've built hundreds, if not thousands, of them in my career. So if you say you need contact management, invoicing, and scheduling, I can give you an exact price, up front. If you want me to look at your database and fix or add things to it, that's strictly billed hourly. I can give you a range if you prefer, but I will always err on the high end, and I cannot be held liable if I'm in the middle of something and discover another problem with your database that I didn't see up front. It's kind of like when you take your car to the shop and say "it ain't workin' right." Well, they can't always tell what's wrong until they get under the hood - and then it could be something quick, or you may need a new engine. Request for ProposalsIf this is a job that's being sent out for bids and is going to the lowest bidder, please don't even bother asking me. I will never be the cheapest. I know there are developers in other countries who work for $5 / hour. I know there are young startup businesses that will promise the world. I'm on the other end of the spectrum. I don't accept every job, but the ones I do take get done right. I emphasize quality over everything, and remember the old saying "you get what you pay for." It's certainly true in the world of software development. The ONLY way that I will give you a low price on your project is if it's going to be something generic enough with mass appeal that I can turn into a lesson for one of my classes. Then you might get a really low price because I can resell it to other clients. But if this is a project that is specific to your business, I won't be the cheapest, but I will be the best.
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