Support >> Time and Materials (T&M) billing

\# written by training admin | last published at april 11, 2024 \# billing based on time and materials is a common pricing model in the software development industry this model has its benefits for both software suppliers and clients here are some advantages this brings to our clients flexibility and adaptability you have the flexibility to make changes and adjustments to the project scope as needed this is particularly beneficial in dynamic and evolving projects where requirements may change over time transparent cost structur e you get a breakdown of the hours worked and where applicable, the materials used, giving you a clear understanding of where your money is going incremental development you can start with a minimum viable product (mvp) and gradually build upon it based on your evolving needs and feedback this allows for incremental development and the ability to prioritise features based on business value risk mitigation we both share the risks associated with the project if there are unexpected challenges or changes in requirements, you are not locked into a fixed contract and can adapt the project plan accordingly increased collaboration the time and materials model often encourage close collaboration between the client and the development team you are encouraged to actively participate in the development process, providing feedback and making decisions along the way focus on quality with a flexible billing model, the emphasis is often on delivering a quality product rather than just meeting deadlines this can lead to better software outcomes as the development team can prioritise testing, debugging, and refining the product cost control clients have more control over the project costs, as they can manage the budget based on the progress of the development this can be particularly beneficial when there's a need to allocate resources strategically responsive to changes as business needs evolve or market conditions change, clients can quickly adapt their software solutions the time and materials model allows for responsiveness to market demands and the ability to stay competitive it's important to note that while the time and materials model offers flexibility, it may not be the best fit for every project some clients may prefer fixed price contracts for budget predictability the choice between billing models depends on the nature of the project, the level of certainty in requirements, and the preferences of both parties involved we encourage project pricing to be used in place of t\&m where more than 5 days of work are required or complex scoping is required \# t\&m is applicable in the following instances if you don't have a support package, then all interactions with enapps support that is not a genuine system, maintenance or hosting error is billable, this includes estimations however unless otherwise stated, estimations are capped at 1 hour even if we spend more time in our process if you do have a package then t\&m billing applies only to developments or where support is 20% higher than your package allowance over a 6 month period how do i know if it's a system error or not? this is the million dollar question, and unless you have a designated technical expert in your employ then this is often a grey area we advise that if you do not have someone who fits the bill internally, that you take on a support package as this will cover you for the occasions where someone does something wrong in the system and 'breaks' something if you report a system error and it transpires that is is due to user error, we will switch the type to consulting/training and you will receive the below message 'please note this ticket has been found to be due to user error and has been switched to t\&m billing for the investigation and remedial works ' any time spent and not billed for will be reflected in the monthly report and used to advise the best support package for you to take upon receiving the client's consent to the t\&m method (within 14 days, otherwise the request gets closed) a thorough investigation will take place by enapps resulting in the task estimation in days and/or hours once the client has given their approval of that time estimation, the development will take place enapps keep an accurate timesheet to ensure the client has full visibility over the work conducted and receives an accurate picture of days and/or hours spent on the task \# capped hours capped hours are used for consultancy/training & development type tasks they are applied by enapps after we have provided an estimate and the client has agreed to progress based on the capped hours these hours may go up however the task manager will contact the client before these are exceeded with a revised estimate to be approved before continuing any work all changes in the estimated hours get communicated by enapps to the clients asap \# t\&m invoices timesheets relating to this invoice are typically sent out on a monday and relate to the previous week, to allow review and opportunity to query before the invoice is raised 2 days later for more detailed information on t\&m or any other questions related to the task billing contact #