Do You Bill for Bugs?
Let's say you write a custom system on either a fixed bid or an hourly basis. After completing the project, the client notices two things:
The first is something that clearly doesn't work correctly as per the agreed, written spec. It was clear in the mock ups that a feature should do x and it just doesn't.
The second is a reasonable edge case that lessens business value - you don't have a validation that the user is over 13 when you save their details and that is a problem (although that problem had never been discussed before).
If you work on an hourly basis, is the additional work also hourly until you're done? What happens if the client is out of budget? Do you usually do the work as goodwill and if so, what's your threshold - 1% of the billable hours? 3%? 5%?
If you provided a fixed bid, I'm guessing that you'd fix the first issue. What about the second?
Input appreciated. I have my own set of answers (which I'll post later), but I'd love to see what everyone else has to say!




