Client Does NOT pay for Bug Fixing.

Guys,

Most of you are here are Web Developers.
Sometimes we have problems with client for billing and payments...i hope, most of you are handling this too.
One of my client says, he is not willing to pay for Bug Fixing..So, I told him like...
Bug fixing also part of Software Development.
But he says, I can not pay for bug fixing.
so what you guys do at this situation and how do you handle it, Please help me.

 

if you're releasing bug ridden products, then you're a bad web designer

 

You're not provide full details.

Bug fixing is a part of your project so you want to charge extra money?

Or if you're already complete project then you can charge money for bug fixing, adding function,etc

 

ha ha ha ha...good one. I am not talking about 1 or 2 page website. I am talking about a portal, where it takes 6 ~ 9 moths for development... As i know, I have around 12 years of experience in software development, NOT only in Web, many other software.
So, When we make a Cost estimation & milestone, Bug fixing is also considered.
In many products, bug fixing accounts for around 20 ~ 25% of the total project development time/cost. Please share your opinion..

 

Depends... are you working on an hourly basis or project basis. If it was hourly it would be at the extra cost for th time taken. However if it was project based I would have it included in the total cost.

 

Bug fixing is at your cost not the clients.

It is YOUR responsibility to provide a solution that works CORRECTLY.

Modifications, additional requierments not described in the contract are chargeable.

 

Thank you very much..and I expect others opinion too...
Please some more suggestion or Views...

 

Well, here is what I do.

1. We start the development process.
2. Deliver it to the client.
3. Give him 5-6 days to go through it (Our server).
4. Take the full payment and then only transfer it to their server.
5. The above 5-6 days are enough for testing and if later they come with their issues, then I have one word, "ITS CHARGEABLE NOW".


P.S : Im talking about small software, which I know , wont take more than 2 days to test completely.

 

Thank you, Thank you very much!!!!
Please others add some more points...I am sure, this will be helpful for freelancers and others too.

 

I don't charge to fix bugs that are my fault, even if they're discovered years later.

But if a bug is a result of the client giving me incomplete or incorrect specifications (which is much more common), then I do charge.

 

To charge, or not to charge, for a fix. This really comes down to your business practices, IMO. When we engage in a contract for work, we define milestones and actions around those milestones. This also includes a formal Quality Assurance pass that must be accepted or rejected by the client within a defined time frame.

Thus, if a bug is found after the acceptance of the work, the fix could be considered billable. However, in our opinion, billing to fix work that should not have been broken to begin with is not a good business practice. I caution that statement, however, as some bugs are triggered by a change in some other portion of a larger scale development - a broken dependency. In those events, bugs that are triggered by a change upstream could be considered a billable fix since the bug was self-inflicted. We typically do not bill for this either as we perform regression testing on changes that can effect the global scope of the system. In our contracts, we define what is considered a bug and the actions that are required by us and the client to address such bugs.

What it comes down to is how you want to handle it. What is considered fair in your eyes may not be fair to the client and vice-versa. Think of how other businesses (outside of the web world) handle flaws. Obviously, a home builder will not fix a roof leak for free if you added your own skylight, but will fix it if its a product flaw. Perhaps you need to define a "warranty period" in which bugs are addressed at no cost.

My 2 cents from 10+ years of experience.

-Bing

 

I have a habit of fixing bugs that come up after I'm done even if they're not my fault. Often times any bugs I have to deal with are the result of development servers having slightly different configurations than production servers. They're usually easy to fix.

 

Maintence contracts handle most bug issues.

 

In this case,the developer need to fix it for free.
This is due to the developer fault at the first place coz their develop script have problem.

 

If a product is not delivered as promised, it should be fixed free of charge. It's just good customer service and will help you retain your clients and get more business in the long run. For dev jobs, we generally give clients several months of free bug fixing and product support before we start charging.

 

No1 including me do not pay for bug fixing. It is your code and your bug that is all. Create a buggy software and then charge for bug fixing. Bah

 

To me it sounds like lcwadminbj's words weren't exactly what you've wanted to hear
but, in my opinion, that's how it should be if you charge on a per project basis.

 

I think it depends on only one thing - whether the situation is:
1) you've delivered the product, the client tested it, accepted it first, then later came back complaining about bugs. In this case you have all rights to ask for additional payment.
2) you've delivered the product, the client tested it, DID NOT ACCEPT IT, wants it fixed. Then you have to bring it working condition without additional charges, of course.