Flat fees are discounts in disguise

A fixed fee every month looks like the best news in the world.

Guaranteed income, no surprises.

Sometimes it is. And sometimes it's a trap that dresses well.

Here's how I think about it.

Every so often, someone proposes working with us for a fixed monthly amount. For "everything". Every website, every change, whatever comes up.

The temptation is huge. For a small company that started with €300, a fixed income for a year is very appealing. It looks like peace of mind.

But there's a sum worth doing backwards.

The all-you-can-eat buffet

If the fee is fixed, the only thing that can change is the amount of work. And if the amount of work isn't written down anywhere, it grows. Always.

It's an all-you-can-eat buffet. Lovely for the diner. The restaurant's only hope is that you're not very hungry.

A flat fee with no limit on work isn't a price. It's a discount that grows every month.

"Everything" isn't a number. Divide the fee by a realistic volume of work and you'll see the real discount. And one complicated project is enough to eat a whole month's fee. If nothing in the agreement covers it, you carry it.

What happens to quality

There's a consequence that's less visible and that I think matters most.

When a fee doesn't cover the hours a job needs, someone cuts hours. Not out of bad faith, but out of pure survival. And when hours are cut, quality drops.

The first to notice isn't whoever signed the deal. It's the end customer, the person using the website.

A partner who pays less than the work costs ends up with a supplier quietly losing money. And that never lasts. Not for the supplier, not for the partner.

When a fixed fee does make sense

I'm not against fees. Our maintenance plans are fixed fees, and they work very well.

The difference is that they have clear limits. What's included, what isn't, and what happens when something goes beyond the expected. That way the fee is predictable for the client and sustainable for us.

Before accepting a flat fee, I'd ask these questions:

• What exactly does it include? If the answer is "everything", there's no answer.
• What happens when something is out of the ordinary? If it isn't written down, you pay for it.
• Will I be able to give each job the hours it needs? If not, the problem isn't yours. It's the end customer's.

Saying no without closing the door

Turning down a flat fee doesn't mean turning down the partner. You can find middle ground: reference prices by type of work, with each project approved before starting. Predictability for whoever pays, without giving away the work of whoever does it.

Charging per project isn't being rigid. It's making sure every job gets the time it needs.

The fixed fee looked like security.

Real security is knowing exactly what each job is worth, and saying it out loud.

P.S. Turning down guaranteed money when you started with €300 is a bit like turning down a life jacket. Unless the life jacket is tied to an anchor.