TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:Re: FWD: Learning time billable? From:Linda Sherman <linsherm -at- GTE -dot- NET> Date:Sun, 14 Feb 1999 13:33:32 -0500
Anonymous User wrote:
>
> Name withheld upon request. Please reply on list.
>
> *************************************************
>
> To give you some quick background info, in addition to my regular full-time
> techwritng job, a friend of mine has asked me to help him document his
> company's software. However since I don't have much experience in the type
> of technology that his company is related to, I have to research and learn
> about it. We agreed on an hourly rate before I started and my question is:
> Is the time that I spend learning billable? To complicate matters, he is in
> Canada and I am currently in Asia so all communciation is done via email.
Learning about what you're documenting is part of the TW's job. So in my
opinion, it is 100% billable unless you've agreed otherwise. I would
discuss this with your friend, to ensure that there's no later dispute
about the bill.
By the way, call it "research", not "learning", when you submit your
bill.
Lin
--
Linda K. Sherman <linsherm -at- gte -dot- net>
Computer programming, technical writing, web development
phone: 1-727-842-6756 fax: 1-727-842-6853
