Value Pricing: No Timesheets Means No Cheating

Source: VeraSage Institute

In this blog post, Dan Morris has some choice words for the “defenders of time-based pricing and timesheet-based models.” (Click on the link below to see some of his choices). His message is that timesheets invite cheating (that is, lying about one's time) and a big reason for this is the time lag between the recording of the hours and the ultimate invoice. The gap makes it difficult for people to recognize cheating, and easier for firms to pretend that it doesn't exist.

The problem is that the timesheet-based model “separates the invoicing mechanics from the conversation with the customer . . . .” A “firm of the future,” Morris submits, “incorporates its value proposition, pricing, scope, and related service matters up front, [so] there is no requirement for a timesheet, and without timesheets, firms no longer need to lie to their customers about efforts to justify an invoice.”

For the complete post, read “Timesheets Facilitate Cheating: The Moral Challenge of the Billable Hour.”

From VeraSage Institute, http://www.verasage.com/index.php/community, July 10, 2011.