Christian F.G. Schendera wrote in message <000701c13de8$9a3a3ee0$6f2836d5@notebook>... >How many minutes are meant by "per hour" in SAS and related business? For >example, a company charges *$50 per hour*. So, how many minutes are meant >per hour, e.g., the notorious academic hour (45min.), or a standard hour (60 >min.)? >Do different hour conventions differ in including pauses, preparation, etc.? >Best, >Chris

For me, an hour is 60 minutes. I tend to regard an hour as "billable" if it's spent at the client's site - only very occasionally do I have billable time spent off-site. Travel time at the client's behest between sites during the workday is billable - mileage for such travel is billable, though not all clients agree, even if they pay mileage to their employees. Travel to and from the client site is not (but I don't take jobs beyond a reasonable daily commuting distance).

Normal daily activities - going to the bathroom, reasonable breaks, (stuff that regular, full time employees get paid for) are billable. Daily lunch time is not, but a company sponsored lunch that everyone's expected to attend is - but I always ask first, and if the answer is that the company will not pay for the time, I don't attend (once, at the client's behest, an afternoon baseball game was billable time).

Billing is in quarter-hour increments (I work through agencies, and that's their policy). Personal business is kept to the minimum possible and if at all possible conducted during "slack time", when I'm ready, willing, and able to work, but the client either does not have work for me to do or is not able to have me do it (the computer/network is down). When a phone call is necessary (to make an appointment, for example) it's generally brief. I follow the policy of the client - if regular employees are allowed to make such calls, I regard those few minutes as billable. Time spent off-site attending to personal business (like keeping that appointment) is not, even if regular employees are granted such time with pay.

Absences due to holidays, vacations, inclement weather, sickness, etc. are not billable. I don't bill for after-hours time spent talking about a client problem or searching for a solution with colleagues or my spouse, or searching the web for possible solutions, but web searches during the workday are billable.