Silly Question re: Estimated Quarterly filings

Information on incorporation

I'm so lost trying to figure out how exactly to file for an LLC.  There 
are a ton of sites that want to take a fat commission for filing, but 
wouldn't getting an attorney be best for filing?

I'm in Texas, and from what I understand, it shouldn't be that hard to 
file.  Does anyone have any specific method you used to file?

Also, finding an accountant has also been dificult.  I'll troll through 
the earlier messages of this group to find answers.  TIA.

Marko Rangel

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Liability insurance for a one-day event

Has anyone here needed to procure commercial grade liability insurance
for a one-day event?

I am in that market and the prices are quite a bit higher than I expected.

I called my local insurance agent (State Farm) and they have a
personal liability thing for up to $1 million they can extend for a
one-day event for $50, but they don't do commercial liability
insurance. They referred me to an insurance broker who said such
one-day policies run from $800-$1,000.

Just wanted to see if y'all had any feedback on these numbers or
advice/suggestions.

Thanks

-- 
   Scott Mitchell
   mitchell <at> 4guysfromrolla.com
   http://www.4GuysFromRolla.com/ScottMitchell

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Re: Digest Number 94

Unemployement

Health Insurance

Re: What do you use to track time and bill clients?

What do you use to track time and bill clients?

I have been an independent more or less my whole career and have used 
various time tracking methods over the years.

My steady favorite for a long time was a custom Excel sheet.

Almost 3 years ago I decided to move to Washington DC (a larger 
market) and grow the business beyond just me and it quickly became 
apparent that Excel wasn't going to cut it for multiple people, 
approving time, etc.  So being a software company, we foolishly wrote 
our own - well, actually we adopted some freebie code and heavily 
customized it and turned it into a product.  It serves our needs 
really well as billable software development consultants but we are 
having a tough time getting it into any vertical markets.  (Our other 
product, Secret Server, which has a huge security focus is doing far 
better!)

* Do most people on this list sell their time?
* Do you give detailed descriptions down to the hour?
* Are you going through the same hassles that we did (buy vs build)?

Thanks,
Jonathan Cogley

If anyone is interested, our time entry system is called 
MyClockWatcher (http://www.myclockwatcher.com)

Our other product is Secret Server which is a secure web-based 
application to put your passwords and securely share them across your 
team.  (http://www.thesecretserver.com)

 

Travel and Travel Expenses - Any tips / suggestions / advice?

I'm finally on my own, per se (through staffing firm), and this is 
the first time I've had to deal with covering my own travel expenses 
for work.  Normally I would just stay somewhere and submit expense 
reports and get reimbursed from my employer.  Now I'm the 
employer. 

A couple of things I would like to discuss or get feedback on.

The first is getting money from the client to cover travel 
expenses.  What's typical to get this or negotiate for it?  
Initially I started out by trying to negotiate for something similar 
to what I was use to with a full time employer.  I soon found out 
that it doesn't always work that way when dealing staffing and 
consulting firms.  I was advised from a independent veteran that 
should increase my hourly rate by $20.  That gives me $800/week to 
cover airfare/hotel/car/food.  Good, bad, or something else?

Second how do guys normally handle scheduling their travel?  Are 
there any travel agents/sites/etc..that are used more than others or 
any good tips or tricks on getting the best deals?  I've been using 
Kayak.com to track down cheap airfare and was told to call a few 
different hotels and ask to speak to the "Business Services Manager" 
and let them know that you'll be staying with them for an extended 
period of time.  That ended up working well for me.  I got an room 
at an extended stay place for $16/night less than any published 
price I had seen.  That's a savings of $112/week.  Some didn't seem 
to care much but I called about 5 different places just to see what 
would happen.  I've also contemplated just trying to find a cheap 
place on Craigslist.com that's a sublease or something like that.  
Again, any ideas or things to discuss?

Thanks all and I hope this brings in some others to discuss.
Erik

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I didn't get paid

Hi,

Things have been quiet here ... It must mean everyone is busy.

I thought I would tell my story as it is pertinent to those of us 
who write code for a living as consultants to major corporations.

I worked for Hilton Hotels for 1 1/2 years as an hourly contractor 
(direct) as a website developer. I also did a small side project for 
the Financial Rpt dept.
At the end, they found another contractor they liked better and 
decided to keep him and let me go.
Trouble is, I was never paid for my last 2 invoices.
After 5 months , I send a demand letter and get back a Hilton 
response that my work was poor and that they hired another outside 
consultant to fix it. Thus, they said they were not paying ( 25% 
settlement offer ) my invoices to offset poor work on the side 
project. 

There was never any mention of poor work etc etc etc and everything 
was working when I left.

My contract was hourly. The side project was fixed price.
My personal integrity does not allow me to let this bully get away 
with this.

So, the case finally went to court now almost 2.5 yrs later.

Anyway, my Prof Liability Insurer said originally that the coverage 
did NOT cover unpaid invoices.

But, now that Hilton is trying to use Poor Development Work as the 
reason, I believe this would now fall in the Errors and Omissions 
category ( although this too is bogus).

So, we had our trial finally ( just 2 hrs ) cut short by Court 
scheduling.
We now have to do our final closing statements via email believe it 
or not. So, I don't know what the outcome is.

I "hope" my insurer will have a change of heart and cover me if 
somehow I lose this case.

Paul

 

Re: Digest Number 82