Your fixed-price project ran over.
The project cost more than it earned. Small tasks nobody logged usually explain the gap, and the next estimate will miss them too unless you quote from real hours.
You signed at a fixed price. The work took longer, and the extra hours came out of your margin.
Nothing big went wrong. A client call here, a two-line fix there, a round of “quick” changes that nobody wrote down.
None of those tasks reached the time log, so you saw the gap only when the project closed. By then the contract was signed and the price agreed.
Then you quote the next project from memory. Memory forgets the same small tasks, so the new estimate misses them as well, and the overrun repeats.
Why fixed-price projects run over
In small teams the causes are small, and they add up.
Small tasks nobody logs
A 15-minute call or a quick fix feels too small to open a timer for. Across a project those minutes add up to hours that never show in the report.
“Quick” requests that grow the scope
“Can you move this button?” Each request is small enough that a change order feels petty. Together they become work you agreed to do for free.
Estimates from memory
You remember the main work and forget the back-and-forth around it. An estimate from memory leaves out the same work that went unlogged last time.
Worked example: 24 extra hours on an 80-hour quote
Say you quoted 80 hours and agreed a fixed price of €6,000. You planned on €75 an hour.
The project took 104 hours. The client still pays €6,000, so each hour earned you about €58.
Spread over a two-month project, 24 extra hours is under three hours a week. A few calls and small fixes cover that.
Work out what unlogged tasks cost you with the lost hours calculator
What to do about it
A signed contract stays signed. You can still see the next overrun coming and price it in.
Log while you work
Log tasks when you do them, the 15-minute ones included. Hours you reconstruct on Friday are guesses.
Compare estimate and actual during the project
Check hours against the estimate while the project runs, at each milestone or each week. If you have used most of the hours with half the work left, you can still talk to the client about scope.
Quote the next project from real hours
Look at what similar projects took, task by task, and estimate from that.
Add the overhead you can see
Calls, reviews and small fixes are part of the job. Put the hours you measured for them into the quote as their own line, instead of a buffer picked at random.
How Tidpunkt helps you see it early
Tidpunkt is a time tracker for small teams that sell fixed-price and retainer work.
Estimated vs actual, per contract
Set the estimated hours on a fixed-price or retainer contract. The report shows how many you have used while the work is still going.
Two clicks from the menu bar
Save, continue or start an entry from the menu bar or system tray on macOS, Windows and Ubuntu. Logging takes seconds, so the small tasks get logged too.
CSV export for your own spreadsheets
Export hours per contract and task as CSV, and build your next estimate in the spreadsheet you already use.
No screenshots
Tidpunkt never takes screenshots and doesn’t record activity. Your data is hosted in the EU.
Free for up to 5 people, with no time limit. Every new account also gets a 14-day trial of the Team plan, no card needed. See pricing
More on lost hours and quoting
Questions
Who pays when a fixed-price project runs over?
You do, unless your contract says otherwise. A fixed price puts the risk of extra hours on the supplier. Extra money comes only from work the client agrees is outside the original scope.
Can I ask the client to pay for the extra hours?
For work outside the agreed scope, yes. Raise it when the request arrives and agree the hours or a new price before you start. Asking after the project closes is a much harder conversation, and your contract decides what you can claim.
How much buffer should I add to a fixed-price quote?
Use your own numbers instead of a rule of thumb. Compare estimated and actual hours on your last few fixed-price projects and add the gap you see. If you have no logged hours yet, log the next project and start from that.
How do I estimate a fixed-price project?
Break the work into tasks and estimate each one from what similar tasks took before. Then add calls, reviews and small fixes as their own line.
How can I tell a project is running over before it ends?
Compare logged hours with the estimate during the project. If the hours used grow faster than the work done, raise scope with the client while you can still change it.
Does Tidpunkt track time automatically?
No. You start and stop entries yourself, in two clicks from the menu bar or system tray. Tidpunkt never takes screenshots or records activity.
See the next overrun before the project closes
Log time from your menu bar and compare estimated with actual hours on each fixed-price contract.
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