Fixed, hourly, or daily — picking the right one

I quote fixed price, hourly, or a daily rate, depending on the job — not because I can't decide, but because each one is the right tool for a different kind of uncertainty, and picking the wrong one is where most billing disputes actually come from.

Fixed price

Works when the scope is genuinely knowable upfront — a defined tool, a clear list of what "done" looks like. The scoping call is what makes this possible: a vague brief makes a vague quote, and a vague quote is where change requests and resentment live. Fixed price forces both sides to agree what's being built before either of us commits to a number.

Hourly

Better when the work is inherently unpredictable in size — ongoing support, fixes to a codebase I didn't build, or anything where "how long will this take" honestly depends what we find once we're in there. Hourly is honest about that uncertainty instead of pretending a number is more solid than it is.

Daily rate

The middle ground — useful for embedded work, a sprint of focused effort, or when you want dedicated time without either side pricing every individual task. Common for slightly longer engagements where fixed-price scoping for every sub-task would slow things down more than it helps.

The actual point

None of these is the "professional" or "serious" option by default. The wrong pricing model for the situation causes more friction than any specific rate would. I'll tell you upfront which one fits what you're describing, and why.