Securing long term revenue

[dmeagor]

Hi

After reading several posts on this site and others I've become convinced that the best way to ensure long term stability for our web design company is through maintenance contracts. Unfortunately my business partners disagree as they think this will soil relationships with our clients over the long term.

My question to those who use monthly maintenance contracts is what proportion of your turnover do they make up? Other comments and advice on this subject from those who have tried are most welcome.

[LiquidReflex]

Maintenance packages can be a good way to keep a steady income coming in, but personally it's not a major source of income for me. I also don't believe it would "soil" any client relationships (unless you don't provide very good service for your maintenance that is). As long as the client is feeling they are getting their money's worth, then there shouldn't be any issues.

The main advice I have about monthy maintenance is to put everything possible in your contract. The monthly contract can be a source of sore feelings if you don't have it clearly written out. For example, if you provide X hours per month of maintenance and they don't use them all, do they carry over to the next month? If they don't, is it clearly stated in your contract they don't compound? Receiving a new invoice for a higher amount because they exceeded their allotted hours will not be good. But as long as you have everything clearly stated and they agree to it, I think you'll maintain a decent relationship with your client.