Billing etiquette for a conference

Question

Hey you all—

I am a consultant for a healthcare agency. They have hired me to do some research on best practices and to develop and implement a model for a niche clinic. They pay me hourly for this role. I am planning on attending a conference in which I will be able to meet in person with other professionals around the world who have implemented and created a similar clinic. Should I be charging for some of the hours spent at this conference or is that poor consultant etiquette? I can use any advice on the matter. It’s a new type of coNsultancy For me so I am not sure whether that counts as billable time or not. Thank you.

Answer 1

Hello!

If you are attending doing “market research", I think it makes sense. However, since indeed it´s a bit of a grey area, I would also run it by them.

Hope it helps!

Cheers,

Clara

Answer 2

Hi there,

If you are attending the conference solely to gather information, technically you are doing this as part of your research so I would expect you can bill it. If you would have attended anyway for other reasons, I would personally not bill it.

In any case, as mentioned by Ian it would be good to align with the agency to avoid any possible issues.

Best,

Francesco

Answer 3

Hi there,

Let's test this with a simple question: Would you go to the conference if it weren't for the job?

If so, that makes it a bit more difficult to isolate the real working hours
If not, you have a good argument as to why you would charge the full time you're at the conference

In any case, you should reach out to the firm paying your bills and align - as suggested by the others. There isn't really a standard “billing etiquette”. Just make sure you have the answer to the above question in mind.

Hope this helps!

Answer 4

You should check with the client before billing them. If this helps in your research and adds value to your task, client would be happy to oblige

Thanks

Ashwin

Answer 5

Hi there,

You need to check with your company! Find out their policy and bill accordingly.

Answer 6

Some good answers above around how to “test” if this is worth billing.

One additional thought - when billing hourly it can be good to provide an estimate upfront at least on the types of work being conducted to align expectations with the client. This avoids any potential misunderstandings on what would be billed.

Answer 7

Hello, Interesting question! I would structure it like this: Pathology Market in city X: - Current Demand for this... (read entire answer)

Hello, Interesting question! I would structure it like this: Pathology Market in city X: - Current Demand for this services - Expected growth - How do customers in this city c... (read entire answer)