I work on a flat daily rate. This simple model avoids the complications of hourly billing, and the scope problems that fixed pricing runs into when the requirements are still moving.
By Daniele Barbaro, Tech Lead & Software Engineer. Last reviewed .
A consulting day means focused work on your project. It doesn't mean eight hours logged to the minute: some days run longer when momentum is strong, others end earlier when the objectives are met. It means your project has my full attention that day.
When you engage me for a day, you receive:
The rate reflects the experience I bring to technical challenges. I'm Daniele Barbaro, freelance since 2012, building backend systems primarily with Laravel and Symfony. I maintain open source packages, among them laravel-vat-eu-validator, and I've worked with startups, agencies and established companies.
A senior engineer who understands the problem domain can often accomplish in a day what would take a less experienced developer considerably longer: not merely in implementation speed, but in avoiding dead ends, making sound architectural decisions and writing code that won't need rewriting later.
The daily rate also keeps things simple. There's no negotiation about hours, no invoices with a line for every conversation, and no incentive for either side to complicate the arrangement. One day of work, one price.
The same rate applies whether the day goes into writing code, reviewing architecture, debugging or working through a design decision with your team.
The other ways of working are on the rates page.
Most engagements begin with a conversation. You describe what you're dealing with, I ask questions to understand the situation, and together we determine whether I can help effectively. This initial discussion is without cost: I won't charge you simply to establish whether it's a good fit.
If it makes sense to work together, I agree on scope and schedule with you. For shorter engagements (a code review, an architectural assessment or a specific feature) I might arrange several days over a week or two. For larger projects, a monthly collaboration often proves more suitable.
I prefer to work in focused blocks rather than scattered hours. A full day of concentrated work produces better results than the same hours distributed across a week. For remote engagements, I'm typically available during European business hours, though I can accommodate other time zones when necessary.
Payment terms are straightforward: invoiced monthly or at the conclusion of shorter engagements, due within 14 days. For new clients, I generally request partial payment upfront for the first engagement, after which I proceed with standard invoicing.
Clarity about what I don't offer helps avoid misunderstandings.
€480 per day, flat. That rate applies whether the day goes into writing code, reviewing architecture, debugging, or working through a design decision with your team. There is no hourly billing, no line items for individual conversations, and no negotiation about what counts as billable.
Technical work on your project, availability throughout the day for questions and real-time problem solving, documentation of the decisions that warrant it, and knowledge transfer so your team can maintain what gets built. A day means focused attention on your project, not eight hours logged to the minute.
Yes, when the scope is defined. If the requirements are written down and stable, a fixed price agreed before the work starts is fine for both sides. When the scope is still moving, a daily rate lets the work adjust as the real requirements surface, without a fixed price padded to absorb the uncertainty.
Invoiced monthly, or at the conclusion of shorter engagements, due within 14 days. For a first engagement with a new client, partial payment upfront is generally requested, after which invoicing follows the standard terms.
Yes. Sustained work is priced as a monthly collaboration, 12 or 16 days per month, and its cost per day is below the daily rate. The monthly figures are on that page.
If you have a technical challenge that might benefit from senior engineering assistance, let's talk. The initial conversation is free and typically provides enough information for both of us to decide whether working together makes sense.
For sustained work (building features over months, ongoing architecture guidance or embedded team support) my monthly collaboration options are built for longer commitments.
In TurinToolbox Coworking (opens in a new tab)
via Agostino da Montefeltro 2
Torino, TO 10134
The door is always open for a chat over coffee.