Hire the best Project Budget professionals

Project budget freelancers plan, administer, and monitor business projects. While budgets can sometimes be fluid over the course of a project, a project management freelancer is adept at setting costs, allocating how they will be spread out over time, and using software to track and intermittently report expenses. Even strong planning can not always foresee changing circumstances or unexpected roadblocks. These freelancers have to be flexible and creative to adjust along the way and/or compensate to prevent potential overruns.

The hourly rate for most project budget freelancers on Upwork is $13 to $44, but project managers with more experience or specialized knowledge might well charge higher rates.

What impacts the cost of hiring a project budget freelancer?

It’s good to have a well-focused goal, an idea of what you’re willing to spend, and what steps you want to take to accomplish the goal. If you have data from previous successful projects, that can help show how your company has dealt with these challenges in the past and potentially provide an initial blueprint, including costs.

The better the information that you develop up front, the more you’ll help a project budget freelancer properly identify your needs and the demands on his time so he can give you the best estimate of his hourly rate or fixed price. But it’s important to be open to suggestions in the best way to accomplish the goal. 

A business might even have multiple projects in mind, but a fixed amount of money it can spend. A project manager might be able to help you figure out how to prioritize them and which initiatives are financially feasible in a given year. 

Project Scope

The flexibility of your budget may determine whether you use a top-down (set a budget and spread out the dollars) or bottom-up (determine cost of tasks needed and add up the bottom line) method of budgeting. Perhaps you have a reference point from previous similar projects. Or, your project management freelancer could determine best- and worst-case scenarios and set a reasonable target in between.

It’s also important to consider the scope of work. A less-experienced project budget manager might be fine for a small business’s simpler, less-complex initiative. At the same time, some very sharp young fiscal minds who possess the necessary budget preparation and tracking skills may offer lower freelance rates in an attempt to build their new client base.

A more-experienced project manager will likely have higher rates, but their years of experience might bring the ideas and savvy to more efficiently achieve the best results in the allotted amount of time and in a cost-effective way. It’s one thing to have the basics to set up a project, but an experienced project freelancer might also provide extraordinary leadership, organizational, crisis resolution, and communication skills.

Geography

Every location has its own cost of living, and this will affect a project management freelancer’s hourly rates and subsequently, your budget. You can hire freelancers from around the globe, but there are a few considerations before hiring one who isn’t local to you.

Your freelance professional’s time zone can affect a project timeline and budget. If your designer is 10 hours ahead or behind your time zone, communication could be delayed unless a person at one end of the equation can make themselves available when necessary. 

Language might be an even more critical factor in hiring a project budget freelancer. It can be more difficult to clearly communicate ideas and how to adjust if you don’t speak the same language fluently. Conduct interviews to explain your requirements and get a feel for their communication skills and understanding of the project.

Other factors that may impact the cost

High-quality budgeting on the front end, especially for big projects, sets the standards for how tasks will be carried out and milestones met. It’s a key factor in setting expectations for workers and managing labor costs for your project. A project manager’s experience may help them better foresee the pitfalls of a certain task and help set a better path from the start.

The type of project—whether it’s a generalized business initiative or an industry specific endeavor—could dictate hiring a project budget manager with a certain skill set or experience in your line (clothing, food products, etc.) or type (ecommerce, manufacturing, service, etc.) of business. In some instances, it might be critical to have someone with specialized experience, though they will likely come with higher hourly rates. 

Upwork is not affiliated with and does not sponsor or endorse any of the tools or services discussed in this section. These tools and services are provided only as potential options, and each reader and company should take the time needed to adequately analyze and determine the tools or services that would best fit their specific needs and situation.