It is unethical for a consultant or engineer to enter into such an agreement, and equally so for a client to solicit such action. It is not unusual for companies to develop significant, ongoing relationships with one or more consulting or engineering firms where the volume of work makes this practical. In such cases, the consulting or engineering firms may often be viewed as extensions of the clients' in-house staffs, developing mutual abilities to effectively function as teams. How Consultants Work Consultants and engineers work in various ways. The type of arrangement selected often depends upon the kind and amount of work to be performed.
Many assignments are difficult to define so precisely that an equitable fixed fee can be identified.
Here, the consultant or engineer estimates as accurately as possible the work-effort required by the Scope of Work for the project. If, as is usually the case, there are uncertainties which reduce the probable accuracy of the estimate, a moderate percentage is added to the estimate to accommodate this uncertainty. This determines the NTE amount - an upper limit of financial exposure for the client. However, should the actual project require less than the maximum effort provided for by the NTE estimate, the client pays only for the actual time consumed. This kind of agreement is often comfortable for both clients and consultants, providing a degree of protection for both parties where uncertainties exist.