Speed is also a factor: Cost-plus deals diminish negotiating time once the contractor's fee has been set.

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To keep things on the up and up, he got approval from his client to represent the contractor and he refused to collect a fee from his collections client.

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Conversely, an independent contractor does a one-time job for you for a fee on his own schedule with his own tools, in his own way.

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In that climate of uncertainty the U.S. Agency for International Development opted for a cost-plus, fixed-fee deal--a contract often used by governments to exert some control over costs and give the contractor incentive to engage in open-ended work.

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