Rounding

Some businesses or individuals perform a service or work "by the hour".  That involves a bill or invoice at an "hourly rate".

We see no inherent problem in that.

Then there are businesses or individuals who charge "hourly plus".

What can that imply?

One example (let's single out "electricians" in "St. Louis") is "rounding up" the number of hours to a "whole number".

Does that sound fair or reasonable?

Well, should an individual charge for 2 hours of "work" when they work for 1 hour and 15 minutes?  Should an individual charge for 2 hours of "work" when they work for 1 hour and 1 or 5 minutes?

That's an excellent question to articulate.

Another is:

• "Can 'rounding up' a bill or invoice encourage time to be spent 'less than efficiently' or excuse 'fudging the numbers'?"

If that "sort of thing" becomes significant... why is it allowed to be backward?