Exactly that was my reason for asking. The project management tools I know of are NOT doing a good job from a resource perspective, too. Thank you for pointing to MS Project. ON top of the learning curve I do not like the huge licence fees involved when you use it with a Project server and several attached users, so I still hope for more suggestions.

I know of the company's problem by heart ;) I browsed the list of project management tools from your link and I saw several already known products there, which may excel in managing a single complex project. But can you narrow down your suggestions to tools that are especially well suited for my requirements?

@KeithB: Without going into detail what is copyrightable and what not, my impression is that a text like "do whatever you want with my code" is good enough to remove any rights I might have. But I must admit I am no lawyer and our world is a strange place, hence I upvoted greyfade's answer, too.

A licence is a definition of what you are allowed to do and what not. Why would you need a license at all if you want to grant all rights? Your only concern would be to disclaim any warranty. Wouldn't a short note suffice for that? Like "do whatever you want with my code, but completely at your own risk. This code might do something harmful, you are warned, do not hold me liable for any effect or side-effect."

@tdammers: If I understood correctly, the time concern is not about spending one hour doing some basic calculations (which would be difficult to charge for indeed), but about clarifying what the potential client wants in the first place. This goes in the direction of consulting - which is generally NOT free in almost all industries, at least from my experience. Of course, habits may vary depending on country, industry and local competition. If this is about easily calculated standard projects, just go with the 2nd part of my advice (offering standard rates with customization option TBD later).