Guide · Fixed-price quotes
How to quote a project without guessing the price.
A fixed-price quote works best when it says what you will deliver, how many revisions it includes and what assumptions the price rests on. The number comes at the end of that work, not at the start.
1. Write the scope as deliverables
“Website design” leaves too many questions open. A more useful description: one home page, two inner pages, a mobile version and two rounds of changes on the approved design. Say who supplies the text, photos and logins, and by when.
2. Estimate hours per task
Split the work into steps: kickoff and planning, production, review, changes and handover. Include the time that never shows in the final file, such as messages and checking. For this example, call it 20 hours.
3. Use the cost of your time, not your rate
Your hourly cost is what an hour of your work costs you: the pay you need to cover, or what you would pay someone else to do it. It is an input, not the price. In the example it is 15.
If you enter a rate that already includes the profit you want and then add a margin on top, you count that profit twice. Keep the two apart: the cost goes in, the price comes out.
4. Add direct costs and a share of overhead
Direct costs are things you buy for this project only: a font, stock photos, a subcontractor. Overhead is a fair share of what keeps the business running: software, insurance, your workspace. Don’t add anything you already built into the hourly cost. Here: 50 in direct costs and 50 in overhead.
5. Keep a contingency for the unknown
Something usually takes longer than planned. A 10% contingency is an example, not a rule. A project you have done many times may need less; a vague brief may need a paid discovery phase before you fix any price.
6. Work out price, fee and margin
The last two items are shares of the price, not of the cost. A payment provider that keeps 5% plus 0.50 takes it from what the client pays. A 30% target margin means 30% of the price stays as profit. So both are subtracted in the denominator:
(440 + 0.50) ÷ (1 − 0.05 − 0.30) = 677.692… → 677.70
| Work: 20 hours × 15 | 300.00 |
|---|---|
| Direct costs | 50.00 |
| Allocated overhead | 50.00 |
| Contingency: 10% of 400 | 40.00 |
| Expected cost | 440.00 |
| Payment fee (example) | 5% + 0.50 |
| Target margin | 30% |
| Price before tax | 677.70 |
The price is rounded up to two decimals. At 677.70 the fee is about 34.39 and the expected profit about 203.32, which is 30% of the price. Divided by 20 hours, the price comes to about 33.89 an hour. That figure is a result, not a rate to type back in as your hourly cost.
Adding 30% to the cost instead would give 572 and, after the fee, a margin of about 18%. If that surprises you, read markup vs. margin before you send the quote.
7. Put terms the client can check
List deliverables, exclusions, timeline, number of revision rounds, price, how long the quote is valid and how scope changes are handled. Only promise what you can keep.
“Includes two rounds of consolidated feedback on the approved design. Additional pages or features are quoted separately before work begins.” Adapt this to the service you actually offer.
8. Compare the plan with reality
Track real hours and expenses. If your projects usually need a third round, that is data for the next quote. Estimates get better with your own numbers.
When the scope grows mid-project, see what five extra hours do to this same example and put the change in writing with the free scope-change worksheet.
Run my numbers in the free calculatorThe calculator starts with these figures; replace them with yours in any of 46 currencies, without an account. If you also want to save quotes and prepare a client proposal that keeps your internal costs private, the optional toolkit is US$19, a one-time payment before tax.
Illustrative figures, before tax. Not tax, legal or accounting advice.