A fixed-fee freelance quote: scope, hours and revisions in one worked example
By Small Step Works · Published
A fixed fee is easier to explain when you can show what work it covers. Start with the deliverable, then estimate the activities behind it. This fictional brochure project shows the calculation and the questions to settle before sending a quote. The figures illustrate a method; they are not market rates, customer results or a promise of profit.
1. Define a result someone can approve
Suppose a client asks for a five-page A4 brochure in English. The deliverables are a print-ready PDF and a screen PDF. The client supplies final copy, photographs and brand files before design starts. One named approver returns one consolidated set of comments. Your fee includes one visual direction and one revision round.
Write the exclusions beside the inclusions: copywriting, translation, printing, extra pages and a new visual direction are outside this example. Agree what a revision round means. Correcting supplied text within the agreed design is different from replacing the brief. A short description such as “brochure design” leaves those boundaries unresolved.
2. Estimate activities, not just design time
Here is a sample estimate for that exact scope. Replace each number with your own experience and project requirements. Count communication, checks and delivery as work.
- Brief and supplied-file review: 2 hours.
- Layout and visual direction: 8 hours.
- Client communication and presentation: 2 hours.
- One consolidated revision round: 3 hours.
- Export, preflight checks and delivery: 2 hours.
- Total planned work: 17 hours.
3. Make the price calculation visible
For illustration, use a planning labor rate of $60 per hour: 17 × $60 = $1,020. Add $80 of project-specific licensed assets, giving a $1,100 base. A chosen 20% contingency on that entire base adds $220. The resulting planning quote is $1,320 before any applicable tax. That contingency is a modeling choice, not a universal rule.
This is not a calculation of take-home pay or net profit. Your chosen rate must account for your own operating costs and nonbillable time; taxes, payment fees and actual overruns may change the outcome. Also check whether the client values the defined result enough to accept the price. If the budget does not fit, reduce or phase the deliverable explicitly instead of quietly removing time for essential work.
4. Price a change before doing it
Now suppose the client adds two pages after approving the scope. You estimate four additional hours at the same $60 planning rate, with no new asset costs: $240 base plus a 20% contingency is $288. If agreed, the combined example becomes $1,608 before applicable tax. The delivery date must also be reviewed.
A practical message is: “The two additional pages are outside our five-page scope. I estimate an additional $288 and two working days after receiving final content. Please confirm the additional fee and revised delivery date before I begin.” This is a communication example, not a legal contract template.
5. Check the estimate against the next real project
Before quoting, confirm the supplied materials, approver, revision limit and exclusions. After delivering, compare estimated and actual hours for each activity. A repeated gap in file preparation or revisions is useful evidence for the next quote; a single accepted price is not proof that the method is profitable.
Use the free Margin & Method scope card to define your next project. The full kit adds connected exercises and an offline calculator. You can use the method above and the free sample without an account.
Sources and further reading
Try the workbook sample
Margin & Method includes a freelance pricing workbook and quote calculator. Read the free sample before deciding whether the paid kit is useful for you.