← Back to Margin & Method

Free quote calculator & scope card

Free quote calculator

Try your own project numbers.

See how hours, your planning rate, direct costs and a chosen contingency build a fixed-fee estimate. All amounts are USD. Define the deliverable with the scope card below.

Your entries stay in this page's memory. They are not sent to us or saved; reloading restores the example.

How do I choose my planning hourly rate?

Use a monthly budget and the hours you expect to bill in that same month. For example, a chosen $3,200 allocation for your pay before personal taxes plus $800 in general operating costs gives a $4,000 planning budget. If you expect to bill 80 hours, $4,000 divided by 80 gives $50 per billable hour.

Dividing by all 160 working hours would give $25. Billing 80 hours at $25 brings in $2,000, which covers only half of this example budget. Use your own records to estimate the hours you expect to bill. Reserve time separately for general administration and finding work; do not add that nonbillable time to the billable-hours total.

These are illustrative inputs, not a recommended rate or guaranteed workload. Keep separately quoted project costs out of overhead so you count each cost once. Check applicable taxes and payment fees separately; this planning rate is not take-home profit or proof that clients will accept the price.

The worked example below is available without JavaScript. Interactive controls appear when the calculator loads.

Illustrative planning quote · USD

Fictional original scope: five-page A4 brochure in English, print-ready and screen PDFs, supplied final copy and assets, one visual direction and one consolidated revision round.

Labor allocation (hours × rate)
$1,020.00
Direct project costs
$80.00
Base (labor + direct costs)
$1,100.00
Contingency allowance (base × chosen %)
$220.00
Planning quote before applicable tax
$1,320.00

Quote = (hours × rate + direct costs) × (1 + contingency ÷ 100). Values are calculated before rounding; displayed amounts are rounded to cents.

A planning estimate, not take-home pay or a guaranteed accepted price. Account for operating costs in your rate and check scope, taxes and payment fees separately. Contingency is an allowance, not a promised profit. An alternative scope must be agreed before work begins.

Read the complete worked quote and smaller-scope example.

The $39 Margin & Method kit adds the workbook and a full offline calculator with monthly rate assumptions, profit markup and capacity checks.

Explore the full Margin & Method kit · $39

Purchasing is currently unavailable. This free tool and scope card are ready to use.

The One-Page Scope Card

Margin & Method · Define the work before you choose the price.

Use this card for one upcoming fixed-fee project. Fill in each line before estimating hours. A vague answer is a useful signal to ask for clarification.

Scope question Your answer
What will exist when the project is complete?
How many pages, assets, sessions or deliverables?
What format, size and language?
What must the client supply before work begins?
Who is the single final approver?
What meetings and revision rounds are included?
What does one revision round mean?
Which likely requests are outside this scope?
What are the milestones and client deadlines?
How will additional work be estimated and approved?

A fictional example: Five-page A4 brochure, one English-language version, print-ready and screen PDFs. Client supplies final copy and assets before design begins. One visual direction and one consolidated revision round from the named approver. Copywriting, translation, printing and extra pages are excluded. Additional work needs an agreed fee and schedule before it begins.

Next step: list every activity needed to deliver that scope, including preparation, communication, revisions and final checks. Estimate hours, add relevant direct costs, and then calculate a planning price. The card helps define scope; it does not determine a legal agreement or prove that a client will accept a price.

Jules is a fictional AI presenter. This is original educational material with illustrative examples, not a customer result or an earnings promise. Version 1.0 · 25 September 2026. Free for use in your own business; do not resell or redistribute as your own product.