Price the invisible work around the deliverable
Discovery, coordination and QA are real parts of extra work—even when the visible output is small.
Teams often price the visible object and forget the work required to make it safe to deliver. That is how a “small update” consumes a day. A better estimate follows the request from clarification through review and release.
Map the full path
Before choosing a price, list the handoffs: clarify the request, find source files, make the change, review it, collect approval and publish or package the result. Include coordination with other people.
The purpose is not to bill every minute. It is to see the true delivery shape before choosing a fixed fee.
- Discovery and source retrieval
- Production and internal review
- Client review, revision and release
Account for uncertainty
Unknowns deserve either an assumption, a range or a paid discovery step. Pretending an unknown is free transfers all risk to the studio.
State what the estimate assumes: working files are available, copy is final, access is current and one decision-maker will respond. If an assumption fails, the team knows when to revisit the quote.
- Known inputs
- Open questions
- Conditions that trigger a re-quote
Check the price against capacity
A fee can cover direct hours and still be a bad decision if it disrupts higher-value work. Look at the calendar, required specialist and interruption cost.
Record estimated effort and final effort separately in Clearcut. The comparison improves the next quote without exposing internal cost notes to the client.
- Delivery effort
- Review and management time
- Capacity and opportunity cost
