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PROPOSAL PRICING WORKSHEET
SoloStack — solostack.madethis.app
Use this worksheet to calculate your project price before writing your proposal.
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SECTION 1 — YOUR BASELINE RATE
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Before you can price a project, you need to know your minimum hourly rate.

Annual income target:          $___________
Billable hours/week:           ___________ (realistic: 20-25 hrs for most freelancers)
Weeks worked/year:             ___________ (typical: 48 weeks after time off)

Billable hours/year = Weeks × Hrs/week
  ___________ × ___________ = ___________

Minimum hourly rate = Annual target ÷ Billable hours/year
  $___________ ÷ ___________ = $___________/hr  ← THIS IS YOUR FLOOR

Do not price below this number. Ever.


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SECTION 2 — HOURLY VS. PROJECT-BASED COMPARISON
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HOURLY PRICING
Use when: scope is unclear, ongoing work, research-heavy projects

My hourly rate:                $___________/hr
Estimated hours for project:   ___________
Base estimate:                 $___________ (rate × hours)

PROS: You're paid for every hour worked. No risk if scope expands.
CONS: Clients may push back on hours. Income is capped by time.


PROJECT-BASED PRICING
Use when: scope is well-defined, you've done similar work before

Estimated hours:               ___________
Hourly rate:                   $___________
Time-based total:              $___________ (hours × rate)
Expertise premium (+20-40%):   $___________
Project price:                 $___________ (time total + premium)

PROS: You're paid for the outcome, not the time. Get faster = earn more.
CONS: You carry the risk if the project takes longer than estimated.

RECOMMENDATION: For most creative/knowledge work, project-based pricing
pays better over time once you've built up speed and experience.


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SECTION 3 — SCOPE CREEP BUFFER (REQUIRED)
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Projects ALWAYS take longer than estimated. Add a buffer to protect yourself.

FORMULA: Base price × 1.2 = Scope-adjusted price

Example: $2,000 × 1.2 = $2,400

Your calculation:
Base project price:            $___________
× 1.20 (20% buffer):           $___________ (buffer amount)
Scope-adjusted price:          $___________ ← USE THIS NUMBER

Why 20%? Research consistently shows projects run 20-30% over initial
estimates. Your buffer isn't padding — it's accurate pricing.

For complex projects with many stakeholders, use 1.30 (30% buffer).
For simple, well-defined projects with trusted clients, 1.15 is acceptable.


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SECTION 4 — REVISION ROUND PRICING
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Decide BEFORE you write your proposal: how many revision rounds are included
and what you charge for extras.

Included revision rounds:      ___________ (recommend: 2-3)
Estimated time per round:      ___________ hours
Time cost per round:           $___________ (hours × your rate)
Total revision cost (included):$___________ (rounds × cost per round)
  → This is already in your project price above ✓

ADDITIONAL REVISION PRICING (for extra rounds):
Option A — Hourly: $___________/hr (your standard rate or slightly higher)
Option B — Flat per round: $___________ per additional round

Flat-rate formula:
  Hours per revision round × rate × 1.5 = flat revision fee
  ___________ × $___________ × 1.5 = $___________/round

Recommendation: Use a flat rate. Clients appreciate price certainty,
and it discourages excessive revision requests better than hourly does.

What to put in your proposal:
"This project includes [X] rounds of revisions. Additional rounds are
available at $[AMOUNT] per round, billed before work begins."


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SECTION 5 — RUSH FEE CALCULATOR
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Rush work means displacing other clients, working nights/weekends, and
elevated stress. Charge for it.

Standard project price:        $___________
Turnaround requested:          ___________ days
Your standard turnaround:      ___________ days
Is this a rush? (< 50% of standard timeline = yes)

RUSH FEE TIERS:
  25-50% faster than normal:   Add 25% → Standard × 1.25
  50-75% faster than normal:   Add 50% → Standard × 1.50
  75%+ faster (emergency):     Add 75% or more → Standard × 1.75+

Your calculation:
Standard price:                $___________
Rush multiplier:               × ___________
Rush project total:            $___________ ← QUOTE THIS

Rush fee tip: State your rush policy in your standard terms so clients
know upfront. "Rush projects (delivery in under [X] days) carry a 25-50%
surcharge." This prevents awkward conversations later.


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SECTION 6 — MINIMUM PROJECT FLOOR CALCULATOR
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Every project has overhead that isn't billable: discovery call, proposal
writing, contracts, onboarding, final delivery, invoicing. Know your floor.

NON-BILLABLE OVERHEAD ESTIMATE:
  Initial call/discovery:      ___________ hrs
  Proposal writing:            ___________ hrs
  Contract & admin:            ___________ hrs
  Client onboarding:           ___________ hrs
  Final delivery & handoff:    ___________ hrs
  Total overhead hours:        ___________ hrs

Overhead cost = Total overhead hours × your hourly rate
  ___________ × $___________ = $___________

MINIMUM PROJECT FLOOR = Overhead cost + minimum billable work

Minimum billable hours:        ___________ (set this: e.g., 3 hrs minimum)
Minimum billable cost:         $___________ (min hours × rate)

Project floor = Overhead cost + Minimum billable cost
  $___________ + $___________ = $___________ ← YOUR MINIMUM PROJECT FEE

Never take a project below this number. Small projects that look
profitable often aren't when you account for overhead.

Suggested minimum by rate:
  $50/hr rate:  ~$300-400 minimum project
  $75/hr rate:  ~$500-700 minimum project
  $100/hr rate: ~$750-1,000 minimum project
  $150/hr rate: ~$1,200-1,500 minimum project


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SECTION 7 — FINAL PRICE CHECK
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Before you put a number in your proposal, run it through this checklist:

□ Is this above my minimum project floor?           Price: $___________
□ Is this above my time-based cost (hours × rate)?  Floor: $___________
□ Have I added the 20% scope creep buffer?
□ Is there a rush fee if the timeline is compressed?
□ Does this reflect the value to the client, not just my time cost?
□ Would I feel good working at this price for the full project?
□ Am I pricing this confidently, not apologetically?

If you answered NO to any of these, adjust before you send.

FINAL PROPOSAL PRICE:          $___________


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PRICING PRINCIPLE TO REMEMBER

"The price you quote is the first signal the client gets about the value
of your work. If you don't believe in your price, neither will they."

Price for the outcome, not the hours. Price for your expertise, not just
your time. And always — always — know your floor before you write the number.
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