5 Essentials to Include in Every Service Quote (plus a free download!)
When I started freelancing in college, I had zero idea what I was doing. I mean, c’est la vie, no? That’s how most of us digital folks start out. But I’ve learned a lot in the last decade or so about the dos and don’ts of running your own business and providing digital services and products. I’ve always loved getting started on new projects and turning around quotes to clients, working to find a timeline that suits us both. Here are five things that you must include in your quote as a professional designer. Plus, scroll down to find a services quote template I created just for you.
1. Your contact hours
Having your contact information and theirs on a quote is pretty standard stuff. But adding indicating your preferred contact methods and including your hours of availability? This is clutch! Just because you’re a freelancer or a small business does not mean that you are on call. You’re not in emergency medicine. You do not wear a pager (your cell phone is not an appendage). Put your work hours on your quote and indicate how long you take to respond to inquiries. It’s called boundaries.
2. Separate line items for taxes
While you’re itemizing all of your services and associated costs, it’s important to clarify how taxes come into play. Make sure you create a subtotal for all service items, then add a line item for your state taxes that apply to sale of goods and services (in Tennessee, it’s a whopping 9.25% so it’s especially important to be up front about the cost this adds). This way, your client knows that you’re not up-charging them randomly and you’ve got your taxes covered rather than having to take them out of your overall income.
3. Payment schedule and options
Life happens. People forget that they were supposed to put that check in the mail or that the project is nearly done and it’s time to pay up to receive the goods. My solution? Include a payment schedule with your quote. I tend to ask for a 25% deposit upon signing of the quote, then 25% upon delivery; the middle 50% can be split up however you like. If you have a client who needs a payment plan, this is the place to work that out. Clear payment schedules help you and your client be on the same page and avoid any awkwardness around the exchange.
4. Terms and conditions of delivery
If you don’t stipulate (aka plan ahead), you’ll be stuck wishing you had. I’ve been here. Learn from my mistakes! Include something about when your payments are due and what happens if they’re late. Include something about your right to revise the quote if the project exceeds the original scope of work (this tends to be—and should be—an ongoing conversation with the client). Then don’t forget a piece about termination of work (if it doesn’t work out). You might also consider including who owns the rights to templates, images, or photos used or produced as a part of the work. You could even put something in there about your editing policy. Personally, I find folks notice a misspelled name, need to add one more team biography, or want to adjust the color of something within a week of delivery.
5. A space for both parties to sign
This is an essential component that I didn’t start including until I ran into issues with the above sections (really, payment and scope of work, but those are war stories for another time). Sign on the line, baby! It’s a helpful tool to have even if it’s a formality. Plus, we like when everything is official.
Additional Items to Include:
I’ll detail more about these in a future post, but here are some options that I’ve included depending on the project:
Change of leadership clause: if you’re working with a client on an on-going basis and the company structure changes significantly on their side, it’s important to have an opportunity to reassess the relationship and know with whom you’d be working as a contractor or freelancer.
Timeline: If it’s a larger project (50+ hours), I include a timeline of when we’ll have meetings or check-in points along the way, what I expect to be done when, and when their “homework” (photos from a staff page shoot, etc.) are due to me so that I can work with them.
Artwork release: Who owns what is always important! Protect yourself and your client in copyright terms by clarifying who can use what images are produced as a part of the project and for what future uses.
Design draft fee: No good designer works on spec (speculation). Creative work isn’t free! If you’re a client thinking of hiring a designer for a larger project and you want to see a draft of what they could concoct for you, expect to agree to pay a design draft fee (anywhere from $50 for t-shirts to $500 for murals) before you sign the quote. This is like the Costco sample situation: the samples are provided after you’ve paid the Costco membership, but before you purchase the official item.
Discounts and referrals: I love being able to provide my services at a discount to nonprofits and ministries that typically have a limited budget. They get high quality work at a price they can afford and I get to offer in-kind discount services as a part of my tax-deductible donation. My discount rates are pro-rated depending on the size of the project. You can also include a referral discount (if another client sends this one your way) or a first-time client discount (on smaller projects, I do 10% off which nicely offsets the tax rate for them, but still leaves me with a fair price for the value of my work).
Is this a lot of information? Looking for somewhere to start?
Lucky you! I’ve made you a template!
