01
Audit the pricing inputs
Gather the full cost picture and test the estimate for gaps, double counting, weak assumptions, and hidden scope.
Made for Freelancers
Set a Price That Protects the Project
Also useful for: people in Freelancers
35 min
Advanced
Pricing
Earn More
Turn project effort, overhead, risk, and reserved calendar space into a clear price range with firm commercial guardrails.
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Make Your Play
Give us the situation. We’ll build the prompt.
Protect profit before quoting by exposing the costs and risks that a simple hourly estimate misses.
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What you'll do
This is the plan inside your prompt. Add your details first. Then follow these steps with ChatGPT or Claude.
02
Calculate the protected fee
Build the cost base, apply risk and margin deliberately, and compare the result with the client's commercial constraints.
03
Package the pricing position
Convert the calculation into a client-ready position with scope controls and a clear response to budget pressure.
Make Your Play
Set a Price That Protects the Project
Tell us what the prompt needs to know
Start with the questions below. Each answer personalizes the playbook and builds the prompt you’ll use at the end.
Your situation
Describe the client, the problem, the requested work, and the intended result.
0/10000
List each deliverable, what is included, and any work that is explicitly outside scope.
0/10000
Enter the expected hours for all planned work before revisions.
Enter the lowest internal hourly rate that covers compensation, taxes, downtime, and normal business costs.
Enter the hours likely needed for the included revision rounds.
Enter the share of software, insurance, administration, and other overhead assigned to this project.
Enter subcontractor, licensing, travel, production, or other direct outside costs.
Estimate the income likely to be lost because this project blocks capacity for other work.
Enter a whole-number contingency percentage based on scope uncertainty, dependencies, approval complexity, and deadline pressure.
Enter the whole-number profit margin the final price should preserve after project costs.
Describe the business value, visibility, reuse potential, urgency, relationship value, and any strategic upside or downside.
0/10000
List the known budget, deadline, payment schedule, procurement rules, and negotiation limits.
0/10000
This playbook was updated. Review your inputs before copying.
What you'll do
Check a step when you finish it.
01
Audit the pricing inputs
Gather the full cost picture and test the estimate for gaps, double counting, weak assumptions, and hidden scope.
02
Calculate the protected fee
Build the cost base, apply risk and margin deliberately, and compare the result with the client's commercial constraints.
03
Package the pricing position
Convert the calculation into a client-ready position with scope controls and a clear response to budget pressure.
Fill in the fields above to generate your prompt preview.
Assembled prompt
Beginner instructions
Use honest internal numbers, even if they feel higher than what you’ve charged before. Count research, meetings, administration, production, review, and handoff time. If a number is uncertain, enter a realistic range in the related text field and let the analysis show scenarios.
Advanced instructions
Stress-test the estimate before accepting the recommendation. Compare expected hours with similar completed projects, separate ordinary revisions from scope changes, and treat calendar displacement as expected income genuinely lost rather than the full value of every blocked hour. Adjust the formula only when the commercial model requires it, and state the change clearly.
Use this when
You need to price a custom project, hold significant calendar space, account for uncertain scope, or check whether a client's budget can support the work.
You'll need
- Project summary
- Deliverables and boundaries
- Estimated delivery hours
- Minimum sustainable hourly rate
- Expected revision hours
- Allocated overhead
- External project costs
- Calendar displacement cost
- Risk contingency percentage
- Target profit margin percentage
- Value and strategic context
- Commercial constraints
You'll get
- Every material project cost accounted for
- Risk and revision exposure priced explicitly
- A protected price floor calculated
- A recommended quote and range selected
- Budget fit classified
- Price-protection terms ready for the proposal
By the end of this playbook
You will have:
- Every material project cost accounted for
- Risk and revision exposure priced explicitly
- A protected price floor calculated
- A recommended quote and range selected
- Budget fit classified
- Price-protection terms ready for the proposal
Examples
Progress 1 of 3