Estimate Template: How to Write Estimates That Win Big Projects
This post outlines an estimate template you can use on bigger projects, say over $5,000. We developed this template at my agencies over many years.
We estimated and billed our projects by deliverable, so you won’t find mention of hourly rates or the number of hours to complete the project.
Template: 12 Items to Include in Every Estimate
This was the template for our estimates:
Date
Client company name and address
Prepared for (name)
Executive Summary
Project Summary with details taken from brief
Deliverables – what you’re providing, broken down in stages
Calendar with a timeline
Rounds of revisions included
Sales Tax details
Terms & Conditions – payment terms, deposits, kill fees
Legal Terms – usage and copyright where appropriate
Acceptance and approval to start
What to Know Before You Write an Estimate
Writing estimates takes time. Before you start, you should have:
A written brief from the client
A budget range—is this a project for $1,000, $5,000, or $25,000?
A deadline—when is the project due?
The written brief should give you everything you need to start the project. If there’s missing information, ask now.
Don’t waste time writing an estimate if you’re guessing about project details.
What if They Don’t Give You a Budget Range?
They need to tell you. In their heads, they have a number. You need to know it before you invest time in writing an estimate.
If they don’t give you a number, you could say, “From what you’ve described, we’ve done similar projects that range from $5,000 to $7,500. Does that sound like your budget?”
Keep asking until you get a useful answer.
No Budget Number? Consider Walking Away
If they still don’t want to talk about money, think very seriously about whether you want to provide an estimate.
When you do business, both you and the client have to talk about money. It’s just part of business.
If they don’t want to do that, spend your time finding better clients.
The Basic Template for a Creative Services Estimate
At the top of the page:
Date
Client company name and address
Prepared for (name)
Include “Prepared for (name)” if you’re working with a bigger company. Estimates often go through layers of approval. That way, any reader knows who’s in charge of this project.
It’s not necessary for small companies.
The Key Elements of Project Estimates
These are the critical sections of the estimate:
Executive Summary
Project Summary with details taken from brief
Deliverables – what you’re providing, broken down in stages where appropriate, including any key meetings such as kick-off meeting, presentation meeting
Calendar with a timeline for larger projects
Rounds of revisions included
Importance of an Executive Summary in an Estimate
You need an Executive Summary if your estimate is more than two pages. It should be a couple of paragraphs that describe the project and its goals.
Don’t include details on budgets, timelines, terms and conditions, etc.
This is a “just the facts” summary.
The Project Summary Outlines Your Understanding of the Job
The Project Summary is your opportunity to assure the client that you understand the project.
We took much of this from the client brief and re-wrote and added detail rather than simply cut and paste.
We also included the goals for the project. Something like, “With this project, our goal is to deliver a specific outcome of X.”
Your Deliverables are the Heart of Your Project Estimate
The deliverables section is the most detailed part of the estimate. This is where you explain what you’re going to do, how you’ll do it, and how much it will cost.
For any significant projects, we broke down our deliverables into:
Project Kick-Off Meeting
Description of Deliverables
Initial Concept Presentation
Revisions and Final Concept Presentation
Production
Final Project Presentation
Project Kick-Off Meeting—All Hands on Deck
Again, this is for bigger projects and not necessary for small ones.
For the Project Kick-Off Meeting, we outlined our expectations of both parties to start the project.
We wanted a meeting, either face-to-face or over video conferencing.
We outlined who would be present for the meeting from our side. This included anyone who had a leading role in the project. It might be the creative director, copywriter, designer, programmer, and project manager.
We would ask the client to include anyone on their side who had a significant say in the project. For larger projects, this sometimes meant 5 or more people from the client team.
Even if the project involved only one person from each side, we wanted a formal start to the job.
In our description of the Kick-Off Meeting, we proposed a thorough review of deliverables. We asked for any research, documents, or other materials that would be helpful to us.
We made sure they knew this was the time to ask any questions before we got started.
We reviewed the calendar and timeline. It was the chance to adjust any due dates.
Description of Deliverables
If you do many similar jobs, create a mini-template for describing deliverables. This will save you a lot of time.
Break out your deliverables by phases, and perhaps tie a payment schedule to those deliverables.
The first deliverable was generally an initial concept presentation. Typically for any project that involved design, we would present three concepts. I wrote about Successful Concept Presentations and the Power of Three here.
We would include two rounds of revisions. Our Terms and Conditions would say, “Includes up to two rounds of revisions. Further revisions will be estimated if necessary.”
It’s up to your project manager to track revisions and let the client know when further revisions will be extra. Having a strong project manager prevents endless scope creep. I wrote more about How to Prevent Scope Creep and Get Paid What You’re Worth here.
Once the client chose a concept, we would start on the deliverables.
In some cases, there were smaller presentations along the way. This was especially the case where a larger project included sub-projects.
Break Out Sub-Projects Within Projects
Let’s say the project is a series of blog posts, each needing three quotes from experts.
That means for each quote, you’ll have to contact the experts. You’ll need to read background material, contact them, send questions in advance, interview them, write notes, write the quotes, get approvals, make some revisions… times three. That’s just for a few paragraphs of each blog post.
It’s a similar process for designers creating a piece that needs charts, graphs, photography, or illustrations. You need to create a look for one and get approval before completing them all.
Describe this process in your estimate. If you’re not careful, sub-projects can play havoc with your schedule.
You’re counting on timely approval for the first sample so you can keep going with the rest of the project.
Revisions and Final Project Presentations
For your final presentation, try to get everyone on the client side in the room or on the call.
Be prepared to gather feedback for any last revisions. Be sure you’ve included time in the schedule for revisions.
Depending on the type of project, there may be further production involved (printing, programming), or the files are ready for upload.
The Importance of a Calendar and Timeline
We always wanted projects with deadlines. They added a bit of pressure so that projects didn’t drift.
Your project managers run the calendars. This includes reminding clients when you need approval of a stage before moving on.
Calendars are essential for projects with immovable deadlines. Let’s say you must have a website ready for a product launch. You can’t be late! That’s where the project manager rules. If you and the client committed to a date, everyone had better deliver.
Finish the Estimate with These Elements
These are the “legal details” of your estimate. Create a template that you’ll use on most estimates.
Sales Tax details
Terms & Conditions – payment terms, deposits, kill fees
Legal Terms – usage and copyright where appropriate
Acceptance and approval to start
If you have to charge taxes, you should mention whether they’re included. In Ontario, Canada, we don’t include taxes in estimates. They only showed up on the invoice.
Terms & Conditions should include details on deposits, progress payments, and other payment terms such as kill fees. If you want a deposit before starting, this is the place to say it.
If you are offering any type of discount, include it here. I wrote about our discount offers in 5 Money Strategies for Freelancers.
Legal Terms can outline ownership and usage rights. In our case, we only said that rights go to the client only upon full project payment. In other cases, where software is embedded in the solution, you should include licensing details such as terms and renewal fees.
Acceptance and approval to start should be explicit. In some fashion, the client must give you formal approval to proceed.
They could sign the PDF or send it back with an email giving authorization. If they phone you, send them an email acknowledging the approval so you have a written record.
Billing by Deliverable? Here are the Logical Break Points
If you’re working on a big project, you should get paid along the way as you complete specific stages. In your estimate, break out costs for the various sections of the project.
In our experience, this is what worked:
An upfront deposit to start the project. About 25% of the total seemed fair, but feel free to adjust that.
An invoice at the presentation of initial concepts. You’ve done a good chunk of work to get to this point, so bill for it.
An invoice at approval of final files. This may be the last invoice, or if there’s still some management involved, the second last.
The last invoice will wrap up any final details.
This is for a large project that might run over a few weeks. For shorter ones, you may want 100% in advance, or 50% upfront, and the rest upon completion.
Try to avoid billing 100% upon completion. Some projects take forever, and you’re stuck being the bank for the client. It’s a killer on your cash flow. Be a business person. Get paid before you start or as you go.
Avoid “Rough Estimates” or “Ballpark Figures”
Try to be precise in your project-based estimates. Rough estimates and ballpark figures can waste time and often lead to misunderstandings.
Client: “You said this would be about $5,000.”
You: “Yeah, but that was before you turned it into a $20,000 project.”
It’s not a good way to work. Take the time to get all the details, then provide solid estimates. If the project starts to change along the way, provide additional estimates. Don’t simply do the work and then surprise the client with an unexpected invoice. Always get an approved estimate before doing additional work.
Last Words—Physical Design of Estimates
We were old-school and wrote our estimates in MS Word. However, we had one of our designers create a template that specified the fonts, font sizes, leading, use of bold, all caps, etc.
Our estimates looked good, even before you got to the numbers. They were also easy to scan with appropriate headings and subheads.
Appearances matter. Make your estimates (and invoices, too) attractive. Why not? There’s enough ugliness in the world.
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