Why days, and not a price for every extra
When every deliverable has its own line, the client goes through the quote with a pen. The Reels cut goes, the second interview goes, and you end up arguing about each one. On the day they ask for the extra cut anyway.
When your days are the price, the client is booking you for those days. A vertical cut, an extra interview, a quick photo of the team: it fits inside time they have already paid for. Listing those things as included shows the client what they get without giving them anything to cross out.
How to fill it in
- Shoot days. Full days on location, your camera and basic kit included. A half day is 0.5.
- Edit days. Count real days at the desk, including the rounds of changes. People usually undercount this line.
- Travel and kit hire. Real costs that change from job to job, so they go on top with a short note of what they are.
- Included. Everything the client gets. Be specific (lengths, formats, rounds of changes) so nobody has to guess later.
- Deposit, balance, validity. A deposit holds the dates. Sending the final files once the balance is paid saves a lot of chasing.
The sum, step by step
3 shoot days at $850$2,550
4 edit days at $500$2,000
Travel$320
Total$4,870
Use your own rates. If a client says it is too much, offer fewer days or a shorter film rather than a lower day rate. A rate dropped for one client tends to become the rate their friends expect too.
Mistakes that cost money
- Quoting the shoot by the hour. Clients start watching the clock, and setup and pack-down disappear.
- Leaving out the rounds of changes. Without a number, the fourth round is free.
- No deposit. A date held with nothing paid is easy for a client to drop.
- No end date on the quote. Six months later your rates have moved and the quote hasn't.