Copy last job, change some numbers
The producer has a brief for a two-day shoot with interviews and B-roll, a week of edit, a grade and a mix, plus cutdowns. She opens a quote from a similar job six months ago, saves a copy and starts changing lines. Crew rates have gone up since then. The old job had its own kit, this one needs a hired lens. She forgets travel for a location outside the city and the music licence.
Another producer quotes a similar job the same week with a different day rate for the editor and no line for the grade. The client, who asked both producers informally, gets two different prices for similar work from the same company.
Why quotes are inconsistent
- Every producer has their own quote spreadsheet.
- Rate cards are updated in one place but old quotes carry old rates.
- Commonly forgotten items, like music, travel, insurance, catering and hard drives, depend on memory.
- Quotes and internal budgets are separate, so they drift apart.
- Terms like revision rounds and rushes are written differently each time.
What inconsistent quotes cost
Forgotten costs come straight off the margin. Different prices for similar work confuse clients and look unprofessional. Producers spend hours per quote on arithmetic and formatting instead of thinking about the approach. And the internal budget, built separately, never quite matches what the client agreed. New producers are hit hardest. Without years of jobs behind them, they do not know which costs are easy to forget, so their quotes are the ones most likely to be missing the drives, the catering or the travel day.
How we build the quote builder
- Your rate card is held in one place: crew roles, kit packages, edit, grade, mix, animation, and standard mark-ups, updated centrally.
- A quote starts from the brief. Film type, shoot days, locations and deliverables pre-fill the likely lines.
- Standard packages can be added in one click, such as interview kit, two-camera kit, or edit and grade for a short film.
- A checklist prompts for commonly forgotten items: music, travel and accommodation, catering, drives, insurance, subtitles, extra revision rounds.
- Terms come from standard clauses, including revision rounds, rushes and music use, so they are the same on every quote.
- The quote is generated as a PDF in your branding, and the same figures become the job's internal budget when the client accepts.
- Accepted quotes can be pushed to Xero or QuickBooks as a quote or a deposit invoice.
| Quote section | Comes from |
|---|---|
| Crew | Rate card and shoot days from the brief |
| Kit | Packages and hires |
| Post | Edit, grade, mix and deliverables |
| Other | Checklist of commonly forgotten items |
| Terms | Standard clauses |
Quoting the next brief
The producer opens the brief and starts a quote. Two shoot days, interview kit and a second camera package are added. Edit, grade and mix are suggested from the deliverables. The checklist reminds her about travel for the location outside the city and music. Terms include two revision rounds and rushes on request. The PDF is ready the same afternoon.
When the client accepts, the internal budget is created from the same lines, and budget tracking begins from there.
Directors can see all open quotes in one list: sent, awaiting reply, accepted, lost. Over time the lost quotes carry a reason where the producer knows it, which is useful when deciding whether rates or packages need a rethink.
Does quoting work like this at your company?
- Quotes start from a copy of an old spreadsheet.
- Different producers quote different rates.
- Music, travel or drives have been left off quotes.
- Terms differ between quotes.
- The internal budget is built separately from the quote.