Photography & events
Editing Pricing Calculator
Prices editing work, where the per-image time and the revision rounds set it.
Result
Overhead and margin are taken as shares of the selling price, which is why the cost is divided rather than multiplied. Adding 15% to cost does not produce a 15% margin. Gross profit is what is left after the cost of doing the job. Overhead comes out of that: the building, the office wages, the vans, insurance, software and advertising. A healthy gross margin still loses money if overhead is larger.
Get a Free Business AuditHow the calculation works
Time per image at the editor's rate, times the image count, with revision rounds defined and additional rounds priced. Editing prices per image rather than per hour in most arrangements, which means the time per image at the standard required is the figure that has to be known.
What moves the number
- Time per image at the standard required.
- Image count.
- Revision rounds included.
- Complexity, which varies enormously between images.
Where this one goes wrong
Revision rounds are where editing work loses money, because an undefined number of rounds is an open obligation and a client with no limit will use several, so the agreement has to state how many are included and what further rounds cost. Image complexity is the other variable: a flat per-image price across a set containing both simple and difficult images averages out only if the mix is what was assumed, and a set weighted toward the difficult ones loses money.
Before you quote
- Define the revision rounds included and price the rest.
- Review a sample before quoting a flat per-image price.
- Know your actual time per image at each standard.
Questions
About this calculator
Why do revision rounds matter so much?
Because an undefined number is an open obligation, and a client with no limit will use several. Stating how many are included and what further rounds cost is normal practice and it is where editing work most often loses money.
Should editing be priced per image or per hour?
Per image is the usual arrangement and it requires knowing your actual time per image at the standard required. Per hour is safer for unpredictable work, and clients generally prefer the certainty of per image.
Does image complexity vary much?
Enormously, which is why reviewing a sample before quoting a flat per-image price matters. A set weighted toward difficult images loses money at a price that averaged out across a different mix.
The formula
price = direct cost / (1 - overhead% - margin%)
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How to use this calculator
- Labour cost ($). Burdened: wages plus tax, insurance and the vehicle, not the hourly wage.
- Materials cost ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $60.
- Other direct costs ($). Permits, disposal, equipment hire, subcontractors.
- Overhead rate (%). Overhead as a share of revenue. Work it out from last year's accounts.
- Target net margin (%). Enter your own figure; the page starts at 15%.
The result updates as you type, so you can try a figure, see what it does to price to quote, and change it back. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere or saved.
A worked example
These are the figures the calculator opens with. Every number in the results column below is produced by the same calculation the page runs, so you can follow it through before putting your own figures in.
What goes in
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Labour cost | $300 |
| Materials cost | $60 |
| Other direct costs | $0 |
| Overhead rate | 22% |
| Target net margin | 15% |
What comes out
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Price to quote main result | $571.43 |
| Direct cost | $360 |
| Overhead recovered | $125.71 |
| Net profit | $85.71 |
| Gross margin | 37.0% |
| Markup on direct cost | 58.7% |
Quote $571.43 to cover $360 of direct cost, recover $125.71 of overhead and leave $85.71 of net profit. That is a 58.7% markup on cost.
How sensitive the answer is
Holding everything else steady and changing only labour cost, this is what happens to price to quote. It is worth knowing which of your inputs the answer actually hinges on, and which barely move it.
| Labour cost ($) | Price to quote |
|---|---|
| $150 | $333.33 |
| $225 | $452.38 |
| $300 example above | $571.43 |
| $450 | $809.52 |
| $600 | $1,048 |
Every other input is held at the example value while this one changes, which is not how a real job behaves. Treat it as a guide to which number matters most, not as five separate quotes.
What each figure means
- Labour cost ($)
- Burdened: wages plus tax, insurance and the vehicle, not the hourly wage.
- Materials cost ($)
- A money amount, starting at $60.
- Other direct costs ($)
- Permits, disposal, equipment hire, subcontractors.
- Overhead rate (%)
- Overhead as a share of revenue. Work it out from last year's accounts.
- Target net margin (%)
- A percentage, between 0 and 80, starting at 15%.
What the results tell you
| Result | What it is |
|---|---|
| Price to quote | The headline result. A money figure. |
| Direct cost | A money figure. |
| Overhead recovered | A money figure. |
| Net profit | A money figure. |
| Gross margin | A percentage. |
| Markup on direct cost | A percentage. |
Estimating is the easy part
The jobs you never hear about cost more than the ones you mis-measure. BDEVY builds the marketing, systems and automation that bring them in.