This document provides tips for freelancers on how to create accurate estimates for clients. It recommends obtaining key project details from the client, such as deliverables, timelines, costs, travel expenses, and revisions. Freelancers should track their time using apps to monitor how long tasks take. For new freelancers, the document suggests listing out the entire creative and administrative process, estimating times for each stage, determining hourly rates, and putting together an itemized estimate with a total. Communication with clients is also noted as a billable part of the work.

1. How to Estimate Costs Like a Pro
(Even When You Don't Feel Like One)

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One of the inevitable moments of «freelance real life»
is when your potential client asks for an estimate.
Let’s walk through the process of an estimate, shall we?

3. The key is to obtain as many project details as you can
from the potential client, so that you can provide an
estimate that is as accurate as possible.
✦ What will you be delivering to the client as a final product or service?
✦ What is the timeline that is expected of you?
✦ How much will this cost you in supplies?
✦ Does the job involve travel and consequential mileage costs?
✦ How many revisions are you willing to do?

4. When creating an estimate,
remember:

5. COMMUNICATION.
When we’re talking about creative work, there is often a
lot of back-and-forth via email and phone.
REMEMBER THIS:
Communication is billable. «Work» does not simply
begin at production.

6. TRACK YOUR TIME.
The options for time-tracking are plentiful, easy-to-use,
and often free.
Toggl, Harvest, and RescueTime are some of the top
apps and websites that allow you to monitor the time it
takes to complete necessary project tasks.

7. What if
you’re
new ?

8. START WITH THE DETAILS.
✦ List out your entire creative and administrative process, including
everything from initial client emails to final revisions.
✦ Include each proposed detail of the project, being sure to account for
things like mileage and material costs.
✦ Make your best guess as to how long each stage will take. Everyone
has to start somewhere, and if you’ve put forth the effort to assign an
estimated time to each stage of your process, you’ll be far more
accurate than simply throwing out a number.

9. ✦ Determine your rates. Whether you want to
charge by project or by the hour, it’s a good idea
to figure up your ideal hourly rates and give
yourself a basic framework. We’ve got a handy
hourly rate calculator that can help you with
that.
✦ Put it all together. Include a project description
in which you can write a paragraph or two about
the scope (and value) of the project, then create
an itemized list detailing each stage of the
process and its associated cost, ending with an
estimated total.

10. Want to know more about this tools?
READ THE ARTICLE

11. Don’t get caught in a courtroom... with a contract
that’s not legally binding.
www.approveme.me