PROJECT PRICING FOR CUSTOM WORK
Price with
confidence.
Build and revise quotes with your margin and the customer’s budget in view.
Use your own rates and costs, compare options side by side, then share a proposal your customer can accept online.
Free founding pilot · We’ll set up your rates and first quote with you.
For production teams, fabricators, and specialty installers who price custom work.
SummaProjects / Flagship product launchABSAMPLE PROJECT
Flagship product launch
EST-0042 · Sample Client
Crew · 380 hr × $92 = $34,960
Cost $22,80034.8%
| Item | Price | Cost | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Design | $22,000 | $11,000 | 50.0% |
| Build | $48,000 | $31,200 | 35.0% |
| Demo stage & product plinths | $28,000 | $18,200 | 35.0% |
| Brand walls & graphics | $20,000 | $13,000 | 35.0% |
| Technology | $44,500 | $28,500 | 36.0% |
| Crew | $34,960 | $22,800 | 34.8% |
| Build & install crew · 380 hr × $92 | $34,960 | $22,800 | 34.8% |
| Vendors | $13,200 | $12,000 | 9.1% |
| Logistics | $12,000 | $11,700 | 2.5% |
Simplified product illustration · Sample data
COMPARE OPTIONS
Compare what the customer pays,
and what you earn.
Most jobs can be done more than one way: as scoped, value-engineered, or with premium finishes. Price each option from your own rates and costs, then see what it does to your margin and the customer’s budget before you share it. A higher margin percentage can still mean less money earned.
Simplified product illustration · Sample data
COMPARE · FLAGSHIP PRODUCT LAUNCH
Target margin 33% · Budget $185,000Pick an option to see its numbers.
The customer pays $174,660 and you earn $57,460, a 32.9% margin: 0.1 pts under your 33% target.
BEFORE YOU SEND · BASE PLAN
Margin below target32.9% against a 33% target (0.1 pts under)
WHERE THE SELLING PRICE GOES · BASE PLAN
MARGIN BY CATEGORY · TARGET 33%
- Design50.0%
- Build35.0%
- Technology36.0%
- Crew34.8%
- Vendors9.1%
- Logistics2.5%
Design and technology earn the highest margins. Vendors and logistics barely cover themselves.
CUSTOMER VIEW
Flagship product launch
Design, build, technology, crew and logistics · Base plan
Share the link yourself. Customers accept or decline online, and Summa records their name and the time against the version they saw.
QUESTIONS
Frequently asked questions
What does the founding pilot involve?
The pilot is free. We’ll help you set up your rates and a first quote, ideally one you’ve already sent, so there’s no deadline riding on it. Then you build and revise real quotes in Summa, and we ask for candid feedback on what works and what’s missing.
Can I use Summa instead of my Excel quoting spreadsheet?
Yes, and you don’t start from scratch. You can import price lists, rate cards, customer lists and past-project summaries from CSV or Excel (.xlsx) files. You match the columns and preview the import before anything is added. If your quoting lives in a more complicated workbook, we’ll look at it with you and help prepare the data.
Is Summa estimating software, quoting software or proposal software?
It covers the pricing and the proposal. You build and check the price internally from your own rates and costs, compare options, then share a proposal link from the same project. Costs and margins never appear on what your customer sees. They accept or decline online, and Summa records their name and the time against the version they saw. Summa doesn’t send emails, take payments or create invoices.
How do you price a custom project?
Start from what the work costs: labor, materials and subcontractors. Then set the price that covers your overhead and earns the margin you’re aiming for, and check it against the customer’s budget. In Summa you build each line from your own rates and costs, see the margin on every line and on the whole project, and adjust before the proposal goes out.
Start with a quote you’ve already sent, or one you’re working on, and we’ll help you set it up in Summa.