A client asks, “What does a customer story cost?” Before choosing a price, you need to know what the project contains. One interview and a written article are different work from a filmed interview, several edits and a multilingual approval process.
This worksheet starts with the agreed tasks. It is an internal estimating method for a writer or agency, not a market-rate guide. The numbers below are deliberately hypothetical. They are not TopTestimonial prices, recommended selling rates or evidence of what other agencies charge.
Define the unit you are estimating
Write a one-sentence deliverable description. For example: “One written customer story based on one remote interview, with a source check, two consolidated editorial review rounds and one approved website excerpt.” Specify what is excluded, such as filming, design, translation, travel or another interview.
Then list dependencies. Customer access, source data and the client’s reviewers may be needed before particular tasks can start. A missing input can change scheduling without producing another billable hour immediately. Record both effort and elapsed-time assumptions instead of treating them as interchangeable.
If the scope is still unclear, use the discovery-call questions first. For video, use the production brief to name each delivered version before estimating it.
A completed internal cost sheet
Fictional arithmetic exercise: a small writing studio estimates the written-story assignment above. Its internal hourly cost is assumed to be €45 for every task only to keep the example readable. A real studio may have different costs by role.
| Task | Assumed hours | Assumed internal cost | Subtotal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brief and background reading | 2 | €45/hour | €90 |
| Interview preparation, call and notes | 3 | €45/hour | €135 |
| Evidence checks and first draft | 5 | €45/hour | €225 |
| Two consolidated editorial review rounds | 3 | €45/hour | €135 |
| Website excerpt and delivery checks | 1 | €45/hour | €45 |
| Planned labour | 14 | €630 |
The studio also assumes €40 for a permitted external transcription service and holds two further labour hours as an internal uncertainty allowance: 2 × €45 = €90. Its planning total is therefore €630 + €40 + €90 = €760. This is a planning cost, not a customer quotation. Taxes, profit and other business expenses are not automatically covered by that total.
Explain where each assumption came from
Do not let a spreadsheet’s tidy arithmetic disguise an uncertain estimate. The two preparation hours may come from a previous comparable project. The five drafting hours may be a first estimate. Label the basis and the person who will revisit it.
For the fictional studio, one unresolved issue is whether the customer has material supporting a quantitative claim. The estimate assumes a source check, not a new data-analysis engagement. If the client requests an original calculation, that is a decision to scope separately.
Keep the uncertainty allowance visible internally. It gives the team a way to test the effect of additional effort; it is not a promise that every unforeseen request is included. Nor is it a substitute for correcting your own mistakes.
Turn cost into a deliberate quotation
The selling price is a separate business decision. It needs to account for the service you are providing, your costs, risk, commercial terms and desired return. A cost sheet does not establish what a buyer will accept or what the market will pay.
As a second hypothetical calculation, suppose the studio considers a quote of €1,000 excluding any applicable tax. Against the €760 planning total, the arithmetic difference is €240, or 24% of the quote. That is the illustrative project contribution on these assumptions, not a verified net profit margin. Any overhead not included in the internal cost still has to be considered.
Do not present the €1,000 figure as a fair price for all case studies. Changing the deliverables, team costs, review conditions or commercial terms changes the calculation.
Test the scope before sending the price
Try two practical variations. If a second interview adds three hours, the assumed labour rises by €135. If a separate translation review costs €180, add it as an external line with its actual scope. Together those changes take the fictional planning total from €760 to €1,075 before any other adjustment.
That comparison explains why the original illustrative €1,000 quote cannot simply absorb both changes while retaining its earlier economics. The client can choose a narrower deliverable, commission the additions or decline them. You now have something concrete to discuss instead of arguing about whether the project “feels bigger.”
Record changes after agreement in the revision log. Do not alter the original assumptions silently once work has started.
Compare the estimate with the finished work
At delivery, enter actual hours and expenses beside the plan. Identify why a task differed: a weak initial estimate, a missing input, a correction or an authorised addition. Those explanations improve the next estimate more than a single total does.
Finish with a short internal decision: which task needs a better estimate, which dependency belongs in the next proposal and which service you should stop including without discussion. The useful output is a quote you can explain and a project your team can deliver, rather than a price copied from an unrelated agency.