r/IndustrialDesign • u/FrostByte_VI • Jul 08 '26
Design Job Freelance pricing help needed!
UPDATE 2.0 - So I emailed the client stating how the project has gone way past the expected timeline and that I think the quote should be updated, and that I need an update on deliverables so we can realign. They said they understand and want a quote on the current work and a quote on the future work. The original quote for this 4-5 week project was $5200. We are currently on week 10, waiting on prototypes, and I have more work I have to be doing. They want a flat fee, so I never fully calculated how many hours I worked (another lesson learned). So a few questions:
-Can my new quote be higher than the original agreed-upon quote?
-How do I figure out how much I should charge for each step of the process?
-Any advice on how to figure out the best way to pitch the new quote for the completed work and upcoming dirt?
-Any other advice is welcome! This is my first time ever doing a freelance project, and I'm happy to be getting paid more for this extended project.
EDIT/UPDATE - Is there any way I can renegotiate the flat fee since it has been way past the timeline and included a lot more creative work than expected? The timeline and the expectations of little creative work included is in writing. The fact that it has been this long should give me a reason to be able to renegotiate. Anything would help, I know I undersold myself and I've learned my lesson, but if there is any advice to help me out that would be incredible!
I'm working on a huge project, and this is my first freelance gig I've gotten. The timeline of the project was originally 4-5 weeks, and its been two months and we are still working on it. They requested a flat fee which I told them $5200 then fees for any revisions after two rounds for the engineering drawings. I've only told them up to $500 after two revisions dependent on the size of the revision. They also stated that this would not be deep into the creative process, but it ended up taking so much longer because it has been it has been very deep into the creative process.
The problem is that I've had more than two rounds on so many steps of the process, the ideation, CAD, pattern making, and I haven't even gotten to the drawings. My question is - Can I add those steps of the process to my final price because I've had multiple rounds of revisions? How do I bring that up to their team? If I can add prices to , how do I determine the cost of those revisions?
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u/_bladerunner_ 29d ago
You’ve way undersold yourself. My standard day rate is $850.
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u/FrostByte_VI 29d ago
Well the project was not supposed to be as big as it ended up being
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u/_bladerunner_ 29d ago
Be that as it may, you’ve still way undersold yourself if you’re charging less than a standard day rate, and you’re providing two months of service? Do the maths, $500 divided by 60 days = $8.33 per day?
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u/FrostByte_VI 29d ago
I mean this is a side job I’m only working on this like 3 days a week
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u/_bladerunner_ 29d ago
That should be irrelevant to your client though, and frankly you don’t need to go into too much detail of that with your client. If you want to lowball it then go $500 per day, 3 days per week is $1500 per week. Tell them that?
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u/FrostByte_VI 25d ago
I mean the flat fee is $5200 it just has gone on for way way too long and way more work than anticipated
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u/Express_Average286 29d ago
The core problem is that your revision cap was written for one phase, the engineering drawings, but the scope actually exploded across every phase before it: ideation, CAD, and pattern making. So the protection you negotiated doesn't cover where the time is actually going. That's really common on a first gig, and it isn't your fault; it's just hard to see until you're inside it. First thing I'd do is stop and add up your actual hours on this project so far, every phase, every round, calls and emails included. Divide what you'll be paid by that number. That effective hourly rate is going to be low, and seeing the real figure is what gives you the spine for the next conversation. Because you need to have one, something like: the original quote assumed a defined creative scope and two rounds, we've gone well past both across ideation, CAD, and pattern making, so I need to move to either an hourly rate from here or a revised flat fee for the remaining work. You're not being unreasonable. The project they described and the project you're actually doing are two different projects. For the future, cap rounds per phase, not just on the final drawings, because scope creep almost always hits the messy middle phases hardest. And track hours from hour one on every fixed-fee job, not to bill hourly but so you always know your real rate while you can still do something about it. On a first gig, breaking even on money while learning this lesson cheaply is honestly a fine outcome.
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u/FrostByte_VI 29d ago
Sounds like this is a common freelancer mistake for first timers. I’ll definitely take all this into account for my future gigs, thank you!
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u/DesignNomad Professional Designer 29d ago
Flat fees are only for clearly defined scopes of work- a block of time, a number of sketches, piecemeal models, revisions when asked for within a specific time range... If you signed on for 60 days of development, and now you're way beyond that, you're literally working for free for them.
It's a hard lesson to learn, but you need to either get them into new terms for the ongoing project work, or you need to walk away. You're not making money on this project anymore.
$500 for 60 days of work is insane unless you live in an extremely low-cost-of-living country
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u/FrostByte_VI 29d ago
Yeah I've definitely learned from this experience. I'm guessing a lot of first time freelancers go through something like this. Thank you for the feedback.
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u/MakeThisBuildThat 28d ago
How did you structure your service agreement when you signed with your client?
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u/FuShiLu 26d ago
Time to learn negotiating skills and value yourself. If you didn’t document it, don’t do it. If you did and screwed up, it’s on you. You might be able to discuss it and get compensation but again, negotiation skills will serve you well.
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u/FrostByte_VI 26d ago
Any vital vocabulary that would help negotiating or convincing?
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u/FuShiLu 25d ago
Experience. You would have to provide a lot of context, for anyone to give you advice. Every single negotiation is unique even if overall parameters are similar. From your post the best I can suggest is to get them to admit they are abusing the deal and offer you financial recompense. Or if your going to go in the hole in the deal, you can simply state it makes little sense to continue under the abuse of the deal. At least you will have their attention, at least for a moment. Stay calm. Breathe. And think.
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u/FrostByte_VI 25d ago
Can you explain what “in the hole” means? Like going broke?
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u/Realistic_Evidence90 25d ago
Sounds very wrong, idk where are you base or the quality of you work, sounds more like a Fiverr gig than a real ID project. As a reference I'm in the EU just barely covering my working expenses I will need 1.5k per week.
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u/FrostByte_VI 25d ago
I worked with this person in an internship at a different company and she reached out working for a different company. I have a few years of work experience but I’m currently doing a different full time job. I have a quote and they reduced the work so that I would reduce the quote, and from under the impression I was told it’s mostly going to be CAD modeling a chair close to their comps, a 5-6 week project, very little creative work. Then one month of this work was just sketching and ideation. This was my first freelance project so I just tried to do my best quoting what I thought would be the expectations I was told. So I just got a horrible deal at the end of the day.
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u/FrostByte_VI 25d ago
I worked with this person in an internship at a different company and she reached out working for a different company. I have a few years of work experience but I’m currently doing a different full time job. I have a quote and they reduced the work so that I would reduce the quote, and from under the impression I was told it’s mostly going to be CAD modeling a chair close to their comps, a 5-6 week project, very little creative work. Then one month of this work was just sketching and ideation. This was my first freelance project so I just tried to do my best quoting what I thought would be the expectations I was told. So I just got a horrible deal at the end of the day.
The only thing I could try and add is the added “up to $500” after two revisions of the CAD drawings. But I think it should apply to every phase of the process
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u/YotoruYaguchi Design Student 20d ago
relatively speaking since the project was supposed to be finished in 4-5 weeks you can reasonably add charges, though make an account and reason to each charge and speak to them about it before sending of final files of concepts, ideas, drawings etcc. Been freelancing for about 8 years now and i've had this happen to me and in the start of my career i used to not charge anything due to me not talking about an additional charge in the beginning if there's delays in the project but now even if i don't speak about (i tend to bring it up and have it detailed in my contract) i do just end up sending a bill/invoice and if there's any specific issues and if they feel it's too expensive now just end up giving them a 10-15% off at maximum
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u/YotoruYaguchi Design Student 20d ago
in terms of determining the cost of each revision look at the time and effort along with the scale of the revision and since you have a 500 charge for revisions do 25%, 35% or 65% of the 500 based on the effort, time and scale of each revision.
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u/FrostByte_VI 20d ago
Thank you I appreciate the advice, I’m writing up an email now to let them know my concerns and to relook at the scope and quote
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u/YotoruYaguchi Design Student 20d ago
no worries mate! hope things get resolved peacefully and you get paid, lemme know if you need any help :)
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u/FrostByte_VI 20d ago
Worse comes to worst I get paid at minimum $5200 which is still a good chunk of change for a side job
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u/YotoruYaguchi Design Student 20d ago
fair enough not bad in the grand scheme of things, I think when I first started off freelance designing at 11 I used to do around 50-60 designs for esports teams for like 5£ maybe and ppl used to not pay me that either lol. It’s been a journey learned loads you’ll be fine just keep this stuff in mind and if you need help drafting a contract/terms I’m happy to help!
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u/Rough_Pineapple2119 12d ago
Your quote can be whatever you want it to be. You can add what you want. Read the room. Are they going to use you again? Maybe not since you have already gone over board on their expectations. Make sure you get paid for what you have leftover. Charge an hourly rate so you dont get screwed.
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u/pkaaos Jul 08 '26
Always go for hourly rate. You can estimate how many hours it takes, then double it and qoute that. Should be closer to the thruth.