Plan stages and roles
Stages, their lengths and the generic roles in each. Name people later.
Project pricing software
A price built on the work behind it.
Project pricing software for consulting and professional-services teams. Plan the work stage by stage and get the price for your target margin, or check the margin on a price you already have.
Before the proposal
Build a project cost estimate from the team you'd staff.
Every price shows the team and time behind it. Bottom-up project cost estimation
Calculate cost and margin
Hours × planning rate, plus your cost rules.
Set the price
Worked out for your target margin, or the price you already quoted.
Compare and finalize
Each option is a strategy. Lock one as the baseline.
Stage-based estimation
Estimate the work stage by stage.
Pick stages such as Discovery, Development, UAT and Hypercare, set each length, and load each role per stage. Effort and labor cost follow from the plan.
What an estimate holds
- Stages from your own stage library, in order.
- Lengths in days, weeks or months, counted on working days.
- Each role's loading per stage, kept even when two stages share a week.
- A weekly or monthly grid, one switch away.
- Reusable estimation templates, labelled by complexity.
Price from a target margin
Get the price for your target Managed Margin.
The price is worked out so the Managed Margin, after labor, project costs and the overhead share, meets your target. Already have a price? Enter it and see the margin instead.
Price range and T&M rates
- Fixed price at your target margin.
- If sold as T&M: the minimum billing rate per role.
- An optional ROM range, with the margin at each end.
Project rate card
Everyone prices from the same planning rates.
Finance keeps one catalogue of planning rates, entered or imported. Individual employee costs stay separately protected.
What a planning role holds
- Designation, seniority and skill.
- Work location, onshore or offshore.
- Hourly planning rate and currency.
- Import the catalogue from CSV or Excel.
Cost rules and margin layers
See which costs reduce which margin.
Labor is hours × planning rate; cost rules add the rest. Targets are set on the Managed Margin. Gross, contribution and net margin
| Cost group | Examples | Reduces |
|---|---|---|
| Direct delivery costs | Labor, subcontractors | Gross delivery margin |
| Variable project costs | Sales commission, project management overhead, contingency | Contribution margin |
| Organization overhead | Corporate overhead | Managed Margin (after all costs) |
Pricing scenarios
Compare project pricing scenarios before you quote.
Each strategy shows revenue, cost, gross delivery margin, Managed Margin and markup. It is arithmetic on your inputs, not an AI guess.
- Fixed price or time and materials.
- Each option against its target Managed Margin.
Project pricing questions.
Short answers, with a guide for each.
How do I price a consulting project?
Plan the roles and hours, cost them at your planning rates, add your cost rules, then set a price that leaves the margin you need. Worked project pricing example.
Can I estimate before I know the price?
Yes. Plan the stages and each role's effort, choose a target Managed Margin, and the fixed price and minimum T&M rates are worked out. Resource-based cost estimation.
Can I start from a price I already quoted?
Yes. Enter the fixed price or T&M rates, and each staffing option shows its cost and margin at that price. Comparing pricing scenarios.
Does a complexity label change the effort?
No. Complexity labels a reusable estimation template. Stage lengths and loading come from the template or your edits.
What does a ROM range change?
Only the price. It shows the price range and the margin at each end; stages and effort stay as planned. What a ROM estimate is.
What happens to the option we win?
It becomes the approved pricing baseline: the agreed plan delivery is measured against. The other strategies stay saved. Project pricing to delivery handoff.
Does it price time-and-materials work?
Yes. Fixed-price revenue is the quoted price; time-and-materials revenue comes from billable hours at client billing rates. Cost rate vs billing rate.
Can pre-sales price without seeing employee pay?
Yes. Pre-sales prices from role-based planning rates; individual pay is protected by its own permission. Rate card access controls.
Is Managed Margin proposal software?
No. It prices the team and margin behind a quote; it does not write proposal documents. Project pricing for professional services.
Is there a tool for resource-based estimating?
Yes. Managed Margin is a resource-based estimating tool: you enter the roles, their loading by stage and the approved planning rates, add other costs, and it prices to your target managed margin. You can compare scenarios before quoting and carry the chosen one into delivery as the baseline. Resource-based estimating explained.
Give your next quote a stronger foundation.
Start with your planning rates and estimate one real piece of work.