Price the job right, in front of the customer. Free, no signup.
Set once. These drive the reality check at the bottom.
Pick the garment to load its common alterations. Prices are editable starting points based on commonly published US price lists - set them to your market.
The things beginners forget to charge for.
How long will this job actually take you, start to finish?
Estimates for planning only. Default prices reflect commonly published US alteration price ranges - always set them to your local market and skill level.
Set your rates once at the top: target dollars per hour ($35 default) and your minimum job fee ($15 default) drive the reality check at the bottom. Set the complexity percentages: beading or embellishment percent (30 by default) and rush fee percent (25 by default), plus flat upcharges for lined garment ($15), leather or heavy fabric ($12), and an extra fitting beyond the first ($10). Pick the garment: Pants, Shirt or Blouse, Dress or Skirt, Jacket or Coat, Wedding gown, or Jeans. Each loads that garment's common alterations as checkboxes with editable prices, labeled as starting points from commonly published US price lists. Check off the work the customer wants, or use the add-custom-line-item button for anything not listed. Toggle the complexity add-ons beginners forget to charge for: lined garments, beading as a percent of the subtotal, leather or heavy fabric, rush as a percent applied after beading, and the extra fitting. The quote card lists every line item live and applies your minimum fee with a note when the total comes in under it. At the bottom, the reality check takes your estimated hours for the job, start to finish, and shows your effective dollars per hour against your target: PRICED RIGHT, CLOSE BUT LEAKING with the raise amount, or UNDERPRICED with the total you would need.
Example only, not typical pricing. Say a pair of pants: check Hem at $25 and Taper legs at $35, for a $60 subtotal. Toggle the lined garment add-on at $15, bringing it to $75. Toggle beading at 30 percent: $75 times 0.30 is $22.50, for $97.50. Toggle rush at 25 percent: $97.50 times 0.25 is $24.375. The total is $121.88, shown as a $122 quote. If the job takes you 2.5 hours start to finish, the rate is $121.88 over 2.5, or $48.75 per hour, against a $35 target: PRICED RIGHT. Quote the same two alterations at $60 with no add-ons and the rate is $24 per hour, which is what beginners leave on the table.
**Why does beading get its own percentage?**
Beaded and embellished formalwear slows everything down, and one careless snip means restitching trim for free. A percentage of the subtotal scales the upcharge with the size of the job, which a flat fee cannot do.
**Does rush apply before or after beading?**
After. The tool adds beading to the subtotal first, then applies rush to the combined amount, because rushed beaded work is the most expensive kind of sewing there is.
**When does the minimum fee kick in?**
When the checked items, extras, and percentages total less than your minimum fee, the quote floors at the minimum and the breakdown says so. A quick hem still takes a fitting slot, machine time, and your press.
**How is the raise amount calculated?**
If your rate lands between 80 percent of target and target, CLOSE BUT LEAKING shows your target times your hours minus the total. That number is the raise that gets this job to your target rate.
**Are the default prices standard rates?**
No. They are editable starting points based on commonly published US price lists. Set them to your market, your skill level, and your costs before quoting real customers.