Is this apostille order actually worth it? Free, no signup.
The drive and the wait are real labor. Quoting per document while the SOS run costs you two hours is the classic leak.
Orders like this one, at the recommended price.
Apostille orders die on per-document pricing. A $150 flat fee looks fine until the Secretary of State run, the wait in line, and return shipping quietly eat the margin, so this calculator prices the order from every cost. Start with your bar: the minimum dollars per hour you will work for (75), a minimum order fee ($99), and a monthly take-home goal. Pick a preset: Single doc, 3-doc bundle, or Rush job, each filling document count, prep minutes per document, state fee, notarization, and shipping as editable starting points. The SOS-run card takes round-trip miles, vehicle cost per mile, wait and filing minutes, and parking or tolls; the tool estimates drive time at a 30 mph city average. Tick rush for a flat surcharge ($75 default). Results show a line-item breakdown, true cost, and the recommended order price (true cost plus rush, rounded up to $25, never below your minimum), plus the all-in per-document price. The verdict grades the margin, and the gut check grades the quote you would have given. No signup; runs on your phone.
Example only, not typical pricing. Single-doc preset at a $75 bar: drive time is 40 / 30 x 60 = 80 minutes. Total time is 30 prep plus 60 wait plus 80 drive = 170 minutes = 2.83 hours, worth 2.83 x 75 = $212.50. Out of pocket is 1 x (15 + 10) state and notary plus $15 shipping plus $10 parking plus 40 x $0.67 = $26.80 drive = $76.80. True cost = 212.50 + 76.80 = $289.30, rounded up to $300, above the $99 minimum, so the recommended order price is $300, or $300 per document all in. That covers cost but leaves almost no margin, so the verdict is CLOSE, BUT LEAKING. A $150 gut quote pays (150 - 76.80) / 2.83 = $25.84 per hour, leaving $150 on the table. A $4,000 monthly goal at $223.20 profit per order needs 17.92, rounded up to 18 orders, which is 51.0 hours a month.
**Q** Why does the tool count the SOS run as labor?
Because the drive and the wait are your time. An 80-minute round trip plus 60 minutes at the counter is 2.33 hours before you touch the document, and pricing per document alone hides all of it.
**Q** How should I set state fees if they vary?
State apostille fees run about $15 to $30 per document. Enter your state's actual fee per document; the tool multiplies it by the document count automatically. Fee caps vary by state, so check your state rules.
**Q** What is the rush surcharge for?
Same-day or priority turnarounds cost you queue position and schedule disruption. The Rush job preset turns it on at $75 by default; adjust it to what your market pays.
**Q** Why is the verdict only CLOSE, BUT LEAKING at $300?
Because $300 covers the $289.30 true cost but leaves just $10.70 of margin. One extra SOS trip and the order goes negative, which is exactly what the verdict warns about.
**Q** How many orders do I need per month?
Enter your monthly take-home goal and the planner divides it by profit per order. At $223.20 profit and a $4,000 goal, that is 18 orders, or about 51 hours of work.