Beginner VOs: stop quoting the session fee and forgetting usage. Free, no signup.
A 60-second radio spot is about 150 words.
Usage fees are editable starting points from published non-union guides, not industry standards. Set your own numbers.
Pick the job preset: Radio spot, TV commercial, Explainer video, E-learning, Audiobook, or IVR and phone. Each fills word count, recording hours, session rate, editing hours, the usage medium and term, and a word hint like a 60-second radio spot is about 150 words. All defaults are editable starting points from published non-union guides, not standards. In the session card enter recording hours and your session fee per hour ($150 default), toggle live directed session (times 1.5 for the extra effort of a client directing live), add editing hours times your editing rate, and set free revisions included against expected revision rounds: the tool prices the extra rounds automatically. The usage card is the part beginners skip: pick the medium (none, unpaid organic, paid online ads, regional or national radio, regional or national TV) and the term (3 months, 1 year, in perpetuity). The usage-fee input auto-fills when medium or term changes and stays editable. The platform card has a toggle for Voices.com, Fiverr, or Bodalgo with the fee percent (20 default): it adds the cut on top so the client covers it. The quote card shows the line-item breakdown, the big total, the share of the quote that is usage, and the verdict: THE #1 BEGINNER TRAP when a broadcast job has zero usage, USAGE LOOKS LOW when usage undercuts the session fee on broadcast work, or QUOTE BUILT RIGHT. The reality check card compares your number against what you would have quoted and shows the dollars left on the table.
Example only, not typical pricing. Load the radio preset: 150 words (about 60 seconds), 1 recording hour at $150, 0.5 editing hours at $50, 2 free revisions against 3 expected rounds, usage regional radio for 3 months auto-filling $400. Session is $150, editing is $25, the extra revision is $75, usage is $400: subtotal $650. The platform cut is on at 20 percent, so $130 goes on top: total quote $780. Usage is $400 of $780, or about 51 percent of the quote. If you would have quoted the session fee only, $150, the reality check says you were leaving $630 on the table. Verdict: QUOTE BUILT RIGHT.
**What is a usage fee?**
The license for where and how long your recording plays. Session fee plus usage is the standard non-union quote structure in every published VO rate guide, and forgetting it is the classic beginner money leak.
**Why does the e-learning preset show zero usage?**
Its usage medium is "none," meaning a recording buyout: e-learning, IVR, and internal projects are paid once with no usage license. Zero usage is legitimate there; the beginner-trap verdict only fires on broadcast mediums.
**What triggers the #1 beginner trap verdict?**
Quoting paid social, radio, or TV work with a usage fee of zero. The tool treats that as a pricing error until you pick a medium and term, because that is where beginners give away the biggest checks.
**How does the platform-cut toggle work?**
It adds the platform percent on top of the subtotal, so the client pays it and your net still covers session, usage, and revisions. Without it, the fee quietly comes out of your pocket.
**Are the usage fees official rates?**
No. The tool says they are editable starting points from published non-union guides, not industry standards. Set them from your market and your experience before sending real quotes.