3 Best Practices For Your Creative Agency Estimates

Throwing in the extra effort at the estimating stage ensures that at the end of the project, all your agency’s time and expenses are paid for. On top of that, your client will be delighted to receive the project on time and on budget. That’s a win-win.

We previously wrote about 3 common mistakes creative agencies make with their estimates. Now we’re going to let you in on some key best practices when it comes to estimates.

1. Take Your Time

While it’s important to send estimates out to your client in a timely manner, try not to rush. Set aside enough time and use a project resource management software to carefully examine the job and scope of work. Have all your questions answered as best as possible, and don’t breeze over the unknowns. If your spidey-senses are tingling about a specific point — investigate! Find out the answers to any niggling questions, and allow for any costs that present themselves, in the cost estimate.

2.  Find a Happy Medium

To build trust with your client, you’ll want to create an estimate that offers enough detail so that they understand what is involved in the project, but not so much that it raises debate on specific details that may or may not actually come up in the job.

The most important reason to have enough detail is that you need to be clear about what it is the client is after. Ask lots of questions. Clarify any points that are vague, or may be missing. This is also the perfect time to educate your client in broad strokes about your overall process, so they can ask you questions too.

3.  Use Templates

By using a project resource management software that allows you to create templates for your creative agency estimates, or even use historical estimates as templates for new work, you’ll save a significant amount of time and improve accuracy. This way, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel every time. By also being able to use the structure of the estimate as the basis of the invoice saves you more time, and keeps things consistent for the client.

With Function Point’s project management software, create more accurate estimates using customizable templates, and save more time and resources with our set of workflow management tool. To learn what Function Point can do for your agency, book a personalized demo with one of our software specialists.

Marissa Ho

Brand & Product Coordinator

Marissa was raised on a steady diet of mountain and ocean activities. She’s a product marketer by day, reader by night, and human being by day and night.