Overestimating?
October 20, 2010
It can be a problem when your guesstimates turn into estimates and then they turn into a hard and fast quote. Then your vendor quotes run over budget and invoices keep coming in along with different purchase orders from the agency are never written. Billing more than you estimated makes the matters worse and often causes a bad relationship between you and your clients. This huge problem usually occurs when a client asks an innocent question like how much the ad costs, which is when you say a lower price than the actual price. It would be easier if you use a percentage of the media budget. Also remember to makes sure that you let there be adequate time for developing a real estimate. Try not to get too caught up in all of the new and different creative that when it comes to the estimate you just think of the right price and “wing it.” Make a note of every change the from the moment the document is sold. Try to write everything down so that you have a paper trail. The only way to get that money is to use the documentation. You make revised estimates according to the changes that come in. Try for all of the vendors you are using bill you ASAP. The smaller the vendor the more careless the billing and there’s nothing that gets the client more mad than a bill for something they thought was done and ready. If you dont have documentation make sure your invoice never goes over your estimate. Poorly executed timekeeping like late or sloppy time sheets are the cause to not being able to control your own internal costs which makes you look very foolish to your client. These guidelines should get you in line and keep your agency in check along with keeping you clients happy.
