metricvalley Spreadsheet tools for small agencies

Help · Project Quote Calculator

Set up the Project Quote Calculator

Updated

This guide covers version 1.0.1, the version you download today. If you downloaded version 1.0.0, it has the same sheets, inputs and results; the changelog lists the difference (five columns are wider). Setup takes about 10 minutes, plus about 1 minute per role and per scope line. A first quote with 3 roles and 6 deliverables takes about 15 minutes.

Before you start

  • You need Excel 365 on a Windows desktop computer. That is where this version was tested. Other apps are listed on the compatibility page.
  • Have each role's cost ready: annual pay and on-costs for employees, or the hourly or daily rate for contractors. Know your target margin and how you round prices.
  • Sheet names and column labels below are quoted exactly as they appear in the version 1.0.1 file.

Yellow cells: you type. Leave every other cell to the workbook.

1. Download the ZIP file

About 2 minutes.

  1. After payment, Payhip shows a download link on the confirmation page and sends the same link by email.
  2. Click the link and save the ZIP file (about 285 KB) somewhere you will find it again, such as a "Metricvalley" folder in Documents.

Can't find the email? Search your inbox and spam folder for "Payhip". If it isn't there, email [email protected] with the address you used at checkout and we'll resend the link.

2. Unzip it

About 1 minute.

Excel can open a file from inside a ZIP, but it opens a temporary read-only copy, and your changes may be lost. Extract the files first.

  • Windows: right-click the ZIP file, choose Extract All, then Extract.
  • Mac: double-click the ZIP file. The files appear in a new folder beside it.

You now have ten files:

File What it is
project-quote-calculator-v1.0.1-blank.xlsx The workbook for your own quotes
project-quote-calculator-v1.0.1-worked-example.xlsx The same workbook with a demo team and quote
START-HERE.html Open this first: what each file is and where to begin
quick-start.md Setup steps, a first quote, reading the Dashboard and printing the quote
metric-dictionary.md Every input and calculated field defined
support-and-compatibility.md What is tested, what isn't, and how to ask for help
license.md License terms for both licenses
release-notes-v1.0.1.md What is in this version
money-back-guarantee.md The 30-day money-back guarantee
MANIFEST-project-quote-calculator-v1.0.1.sha256 SHA-256 checksums, so you can check every file arrived intact

START-HERE.html opens in any browser. The .md files open in any text editor, such as Notepad or TextEdit.

3. Open the worked example, then save your master copy

About 2 minutes.

  1. Open project-quote-calculator-v1.0.1-worked-example.xlsx to see a finished quote. Every client and role in it is fictional, and the status reads SAMPLE until the sample data is cleared.
  2. Open project-quote-calculator-v1.0.1-blank.xlsx. Excel may show a yellow Protected View bar that says the file came from the internet. This is normal for any downloaded file. Click Enable Editing. The file has no macros, so you will not see a macro or content warning.
  3. Choose File > Save As and save it as your master copy, for example quotes-master.xlsx. Keep the format as Excel Workbook (.xlsx).

One quote per file: for each new quote, you save a copy of the master named with the quote number. Every sheet is protected without a password, so a formula can't be overwritten by accident. If you want to change the workbook itself: Review > Unprotect Sheet. The Guide sheet explains every input, calculation and check.

4. Fill in the Setup blocks on Start Here

About 3 minutes.

Business details, currency, the tax line and your pricing policy: target margin, contingency and price rounding. The defaults are USD, a 45% margin target, 10% contingency and rounding up to the next 100.

5. Add your team on Team Rates

About 1 minute per role.

One row per role or person with their cost. For an employee: annual pay, employer on-costs, paid hours, leave and holiday hours, and the share of time spent on delivery. For a contractor: the rate and whether it is per hour or per day. The workbook works out what a delivery hour of each role costs.

6. Start a quote on Quote Details and Scope Lines

About 2 minutes, plus about 1 minute per scope line.

  1. Save a copy of your master named with the quote number.
  2. On Quote Details: client, project, quote number, quote date and quote type (Fixed fee, Time and materials or Retainer). Type dates the way your computer shows them, or as 1 Oct 2026, which Excel reads the same way on US, UK and Australian settings.
  3. On Scope Lines: one row per deliverable, with up to three roles and their hours, plus any direct cost and how it is charged (at cost or with a markup).

7. Read the Dashboard

About 2 minutes.

  1. Check the status in row 3. OK means the totals are complete. CHECK names the problem; column D says what to do.
  2. Read the key figures: the price excluding tax, delivery cost, contribution before overhead, quoted margin (% of price), markup on delivery cost (% of cost) and the headroom over your walk-away price.
  3. The price build-up shows every step from scope hours to the total, in your business currency and the quote currency. The discount block shows what a discount gives away.

Margin is a share of the price; markup is a share of cost. A 45% margin is an 81.8% markup.

8. Print the quote

  • The Quote sheet's print area is one page, portrait, US Letter (it also fits on A4). Use File > Print, or File > Export > Create PDF/XPS.
  • While the status is not OK, the page shows DRAFT or SAMPLE under the title. Send a quote only when the status reads OK.
  • The printed quote never shows cost rates, labor cost, delivery cost, contingency, margin, markup, the walk-away price, the exchange rate or internal notes.

9. Clear the worked example, and start each new quote

  1. Worked example: click the Name Box (left of the formula bar), choose MV_Clear_ScopeLines and press Delete. Repeat for MV_Clear_QuoteDetails and MV_Clear_TeamRates. The Sample data check and the status then read OK; Setup is kept.
  2. New quote from your master copy: save a copy first, then clear only MV_Clear_ScopeLines and MV_Clear_QuoteDetails. Team rates and Setup stay.

Below the Dashboard's print area, rows 120 to 151 lay the quote out as Work Log rows for the Client Profitability Tracker; cell A121 names the range to copy. Paste values only: in Excel, Home > Paste > Paste Values (on Windows also Ctrl+Alt+V, V, Enter). The two files are never linked.

Getting help

Email [email protected]. Support replies within 1 business day (Monday to Friday, Australian Eastern time). Include the version (1.0.1, on Start Here), your Excel version, the sheet and row, what you expected and what you saw. Send demo or redacted figures only, never real client records.

The Google Sheets edition is free for every buyer when it ships, delivered through your Payhip download link. Don't import the .xlsx files into Google Sheets.