Introduction

Before you build quoting templates in SignTracker, you need clear pricing rules.

This workbook helps you define how your shop calculates prices, applies markups, handles labor, and presents quotes to customers.

When this playbook is complete, quoting becomes:

• Faster
• More consistent
• Easier to train
• More profitable

This is not about clicking buttons.

This is about deciding how your shop prices work.

Section 1

How Quoting Works (The Cookbook Method)

Think about how a restaurant sets prices.

If someone asks, “How much is a cheeseburger?” they don’t guess.
They look at their recipe.

They know:

• What ingredients are used
• How long it takes to prepare
• What each part costs

By building recipes and organizing them into a cookbook, restaurants decide:

• What goes on the menu
• What to charge for each dish

Your shop works the same way.

In SignTracker:

• Materials are your ingredients
• Labor is your cooking steps
• A Quote Worksheet is one recipe
• Quoting Templates are your cookbook
• A Contract is the menu you hand the customer
• The Invoice is the bill at the end of the meal

Restaurants don’t guess prices.

They build recipes first.

That’s what you are about to do.

Section 2

Before You Build Templates: Decide Your Pricing Rules

Before writing recipes, you must decide how your kitchen runs.

Copy the pricing survey below into a Google doc or Word doc and complete the survey to define your shop’s pricing standards.

Internal Pricing Survey

1. Materials Strategy (Your Ingredients)

Material pricing method:
☐ Retail price (what we charge customers)
☐ Cost + markup

Default material markup (if used): ________ %

Markup structure:
☐ Same markup for all materials
☐ Different markups by material type

How will material waste be handled?
☐ Built into pricing
☐ Waste percentage added
☐ Separate waste fee

Waste % or fee: ___________________________

How are outsourced/vendor materials handled?
☐ Marked up
☐ Passed through at cost
☐ Other: ___________________________

2. Labor Strategy (Your Cooking Steps)

Standard shop labor rate: $________ / hour

Does this rate include overhead?
☐ Yes
☐ No

Labor rate structure:
☐ Same rate for all labor
☐ Different labor rates

Design rate: $________ / hour
Production rate: $________ / hour
Installation rate: $________ / hour

Labor pricing method:
☐ Retail labor rate
☐ Labor cost + markup

Labor markup (if used): ________ %

Will labor be shown separately on quotes?
☐ Yes
☐ No (included in finished product price)

3. Printing & Machine Strategy

How is printing charged?
☐ Included in material price
☐ Charged separately

If separate, method:
☐ Square foot
☐ Linear foot
☐ Run charge (estimated machine time)
☐ Other: ___________________________

Printing rate/details: _______________________

Is machine time charged separately?
☐ Yes
☐ No

Machine rate (if used): $________ / hour

How is double-sided printing handled?
☐ Separate line item
☐ Additional print charge
☐ Separate template

4. Add-ons & Extra Fees

Common add-ons (hemming, grommets, laminate, etc.) are:
☐ Included in base price
☐ Separate line items

How are rush charges handled?
☐ Flat fee
☐ Percentage of job
Amount: ___________________________

Credit card surcharge (if any): __________ %

Delivery / freight method:
☐ Flat rate
☐ Mileage-based
☐ Actual cost + markup
Details: ___________________________

Other fees used: ___________________________

5. Minimums & Discounts

Minimum job charge: $________

Minimum line item charge: $________

Setup fee (if any): $________

Do you offer volume discounts?
☐ Yes
☐ No
Details: ___________________________

Do you offer loyalty or special discounts?
☐ Yes
☐ No
Details: ___________________________

6. Installation, Permits & Site Visits

Is installation charged separately?
☐ Yes
☐ No

Installation rate/fee: _______________________

Permit fee charged separately?
☐ Yes
☐ No
Permit fee: $________

Site visit / survey fee?
☐ Yes
☐ No
Site visit fee: $________

7. What the Customer Sees

On the contract, customers will see:
☐ Simple descriptions
☐ Detailed breakdown

On invoices, customers will see:
☐ Simple line items
☐ Detailed line items

Notes on customer-facing descriptions:

Section 3

Your Official Pricing Standards

Once completed, this document becomes your shop’s quoting standard.

These decisions will guide:

• Materials setup
• Labor rate setup
• Quoting template structure
• Worksheet creation
• Contracts
• Invoices

When your standards are clear, quoting becomes consistent.

When quoting is consistent, margins improve.

When margins improve, growth becomes predictable.

Section 4

What Happens Next

Once this playbook is complete, you are ready to:

1. Set up Materials
2. Set up Labor Rates
3. Build Quoting Templates
4. Create Quote Worksheets
5. Generate Contracts
6. Create Invoices

You’ve built your cookbook.

Now you can start writing recipes.

Section 5

Turn This Into Your Pricing Reference Document

Once you have completed this playbook, your next step is to turn your answers into a clear internal pricing reference.

This document becomes:

• Your pricing standard for managers
• Your training tool for sales reps
• Your consistency guide for quoting
• Your protection against margin drift

You can create this document manually — or use the prompt below to generate a clean internal pricing reference summary.

Prompt: Generate Compact One-Page Pricing Reference

I have completed a quoting strategy worksheet for my sign shop.

Please convert the information below into a compact, one-page Internal Pricing Reference Table.

Requirements:

• Use a single table only.
• Use exactly three columns:
  • Section
  • Standard
  • Notes / Rates
• Keep the table narrow and compact so it fits cleanly in Google Docs.
• Remove all checkbox language.
• Convert decisions into firm policy statements.
• Do not add assumptions, example pricing, or filler language.
• Do not add extra commentary outside the table.
• Keep wording short and operational.
• Group rows logically under these sections:
  • Materials
  • Labor
  • Printing
  • Add-ons
  • Installation
  • Permitting
  • Fees & Minimums
  • Discounts
  • Customer Display

The output should be clean, scannable, and usable as an internal pricing cheat sheet.

Here are our pricing decisions:

[Paste completed worksheet answers here]

One-Page Pricing Reference (Compact Table)