Social Media Management Pricing Calculator

Turn the monthly promise into measurable task rows

Each package accepts one to twelve task rows. For every row, state a useful unit, enter the quantity of that unit, estimate hours per unit, and supply a loaded hourly cost. Quantity does not automatically mean posts. Six original assets, one monthly scheduling block, and two review meetings are different units. Put that meaning in the task label so someone reading the quote can understand the deliverable without seeing your private calculations.

Separate original production from reuse. If one approved source asset becomes several channel versions, enter the source production once. Add another row for the adaptation work that actually happens, such as changing a crop, rewriting an opening, or preparing a different caption. Charging the full source production effort against every placement can overstate cost. Assuming every version is free can understate it. Describe the work between those two extremes.

Do not squeeze coordination into the gaps between creative tasks. Brief review, asset collection, feedback handling, scheduling checks, and reporting all use time when they are part of the service. You can combine related work into a clearly named monthly block when separate rows would be unhelpful. Keep enough detail to test the estimate later. A row called management with no explanation is difficult to compare against actual delivery.

Use task estimates that match the agreed starting material. Editing supplied footage is not the same as planning and filming it. Preparing captions from approved notes is not the same as interviewing a subject expert. Record important dependencies in the scope note. The retainer scope guide explains how to define those boundaries before numbers make them appear settled. A useful unit has both an output and a recognizable stopping point.

Follow the default illustration from hours to fee

The default illustration is a teaching example, not a suggested package to sell. Its first two task rows cost 8 x 1.25 hours x 20 = 200 and 8 x 0.25 hours x 20 = 40. Together they contain twelve planned hours and cost 240. Read the task labels alongside these figures. The repeated quantity does not mean both rows must represent separate original posts or separate source assets.

The remaining task costs are 1 x 2 x 20 = 40, 1 x 3 x 20 = 60, 1 x 1 x 30 = 30, and 1 x 1 x 30 = 30. Total labor cost is 400, with nineteen planned hours across all six rows. These are internal production assumptions. They explain the result without claiming that an hour at either internal rate is a universal business cost.

Tools of 30 and allocated overhead of 70 bring the monthly base to 500. A ten percent reserve adds 50, so the covered cost is 550. At a thirty percent target margin, the calculation is 550 divided by 0.70. Rounding the selling fee upward gives 785.72. The modeled surplus is therefore 235.72, measured against the covered cost rather than against labor alone.

A pass-through budget of 100 is added after the margin calculation. The monthly quote total becomes 885.72, while the service fee remains 785.72. That distinction matters when you discuss revenue or compare packages. The pass-through is not modeled agency profit. In this illustration it is simply an amount carried at cost, with the service work priced separately rather than hidden inside that outside budget.

Onboarding uses two hours at 30 plus a direct expense of 10. Its base is 70, its reserve is 7, and the separate onboarding selling fee is 110 at the same margin. Adding 110 to the monthly quote total produces a first-month model of 995.72. Onboarding stays one-off. The first-month figure is a planning total, not an invoice, payment schedule, or statement of when money is due.

Separate recurring work, onboarding, and outside budgets

Onboarding covers work needed to begin the relationship rather than repeat it every month. Examples can include an initial workshop, organizing supplied assets, and establishing the review process. Enter onboarding hours, an internal hourly cost, and direct expenses separately. The calculator applies the selected reserve and margin to that onboarding base on its own. It does not spread setup cost across an assumed contract length or quietly turn it into a recurring charge.

Keep the launch conversation honest when setup is substantial. A client may accept the monthly service but need to understand why the first month is higher. Explain the one-off work in plain language and identify what changes if they supply more of the required material. The calculator does not decide a deposit, installment plan, payment deadline, or refund policy. Those details belong in your separate business documents and discussions.

A pass-through budget belongs outside the service margin calculation because the tool treats it as money passed on at cost. Do not put the same expense in both pass-through and monthly direct costs. If managing that budget requires your time, price the management work as a service task. The amount of outside spending and the effort of managing it are different things, and changing one does not automatically change the other here.

Choose USD, EUR, GBP, CAD, or AUD for the shared project currency and keep every input on that basis. Changing the currency does not convert existing values or fetch an exchange rate. The model does not calculate taxes, discounts, payment processing charges, annual commitments, or expected returns. Do not assume those omissions disappear because a PDF looks complete. Review what still needs attention before using the figures in a real commercial proposal.

Review the plan against delivery and improve the next quote

Before sharing, read the package as if you were the person expected to deliver it. Check quantities, units, review rounds, required client inputs, and exclusions. Revision rounds describe scope only; changing the count does not add labor automatically. Include the expected review work in your task hours. The scope note is limited to 600 characters, so prioritize the boundaries most likely to change workload and explain longer arrangements separately.

After the first delivery period, compare actual effort with the task estimates. Find out whether a difference came from missing inputs, poor unit definitions, production difficulty, or genuinely new work. Do not raise every estimate because one month was unusual. Improve the specific assumption that failed. Keep a dated project copy so you can explain why a later proposal differs without rewriting the history of the original plan.

Keep price evaluation separate from performance evaluation. The social media report builder can help organize a reporting discussion, while the social media ROI calculator addresses a different question about entered costs and returns. A retainer fee does not establish future reach, leads, or sales. Good reporting can explain work and results without turning the pricing worksheet into an outcome guarantee.

SMTasker supports workflows across nine platforms using Android devices and a local Windows or macOS client, with Skye and MCP available in its wider workflow. That does not make strategy, filming, client approval, or business judgment automatic. Explore getting started with SMTasker only where supported execution work fits your plan. The free planner remains separate. Return to the free tools directory when the next decision needs a different tool.

Questions before you share a service quote