The Freelancer Money Kit: 1 pricing calculator, 2 AI skills, 7 chase emails and 12 contract clauses

Price higher, stop doing unpaid extra work, and get paid on time, with AI handling the awkward conversations.

For freelancers and small agencies: designers, developers, video editors, marketers, AI automation builders.

Made by Dan Shipped (@danshipped). Last verified: October 2026. Templates and general information only, not legal, tax or financial advice. Check your local rules.

Start here: your 5-minute win

You'll leave this section with your real minimum day rate and a ready-to-send quote for your next project.

1. Open tools/project-pricing-calculator.html. Double-click it. It runs offline in your browser and nothing is sent anywhere.
2. Click the preset closest to your work (designer, developer, video editor, AI automation, marketer). You'll see a full example price straight away.
3. Replace Step 1 with your real numbers: take-home income you want, expenses, tax estimate, working weeks, and, most important, the billable share of your hours. Be honest. If you spend Mondays on sales and admin, you're not at 100%.
4. Read the green number: "Min day rate." That's your floor. Any project that pays less than this per day makes your year worse.
5. Replace the tasks in Step 2 with your next real project. Hours per task, revision rounds, risk buffer.
6. Click "Copy quote." You now have a quote paragraph with three packages, a payment schedule and a scope line, ready to paste into an email.

Most people who do this find their current rate is close to, or below, their floor. If that's you, the rest of this kit is how you fix it without losing clients.

Got 2 more minutes? Open skills/scope-guard/PROMPT.md, paste it into ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini with your contract and the last "can you also..." message a client sent you. You'll get a verdict (in scope / out of scope / grey area) quoting the exact clause, and a friendly reply with a price.

What's inside

The idea behind the kit

Freelancers rarely lose money in one big disaster. They lose it in three slow leaks:

1. The price leak. You price from what feels acceptable instead of from what your year needs. Then you assume 40 billable hours a week that don't exist.
2. The scope leak. "Quick tweak." "While you're at it." "One more round." Each one is small. Together they turn a $5,000 project into a $5,000 project with 40% more hours, so your real hourly rate drops by almost 30%.
3. The payment leak. Late invoices, no deposit, and chasing so awkward that you put it off for weeks.

Each leak has the same root cause: the uncomfortable part has no system, so you avoid it. Avoided conversations get expensive.

This kit gives each leak a system, and gives the awkward parts (saying "that's extra", asking for money, raising your rate) to AI and templates. You stay the nice person who does great work. The system is the one that holds the line.

Chapter 1 — Price: find your floor, then price above it

1.1 The floor-rate formula

The calculator runs this, but you should understand it once:

Profit needed     = take-home income ÷ (1 − tax rate)
Revenue needed    = profit needed + business expenses
Billable hours    = working weeks × hours per week × billable share
Floor hourly rate = revenue needed ÷ billable hours
Min day rate      = floor hourly rate × hours in a client day
Quote-at rate     = floor hourly rate × (1 + safety margin)

Worked example (the "Brand identity" preset):

• Wants $70,000 take-home, estimates 30% tax → needs $100,000 profit.
• Expenses $9,000 → needs $109,000 revenue.
• 44 working weeks × 40 hours × 60% billable = 1,056 billable hours.
• Floor = $109,000 ÷ 1,056 = $103/hour, or $826/day.
• With a 20% safety margin, quote at $124/hour.

Now the trap. The same person assuming 48 weeks at 100% billable would get 1,920 hours and a "rate" of $57/hour. They'd charge about half of what they need and wonder why they're always busy and always broke.

The billable share is the number that matters most. Sales calls, proposals, invoicing, admin, learning, and gaps between projects aren't billable. For most solo freelancers, 50–70% is a realistic planning range (it's an estimate, not a law; track yours for a month). The calculator warns you if you go above 80%.

1.2 From hours to a project price

Clients don't buy hours, but your hours are still the floor. The calculator builds a project price in five layers:

1. Task hours. List what you'll actually do, the way you'd plan your week. Not "website", but "wireframes 8h, design 22h, build 34h...".
2. Revision rounds × hours per round. If you include 2 rounds, price 2 rounds.
3. Calls, email & admin (+10–20%). The hidden work on every project.
4. Risk buffer (+10–30%). 10% for work you've done 20 times. 30%+ for anything new, vague, or with many decision-makers.
5. Rush fee and value multiplier. Rush (+25–100%) when the deadline is shorter than your normal timeline. Value (1.0–3.0×) for what the result is worth to the client.

The value multiplier is where most freelancers leave money on the table. An automation that saves a client's team 10 hours a week is worth far more than the 40 hours it took you. A logo for a funded startup's launch carries more weight than a logo for a hobby project. You don't need to guess the client's revenue. Ask on the call: "If this works, what does it change for you in the next 12 months?" Their answer tells you where to set the slider.

The floor check: the calculator shows your effective hourly rate on the final price. Red means below your floor (raise the price or cut the scope). Amber means above your floor but under your quote-at rate (fine as an exception). Green means this project pays for your year.

1.3 Always send three packages

The calculator generates three packages from your project:

• Essentials (~70% of recommended): core deliverables, fewer revisions, longer timeline.
• Complete (recommended): everything you scoped.
• Priority (~160%): more revisions, faster timeline, 30 days of support, a strategy session.

Why it works:

• The client compares your packages with each other instead of comparing you with another freelancer.
• "Can you do it cheaper?" now has an answer that doesn't cut your rate: "Yes, here's Essentials." Cut scope, never rate.
• Some clients will pick Priority. Without it, that money was never on the table.

Make the middle package the one you want to sell. Make the top package something you'd be genuinely happy to deliver, not a decoy.

1.4 Get paid as you go

The calculator suggests a payment schedule based on project size:

Two non-negotiables:

1. Work starts when the deposit lands. Not when it's "being processed".
2. Final files transfer after final payment. Your contract should say rights transfer on full payment (clause 7 in the library).

Chapter 2 — Scope: stop doing unpaid extra work

2.1 Why scope creep happens (it's usually not the client's fault)

Clients aren't trying to rob you. Scope creep happens because:

• Nobody wrote down what's not included, so everything seems included.
• "Revision" was never defined, so 14 Slack messages count as "one round".
• There's no process for extras, so saying "that's extra" feels like a confrontation instead of a routine step.

Fix those three and most scope creep stops before it starts.

2.2 The three walls

Wall 1 — The exclusions list. In every proposal, write 4–8 things clients in your niche usually assume are included. For a web designer: copywriting, stock licenses, extra pages, hosting, maintenance. For a video editor: footage beyond 2 hours, music licensing, thumbnails, posting. When a request matches the list, there's nothing to debate. → Clause 3, clause library.

Wall 2 — A real revision definition. "A round is one consolidated list of feedback, sent in a single message, within 5 business days." Plus: "A change of direction after approval is new work." → Clause 4.

Wall 3 — A change-order process. Every extra gets a short written quote with a price and timeline impact, approved in writing before you start. Add a minimum fee (e.g. $150) so the "it's only 5 minutes" requests stop adding up. → Clause 5.

2.3 Scope Guard: let AI make the call

The hardest part of scope creep isn't knowing the rules. It's the 20 minutes of anxiety before you reply. Scope Guard removes that:

Input: your contract or proposal + the client's message. Output:

• A verdict for each request: IN SCOPE / OUT OF SCOPE / GREY AREA
• The exact clause quoted as evidence (or "No clause covers this", which is also a finding)
• A price and timeline estimate for extras
• A friendly reply (email + short Slack version) that names the boundary without sounding like a lawyer
• A paste-ready change order
• One line on how to tighten your contract next time

It also tells you when you're in the wrong. If the request is fixing your own bug or something that doesn't meet the agreed spec, it says IN SCOPE and writes a reply that owns it. That's what makes you credible when you do say "that's extra".

Install it:

• Claude Code: copy the skills/scope-guard folder to ~/.claude/skills/. Then just paste a client message and say "scope check this against my contract".
• Claude.ai (paid plans with code execution enabled): zip the scope-guard folder and upload it under Settings (the skills upload is in the Features/Capabilities section, depending on your current UI).
• ChatGPT / Gemini / anything else: use skills/scope-guard/PROMPT.md. Better still: save it as a Custom GPT, Gem or Claude Project with your standard contract attached, so you only paste the client message each time.

Calibrate it: skills/scope-guard/examples.md has 10 worked scenarios: Instagram versions of a logo, "a small tweak" after the last round, a real bug (in scope), "while you're at it, add a blog", "make it more engaging", extra raw footage, "can you post them too?", the fourth call this month, a second CRM integration, and the verbal-deal grey area.

2.4 How the reply is built (so you can write your own)

Every Scope Guard reply follows the same shape:

1. Positive and specific about the idea. "A blog is a smart move for SEO."
2. The boundary, in one friendly sentence. "It's not in the current 5-page scope."
3. Price + timeline. "$1,320, launch moves from the 14th to the 20th."
4. A choice, not a no. Add now / phase 2 / swap for something already in scope.
5. One easy question. "Which do you prefer?"

It never says "scope creep", never apologizes for having a scope, and never uses exclamation marks in a firm reply.

Chapter 3 — Payment: get paid on time, chase without the cringe

3.1 Prevention beats chasing

Most late payments are prevented before the invoice is sent:

• Deposit before work starts. Even if every other payment is late, you're never at zero.
• Short terms. "Due in 14 days" (or 7 for small jobs) beats "Net 30" for small clients.
• Invoice the same day the milestone is approved, while the client is happiest.
• Find out how they pay before the first invoice: PO numbers, vendor forms, the accounts payable email. Many "late" invoices are actually stuck invoices.
• Send a heads-up 3 days before the due date (Step 0). It catches the PO problems while there's still time.
• Add a payment link to every invoice and every reminder. People pay from their phones.

3.2 The 7-step sequence

When an invoice does go late, don't improvise. Run the sequence:

Full emails, DMs and tone notes are in templates/late-payment-sequence.md. Three ideas make it work:

• Step 2 asks for a date, not for money. "Could you let me know the date the payment will be made?" A date is a commitment, and "soon" isn't.
• Step 4 is where most freelancers get paid. Paused work costs the client momentum, and more reminder emails don't. Pause, don't sabotage: stop new work and hold untransferred deliverables. Don't take down a live site or lock clients out of accounts they own.
• Step 5 offers to waive the late charges if the original amount is paid within 7 days. It gives your contact a win to take to their finance team.

3.3 Know your rights (short version)

These exist, and many freelancers don't know about them. Verified October 2026. Check the official source for your location before relying on them.

• UK (business clients): statutory interest at 8% above the Bank of England base rate, plus fixed compensation of £40 / £70 / £100 depending on the debt size, under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998. If no payment date was agreed, payment is late 30 days after the client gets the invoice or the service, whichever is later.
• EU (business clients): under the Late Payment Directive (implemented in each country's law), interest of at least 8 percentage points above the ECB reference rate, plus at least €40 fixed compensation. A proposed regulation to replace it was still going through the EU process in the latest sources we found.
• New York (State and City): written contract required for $800+ (alone or combined over 120 days), payment due by the contract date or within 30 days, with double damages as a possible remedy.
• California: Freelance Worker Protection Act (from Jan 1, 2025): written contract for certain professional services of $250+, pay within 30 days if no date is set, with double the unpaid amount as a possible remedy.
• Illinois: Freelance Worker Protection Act (from July 1, 2024): $500+ threshold, written contract, 30-day default.
• England & Wales small claims: usually for claims of £10,000 or less. If the client is an individual or sole trader, follow the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims (30 days to respond).

The full table with sources is in templates/late-payment-sequence.md.

3.4 Payment Chaser: the right message, every time

You don't need to remember which step you're on. Give the Payment Chaser skill (or PROMPT.md) the invoice number, amount, due date, today's date, what you've sent so far and your contract's payment clauses. It:

• Picks the right step (and won't skip more than one)
• Writes the email and a short DM in your tone
• For Step 5, calculates interest with the formula shown (principal × annual rate × days late ÷ 365) and reminds you to check the reference rate for your period
• Handles the special cases: client gave a date, client disputes the work, client asks for a payment plan, partial payment
• Ends with a NEXT ACTION block with dates, and a 2-line thank-you for when they pay

Chapter 4 — The awkward conversations

4.1 Raising your rates

The four rules (full scripts in scripts/raise-your-rates.md):

1. Know your number. If a client pays below your floor, you're paying to work for them.
2. Announce, don't ask. "My rate for new work will be X from [date]." Not "would it be OK if...".
3. Give 30–60 days' notice, and offer to lock in the current rate for work started before the date. That offer often brings in a prepaid block of work.
4. One reason, no apologies. The more you justify it, the more negotiable it sounds.

The scripts cover: standard existing client, favorite client (grandfather for 6 months), retainer client (where quiet scope creep becomes the reason for the raise), a live call, quoting a new client with confidence, and marketplace profiles.

Do the math before you're scared: if 20% of your clients leave after a 25% raise, you earn about the same for 20% less work. And the clients who stay are usually the ones who value you most.

4.2 Objections

One rule for all 12 objections in the handler: agree with the feeling, then go back to value or scope, never to a lower rate for the same scope.

The three you'll hear most:

• "That's more than we budgeted." → "That's fair. What's the budget you're working with? Let's adjust the scope to fit it rather than cut corners on the result."
• "Another freelancer quoted half." → "That could be the right choice for you. It's worth checking what's included: revisions, timeline, support. Want me to show you exactly what's in mine?"
• "Can you do it for [lower number]?" → "At [lower number] I can do Essentials. For the full scope, [price] is the price. Which would you prefer?"

4.3 Saying no before it costs you

Run every new lead through checklists/red-flag-client-checklist.md before writing the proposal. 22 flags in 4 groups (money, scope, process, respect), each worth 1 or 2 points:

• 0–3: normal client.
• 4–6: raise the price 20–30%, require 50% deposit, tight exclusions.
• 7–9: pay before each phase, short contract, ready to walk.
• 10+: decline politely (script included).

It also includes six "turn a flag into a filter" phrases, like answering "budget is tight" with: "Totally get it. Let's adjust the scope rather than the rate. Which of these 3 deliverables matters most?"

Chapter 5 — The 15-minute Friday money routine

The kit only works if you use it. Block 15 minutes every Friday:

1. Invoices (5 min). Open your invoicing tool. For every unpaid invoice, check the day count and run Payment Chaser for the right step. Send.
2. Scope (3 min). Scroll this week's client messages. Anything that was "quick"? Run it through Scope Guard, and send a change order or log it as goodwill in writing.
3. Pipeline (5 min). Any new lead this week? Red-flag score it. Any proposal going out next week? Price it in the calculator first.
4. Rate check (2 min, monthly). Is any client below your floor? Put a rate-raise date in your calendar.

Small, boring, consistent. That's what stops the leaks.

Going further

Set up a "Money Desk" in Claude Projects or a Custom GPT. Create one project called Client Money Desk. Upload: your standard contract, your proposal template, the clause library, the late payment sequence, and both skill PROMPT.md files as instructions. Then every client message, invoice question or rate conversation goes to the same place, with your context already loaded.

Per-client projects for big accounts. For any client worth 20%+ of your income, make a dedicated project with their signed contract and proposal attached. Scope Guard then cites their clauses without you pasting anything.

Automate the reminders you can. Most invoicing tools (and payment platforms with invoicing) can send automatic reminders before and after the due date. Use them for Step 0 and Step 1, which are low-stakes and identical every time. Keep Steps 2–7 personal; they work better from you.

Turn scope creep into retainers. When a client keeps asking for extras, that's demand. Use Script 3 in the rate-raise file: show them what you're actually doing each month and offer a retainer that matches it.

Re-run the calculator every quarter. Expenses change, your billable share changes, your taxes change. Check your floor four times a year. It takes 2 minutes.

Get your contract reviewed once. Paste the clauses you want into one document and pay a local lawyer to review it. It's a one-time cost that protects every project after it, and usually costs less than one unpaid invoice.

Limits (honest version)

• This isn't legal advice, and the AI isn't a lawyer. Scope Guard reads the plain words of your documents. If a client is withholding a large amount, disputing the work, or threatening you, talk to a qualified professional.
• Laws change and vary a lot. The rights summary covers the UK, the EU directive and a few US states and cities, verified in October 2026. Your country, state or city may have different rules, and some rules change for consumers (individuals) versus businesses. Check your local rules.
• The calculator gives estimates. The tax estimate is a single rough percentage, not your real tax bill. Ask an accountant for yours.
• A contract won't make a bad client good. It makes problems clearer and cheaper. The red-flag checklist exists because the best fix is not signing the client.
• AI can be confidently wrong. Read every verdict and every reply before sending. Check that the quoted clause really exists in your document; the skill is told never to invent clauses, but always check.
• The 7-step sequence won't collect every debt. Some clients won't pay. The sequence makes you faster, calmer and better documented, which is often what gets you paid, and what you need if it goes further.
• What this kit doesn't do: it doesn't watch your inbox or invoices for you. You still run the Friday routine by hand. (That's what I'm building. See below.)

Want this done automatically?

Everything in this kit is the do-it-yourself version. It works, but you still copy, paste and remember.

I'm building Scope Guard + Payment Chaser as one small web app:

• It watches your client emails and flags out-of-scope requests with the clause and a ready reply.
• It watches your invoices and sends the right reminder at the right step, in your voice, automatically.
• One dashboard: what's overdue, what's creeping, what to send today.

Planned price: $19/month.

If you want it, reply YES to my DM (or join the waitlist from my bio) and tell me which leak costs you more: pricing, scope creep, or late payments. The most common answer decides what I build first.

Follow @danshipped for the next drop. I build AI tools and SaaS alone, in public, and give away the do-it-yourself version first.

Made by Dan Shipped — @danshipped. Last verified: October 2026. Templates and general information only, not legal, tax or financial advice. Check your local rules.