Makerate vs a spreadsheet
Most makers start in a spreadsheet, and for the first few prints it's fine. It stops being fine when the formula lives in your head: the electricity row never got updated, printer wear was never in there, and the failed print last week came out of your margin. A spreadsheet is only as accurate as the last time you maintained it.
| Job | Makerate | Spreadsheet |
|---|---|---|
| Time to price a print | Seconds | Minutes of cell hunting |
| Printer power draw filled in for you | 40+ presets | |
| Printer wear amortised over machine life | Only if you built the formula | |
| Failure buffer and markup baked in | Manual | |
| Never forgetting a cost line | ||
| Saved quotes you can pull up later | One file per job | |
| Branded quote link for the customer | ||
| Customer approval recorded on the quote | ||
| Invoice the approved quote | Pro | |
| Cost | Free, Pro $9/mo | Free |
Keep the spreadsheet if…
You print a handful of things a year, you already maintain the formulas, and nobody outside your desk ever sees the numbers.
Move to Makerate if…
You're quoting customers. The cost lines are always there, the quote is a link you send, and the price you calculated is the price you invoice.