What should be optional in a consulting proposal?

In this template: Implementation support ($6,000.00 USD per month). Optional lines sit next to the base price with a switch, so clients choose them without a follow-up email.

Pricing guide for consultants and advisors

How much to charge for consulting

Updated October 23, 2026. Example prices in US dollars from the consulting template.

Example starting total$8,500.00 USD

Short answer: Price consulting as one fixed line (operations review at $8,500.00 USD) with a starting total of $8,500.00 USD, then 1 optional line (implementation support) the client can switch on. Set your own numbers; the structure is what gets accepted.

Use this template, no signup See the template

Free plan · No credit card · No account until you send

Below: the price lines from our consulting quote, what is fixed, what the client can switch on, and how to show it so the client accepts instead of haggling.

The example pricing

Line	Example price	How it is sold
Operations reviewFour weeks, report, plan and leadership session	$8,500.00 USD	Included
Implementation supportTwo days a week alongside your team, three-month minimum	$6,000.00 USD per month	Optional, off by default

Starting total with the defaults on: $8,500.00 USD, before the client chooses among 1 optional line. Example prices in US dollars; the template works in 16 currencies and every number is yours to change.

How to present it

The core templates cover the projects most freelancers sell: a fixed-scope build, a retainer, a shoot, a consulting engagement. Each one prices the defined work as one line and everything negotiable as an option the client can switch on.

Fixed price for the thing you can define, recurring for the thing that continues, and countable options for whatever clients tend to add. That structure survives almost any trade.

Whatever you charge, the client should be able to see the total change as they choose. A total that responds is a total that gets accepted.

Four ways to price consulting

Model	Use it when
Fixed project fee	The deliverable is clear: an audit, a strategy, a plan
Day or hourly rate	The work is open-ended or the client wants a few hours of advice
Monthly retainer	The client wants ongoing access, reviews or a set number of days a month
Value-based fee	The outcome is measurable and large, and the client agrees on what it is worth

Make the deliverable the thing they buy

Clients buy a result, not your hours. Name what they get (a written report, a workshop, a roadmap, a set number of review calls) and price it as one line. Put follow-up support as an optional monthly line, so the engagement can continue without a second proposal.

Say what you need from the client and by when: data, interviews, decisions. A consulting project slips when inputs arrive late, and a signed proposal that says so keeps the timeline honest.

Questions people ask

How much should I charge for consulting?: Price consulting as one fixed line (operations review at $8,500.00 USD) with a starting total of $8,500.00 USD, then 1 optional line (implementation support) the client can switch on. Set your own numbers; the structure is what gets accepted.
What should be optional in a consulting proposal?: In this template: Implementation support ($6,000.00 USD per month). Optional lines sit next to the base price with a switch, so clients choose them without a follow-up email.
How do I present consulting pricing so it gets accepted?: The core templates cover the projects most freelancers sell: a fixed-scope build, a retainer, a shoot, a consulting engagement. Each one prices the defined work as one line and everything negotiable as an option the client can switch on.

Why this structure gets accepted

One fixed line the client can say yes to. Operations review is priced as a whole, so the conversation is about the result, not the hours.
Options on the page, not in follow-up emails. Implementation support sit next to the base price with a switch. People choose what they can see.
The total moves as they choose. On a Quote and Sign page the client toggles lines and sets quantities, watches the total update, and signs with their name. What they chose becomes part of the signed record.

Put it in front of a client

Open this pricing as a real quote, change the words and numbers, and send the link. Your client reads it on a phone or laptop, picks the extras, and taps Accept. You both get the signed PDF.