AI by NicheJob 9 of 15ChatGPTGemini
Work out your planning fees
Planners often underprice and burn out. A worksheet based on real hours shows what to charge. Counting every stage, including supplier calls, travel and the wedding day door to door, shows whether each package covers your time and your costs.
Time: 45 minutes once, then 10 minutes per package reviewTool cost: you can start with a free AI tool
Steps
- Pick one past wedding, or the next one you book, and list the hours by stage: first meeting and proposal, planning meetings, supplier research and calls, admin and emails, site visits, rehearsal, the wedding day door to door, and wrap-up. Use your calendar and sent emails rather than memory.
- List your yearly business costs (insurance, software, phone, marketing, training, travel) and how many weddings you can realistically take in a year.
- Example (made up, for illustration only): a sole-trader planner prices a full-planning package. The worksheet adds up her logged hours for each stage, multiplies them by her target hourly rate, adds the yearly costs divided by the weddings she takes, and sets that total beside her current package price so the gap is visible.
- Run the prompt below. Ask it to show its sums, then recheck every line in a spreadsheet: AI tools can get arithmetic wrong.
- Compare the result with each package. Decide yourself whether to change the price, cut hours (for example fewer meetings) or both.
- Use any new prices for new enquiries only. Existing contracts stay as agreed.
The exact prompt
Build a fee worksheet for a wedding planner, as a table I can copy into a spreadsheet. Packages: [PACKAGE NAMES]. Hours per package, by stage: first meeting and proposal [ ], planning meetings [ ], supplier research and calls [ ], admin and emails [ ], site visits [ ], rehearsal [ ], wedding day door to door [ ], wrap-up [ ]. Yearly business costs: [£ TOTAL]. Weddings I can take per year: [NUMBER]. My target hourly rate: [£]. VAT: [REGISTERED OR NOT]. For each package show: total hours; hours x target rate; cost share per wedding (yearly costs divided by weddings); those two added together; my current price [£]; and the difference. Write out every formula so I can check it. Use only my numbers. Do not suggest market rates or what other planners charge.
✓ Check before you send
- The hours come from a real wedding or your calendar, not a guess.
- You rechecked every sum yourself.
- All yearly costs are included, and the number of weddings a year is realistic for you.
- New prices apply to new bookings only, and your website and brochure match them.
UK notes extra
- UK: show couples the full price, including any charge they have to pay. If the final price depends on hours or guest numbers, say clearly how it will be worked out. CMA: providing clear and accurate information about prices (summary, UK).
- UK: couples are consumers, so consumer protection law applies to what you sell them. GOV.UK: consumer protection rights.
Last reviewed Oct 2026. Free tools change. If a screen looks different, the steps still apply.Back to top ↑