Base hours per deliverable, the buffer and the payment split. Open any row in the free calculator.
Lean is the default × 0.85, complex × 1.25: the same multipliers the calculator applies when a brief says simple or mentions complexity. Every project also gets discovery (8% of build hours, at least 3), testing (12%, at least 4) and launch (4 h).
Suggested schedules by project size. Adjust them to the client.
| Project size | Schedule | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Under $3,000 | 50% on signature, 50% on delivery | Two invoices keep a short project simple. |
| $3,000 to $10,000 | 40% on signature, 30% at a mid-project milestone, 30% on acceptance | The middle payment matches the first review. |
| $10,000 and up | 30% on signature, then 3 or 4 payments tied to deliverables | No single invoice carries most of the risk. |
For named tools, see PandaDoc, Bonsai and Proposify.
| Topic | TempoRevenue | Plain Markdown or docs |
|---|---|---|
| Starts from | The client's message, a screenshot or a voice note | A blank document or an old proposal |
| Hours and price | Hours per deliverable, buffer, and hours × rate calculated in code | Typed by hand; totals can drift from the line items |
| Inside AI tools | MCP server for Claude, Cursor and Gemini CLI, plus ChatGPT | Copy and paste between the chat and the document |
| Client acceptance | Online acceptance, typed signature, signed PDF, SHA-256 record | Email reply or a separate signing tool |
| Tracking | See when the client opened or accepted it | No signal until the client replies |
| Cost | Starter Pack: 3 publications for US$29; Plus Pack: 10 for US$79; Max Pack: 30 for US$199. One-time payment. New credits never expire. Save ≈18% or ≈31% compared to Starter (US$29/3). No subscription required to publish. Optional Pro: US$15/month for Analytics and Bookkeeping, with zero publication credits. | Free |
About 20 hours to build 5 pages at 4 hours each, plus design (16 h), discovery (3 h), testing (4.3 h) and launch (4 h): 47.3 hours before the buffer. With a 20% buffer it is 56.8 hours, so $5,680 at $100 an hour. These are TempoRevenue defaults; adjust them to your speed.
Open in the calculatorA small MVP with design, login, payments, a dashboard, a database and email adds up to 76 build hours. With discovery and testing (15.2 h), launch (4 h) and a 20% buffer it reaches 114.2 hours. At $100 an hour that is $11,420. Use your own rate and remove what the client does not need.
Open in the calculatorBetween 15 and 25 percent of the hours. Use 15 when the client knows exactly what they want and you have built it before, 20 by default, and 25 when the brief is vague, depends on third parties or has compliance needs. The buffer pays for revisions, unclear requirements and client delays, which every fixed bid meets.
Open in the calculatorTie payments to the project size. Under $3,000, 50 percent on signature and 50 on delivery. From $3,000 to $10,000, 40 on signature, 30 at a mid-project milestone and 30 on acceptance. Above $10,000, 30 on signature and the rest across 3 or 4 deliverables. Starting work only after the first payment protects you from no-shows.
Open in the calculatorList what the client asked for as deliverables, give each one hours, add discovery, testing and launch, add a 15 to 25 percent buffer and multiply by your rate. Then write what is out of scope and the payment schedule. The free calculator does the math from the message; TempoRevenue writes the full proposal and the client accepts it online.
Open in the calculatorData as CSV (MIT): github.com/TempoRevenue/mcp/benchmarks. Build your own link: agent-tools.json.
