Automated Print Quote Example: One Embroidery Job, Line by Line

An automated print quote applies your own pricing rules to a job: it picks the supplier’s quantity break, adds the decoration setup and run charges, applies your markup to each line and checks the margin. A person then reviews it before it goes to the customer. Below, one embroidery job is worked through line by line, with every assumption stated and a CSV of the same figures you can download.

The job

A customer asks for 150 polo shirts with one left-chest embroidered logo of about 8,000 stitches. They want one price per shirt and a separate line for the one-time setup.

The pricing assumptions

These are the rules the quote follows. In a real shop they come from your supplier price lists and your own pricing policy.

Blank polo shirt: supplier quantity breaks

Quantity	Unit cost
1 to 47	14.20
48 to 143	12.60
144 to 287	11.40
288 and over	10.30

Embroidery run charge: quantity breaks

Quantity	Unit cost
1 to 47	5.50
48 to 143	4.40
144 and over	3.60

Setup, markup and margin floor

Rule	Value
Digitizing setup, one time per logo	60.00
Markup on the blank	45%
Markup on the embroidery run	40%
Markup on the digitizing setup	50%
Margin floor the reviewer checks	30%

The calculation

150 shirts falls in the 144 to 287 break for the blank and the 144 and over break for embroidery. Each line is cost times quantity, and each price is the unit cost plus that line’s markup, rounded to the cent.

Quote line	Quantity	Unit cost	Line cost	Markup	Unit price	Line price
Polo shirt, 144 to 287 break	150	11.40	1710.00	45%	16.53	2479.50
Left-chest embroidery, 144 and over break	150	3.60	540.00	40%	5.04	756.00
Digitizing setup, one time	1	60.00	60.00	50%	90.00	90.00

Result	Value
Total cost	2310.00
Quote total before tax and shipping	3325.50
Gross profit	1015.50
Gross margin	30.5%

The gross margin is gross profit divided by the quote total. At 30.5% it clears the 30% floor, but only just. That is exactly the kind of quote a person should look at before it is sent.

The human review step

The rules did the arithmetic. A person still decides whether the quote is right for this customer. Before anything goes out, the reviewer checks:

1. The stitch count. It is an estimate until the logo file is digitized. A larger logo can move the run charge.
2. The break. 150 is close to the 144 break. If the customer drops to 140, the blank moves to the 48 to 143 break and the margin changes.
3. Stock. The colours and sizes need to be available at the supplier in the quantities asked for.
4. The margin. 30.5% is above a 30% floor with little room. The reviewer might keep it, round the unit price, or explain a smaller quantity costs more.
5. The wording. The customer sees one price per shirt and one setup line, in plain language, with the delivery date you can actually meet.

Nothing is sent to the customer until that person approves it.

Where an agent fits

You can start with one custom AI agent around the tools you already use. The TaggIQ platform is optional.

Margin Agent (proposed build)

For your shop, we could build a Margin Agent that checks each draft quote against your margin floor and price lists, and holds a quote like this one for a person to look at. It does not invent costs and it never changes a price. Your pricing rules do the arithmetic, and your team decides. It drafts alongside you rather than replacing the review step above.

If you are still choosing how to quote at all, the buyer guide to quoting software has a selection checklist, and the promotional products pricing guide explains each cost layer in more depth.

Download the worked example

Download the worked example (CSV). It holds the same quantity breaks, setup charge, markup rules and calculation as the tables above, so you can open it in a spreadsheet and follow the arithmetic with your own figures.