Features

Everything you need to quote, schedule, and win VFX and audio post-production jobs — from a quick ballpark to a detailed formal bid.

Ballpark Estimates

When a client asks "roughly what would this cost?" you need an answer in minutes, not days. Costfield's ballpark mode gives you a credible, shareable estimate before a full brief even exists.

Ready in Minutes

Answer a few high-level questions — job type, scope, rough duration — and Costfield builds a credible estimate on the spot. No shot breakdowns, no rate tables.

Start the Conversation

Give clients a realistic cost range before a full brief even exists. Set expectations early and avoid sticker shock when the formal quote arrives.

Budget Ceiling Mode

Enter the client's target budget and let the ballpark work backwards, flagging straight away whether the scope is viable before you spend hours detailing it.

Upgrade to a Formal Quote

When the project gets the green light, convert your ballpark into a full line-item quote in one click. All the core details carry over automatically.

Shareable Link

Send clients a direct link to view the ballpark online — no PDF attachment required. They see a clean, professional layout branded with your company details.

Pre-built Task Intelligence

Costfield draws on a curated library of VFX and audio tasks to suggest realistic hour ranges, so your rough estimate is grounded in real-world data from the start.

How it works

1Select "New Ballpark" from your dashboard.
2Choose the job category — VFX, colour grade, audio mix, or a combination.
3Describe the scope at a high level: number of scenes, expected complexity, and delivery format.
4Optionally set a budget ceiling to sense-check viability.
5Review the generated estimate and share it with your client via link or PDF.
6When the job is confirmed, convert to a formal quote with a single click.

Formal Quotes

A formal quote is the document that closes the deal. Costfield gives you a structured, detailed bidding environment built specifically for VFX and audio post-production workflows.

Shot-by-Shot Breakdown

Structure your quote around individual shots or deliverables, each with its own task list and hour allocations. Clients see exactly what they are paying for.

Granular Task Control

Add, remove, and reorder tasks within each shot. Set actual hours per task and let Costfield calculate labour costs automatically against your hourly rate.

Flexible Rate Setting

Set a single studio hourly rate per quote, or override individual tasks. Supports multiple currencies so you can quote in USD, AUD, GBP, EUR, and more.

Management Fee & Contingency

Apply a percentage-based management fee and contingency buffer on top of your labour subtotal. Costfield rolls these into the grand total automatically.

GST & Tax Support

Toggle GST on AUD quotes and Costfield adds the 10% tax line to the summary, keeping your Australian invoicing compliant without manual calculations.

Professional Summary

Every quote generates a clean summary view with subtotals, fees, tax, and a grand total — ready to share with clients as a link or a branded PDF.

Anatomy of a Costfield Quote

Every formal quote is built from the same consistent structure, so nothing gets missed.

Project Details

Name, client, category, currency, and delivery date.

Budget Ceiling

Optional target budget to keep scope in check from day one.

Shots / Deliverables

One card per shot, each containing its own task list.

Task Hours

Actual hours allocated per task within each shot.

Hourly Rate

Studio-wide rate multiplied across all task hours.

Management Fee

Percentage applied on top of the labour subtotal.

Contingency

Percentage buffer applied after the management fee.

GST / Tax

Optional 10% GST line for AUD quotes.

Quote Templates

Stop rebuilding the same quote from nothing every time a new job comes in. Costfield's template library gives you a production-ready starting point for any job type, so you can go from brief to bid in a fraction of the time.

Instant Quote Scaffolding

Pick a template and Costfield pre-populates your new quote with the right shots, tasks, and suggested hour ranges. You start editing, not typing from scratch.

Curated Task Libraries

Templates cover a wide range of VFX disciplines — compositing, CG, colour grading, motion graphics — as well as audio: sound design, mixing, ADR, and more.

Fully Customisable

Every template is a starting point, not a straitjacket. Add tasks, remove shots, change rates, and adjust hours to match the specifics of each new project.

Consistent Studio Standards

Build templates that reflect your studio's standard rates and workflow. Every producer on your team quotes the same way, keeping margins predictable.

Organised by Category

Browse templates by job type — picture or sound, short-form or long-form — so you find the right starting point in seconds rather than building from memory.

Admin-Managed Library

Studio administrators can create, edit, and publish templates for the whole team from the admin panel, ensuring everyone works from approved, up-to-date rate cards.

Example Templates

A sample of what's available in the library — each template is a fully editable starting point.

VFX – Compositing Package

Roto / Prep
Compositing
Colour Grade
QC & Deliverables

CG & Animation

Modelling
Rigging
Animation
Lighting & Render
Comp

Audio – Full Mix

Sound Design
Dialogue Edit
Music Edit
Mix & Master
Deliverables

Motion Graphics

Design
Animation
Sound Design
Export

Professional Exports

A quote is only useful if you can get it into your client's hands looking sharp. Costfield gives you multiple export options — PDF, spreadsheet, and live web link — so you can deliver in whatever format works best for each client.

One-Click PDF

Generate a multi-page, print-ready PDF of your quote in seconds. jsPDF renders the layout at high resolution, with intelligent page breaks that never split a shot mid-page.

Your Brand, Your Quote

Add your company logo, address, phone, ABN, and payment details in Account Settings. They appear automatically on every PDF export, making each quote an extension of your brand.

XLSX Spreadsheet Export

Export to Excel format for clients who prefer to work in spreadsheets, or for your own budget-tracking workflows. All shot and task data is structured for easy analysis.

Shareable Web Link

Generate a direct link to your quote and send it via email or message. Clients can view a clean, professional online version without needing an account or an attachment.

Client-Friendly View

The shared quote view strips away the editor UI, presenting only the information your client needs: project name, scope, breakdown, and totals — nothing more.

Schedule PDF

Export your production Gantt chart as a landscape PDF alongside the quote. Share the full picture — budget and timeline — in a single handover package.

What's in the PDF

The exported PDF is a complete, self-contained document ready to send directly to your client.

Company Branding

Your logo, contact details, and ABN at the top of the document.

Project Header

Client name, project name, category, and delivery date.

Shot Breakdown

Each shot listed with its tasks, hours, and line-item costs.

Subtotal & Fees

Labour subtotal, management fee, and contingency clearly itemised.

Tax Line

GST shown separately where applicable, with total inc. tax.

Payment Terms

Your standard payment terms pulled from your account profile.

Automated Scheduler

A quote approved is a project started. Costfield automatically converts your approved quote into a production schedule — turning task hours into calendar days and delivering a Gantt chart without a single spreadsheet.

Auto-Schedule from Your Quote

Once a quote is approved, set a kick-off date and Costfield turns every task into a scheduled block — no manual entry required. Hours in the quote become days on the calendar.

Interactive Gantt Chart

View the full production schedule as a colour-coded Gantt chart, broken down by shot and task. Instantly see the critical path from kick-off to delivery.

Hours-to-Days Conversion

Costfield converts each task's quoted hours into working days (8 hours = 1 day), scheduling them sequentially and carrying the timeline forward automatically.

Deadline Tracking

Set a project deadline and Costfield flags any tasks that push past it, so you can rebalance the schedule before production begins rather than scrambling at the end.

One-Click Rescheduling

Change the kick-off date or adjust hours in the quote and regenerate the schedule instantly. The entire Gantt chart rebuilds from scratch in seconds.

Export as PDF

Export the Gantt chart as a landscape PDF to include in your project handover package. Share the full picture — budget and timeline — in one go.

How scheduling works

1Open a quote and navigate to the Schedule tab.
2Set your project kick-off date — the first working day the team starts.
3Costfield reads every task's allocated hours from the quote.
4Each task is converted to working days (hours ÷ 8, rounded up) and placed sequentially on the calendar.
5Tasks within each shot follow one after another, then the next shot begins.
6The completed schedule is displayed as an interactive Gantt chart.
7Adjust the kick-off date or regenerate at any time to reflect scope changes.

All features are included in every plan — try Costfield free.

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