The latest articles on DEV Community by almayce (@almayce). https://dev.to/almayce https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F3742639%2Fa72abd65-0090-44c4-8d3f-420b6bb05b15.png https://dev.to/almayce en almayce Fri, 30 Jan 2026 19:04:00 +0000 https://dev.to/almayce/built-priceproof-to-help-explain-project-costs-to-clients-4oa5 https://dev.to/almayce/built-priceproof-to-help-explain-project-costs-to-clients-4oa5 <p>someone asked me to quote a project recently and I realized I had no good way to do it.</p> <p>the standard formula is rate × time, right? but that feels broken.</p> <p>if I'm experienced and knock it out in a week - I get paid less than a junior who drags it for 2 months? doesn't make sense. the value delivered is the same, maybe mine is even better quality.</p> <p>but how do you explain that to a client? "pay me more because I'm faster" sounds backwards.</p> <p><strong>what I actually wanted</strong></p> <p>a way to show value beyond just hours. complexity matters. experience matters. what you're actually building matters.</p> <p>two "simple contact forms" aren't the same if one needs custom validation, anti-spam, CRM integration, and the other is just name/email/submit.</p> <p>started thinking - what if pricing was transparent about all these factors? not just "40 hours × $100" but breaking down why those 40 hours and what affects the rate.</p> <p><strong>so I built it</strong></p> <p>priceproof.io - generates breakdowns that show what goes into a project estimate.</p> <p>you input features, complexity factors, timeline constraints. it calculates based on multiple variables, not just time.</p> <p>outputs a PDF that shows the reasoning - this feature is complex because X, this integration takes longer because Y, experience level affects quality here.</p> <p><strong>the technical part</strong></p> <p>built with next.js 14, hosted on vercel. all client-side PDF generation with react-pdf.</p> <p>the calculation engine is <a href="https://github.com/almayce/fast-decision" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://github.com/almayce/fast-decision</a> - a rules engine I made for handling complex decision logic. lets you define pricing rules cleanly without spaghetti code.</p> <p>it's open source if anyone wants to look at how it works.</p> <p><strong>current state</strong></p> <p>works but rough around edges. made it functional enough to test the concept. </p> <p>you can try it at <a href="https://priceproof.io" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://priceproof.io</a> - takes a few minutes to generate a sample breakdown.</p> <p><strong>what I'm wondering</strong></p> <p>does this pricing approach make sense? or is (rate × time) actually fine and I'm overthinking it?</p> <p>if you do project work, curious what you think. does showing complexity factors help or just overcomplicate things?</p> <p>trying to figure out if this is a real problem or just something that bothered me specifically.</p> <p>honest feedback appreciated - if the concept is flawed I'd rather pivot now than build more on top of it. </p> webdev programming nextjs freelance