The Machine Shops & Fabrication Fix Kit
Built for machine shops, CNC machinists and custom fabricators.
In most trades, someone else computes your number and takes a cut. This kit finds where the money leaks in your own work and gives you the steps and the words to close each one.
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The 6 leaks it covers
4 you can close it · 2 a pro decides
- Setup and programming quoted like a per-piece cost — short runs underbidWhere to look first: Take your last five finished jobs. For each, write the setup and programming hours the quote assumed, and the hours it actually took.Keep it from coming back: Log actual setup and programming hours on every job and compare to the quote before the next one goes out.You can close it
- Tooling and NRE folded into a piece price that assumes a reorder nobody committed toWhere to look first: On your last few jobs with custom tooling, fixtures or one-time engineering, check: was it a separate line, or spread into the piece price?Keep it from coming back: No amortized tooling without a written minimum quantity and a balance clause.You can close it
- First-article and PPAP inspection time done for free — never its own quote lineWhere to look first: Check your last few jobs that needed first-article inspection (AS9102 for aerospace) or PPAP (automotive). How many hours did the paperwork, measuring and reports take?Keep it from coming back: Check every RFQ and PO for FAI/PPAP before pricing, and log inspection hours on every job.You can close it
- Quote holds its price while metal moves — no escalation clause tied to a published indexWhere to look first: Look at your open quotes and orders with long lead times. Do any carry a material-adjustment clause?Keep it from coming back: No quote goes out without a validity date and a material clause tied to a named index.You can close it
- Defense-adjacent job taken without checking ITAR/EAR status or registrationWhere to look first: This is a compliance risk, not a quote line. Before you quote, look at every drawing, model and spec for export-control markings (ITAR, EAR, an ECCN, or 'export controlled').Keep it from coming back: Make the export-control question a required step on every RFQ before drawings are opened or a price goes out.A pro decides
- Shop profit taxed as self-employment income without an entity review (structural)Where to look first: This is not money lost — it is a question to put in front of a CPA. Find out how your shop is set up today: sole proprietor, LLC, partnership, or S corporation.Keep it from coming back: Review your setup with a CPA once a year before the first estimated-tax date.A pro decides
Free: one full leak from this kit
No sign-up, no email. Here is leak 1 of 6 exactly as it appears in the kit, so you can see what you get before you buy.
Setup and programming quoted like a per-piece cost — short runs underbid
You can close it- Take your last five finished jobs. For each, write the setup and programming hours the quote assumed, and the hours it actually took.
- Where actual ran over, that is money the job didn't carry.
- On every new quote, put setup and programming on their own line as a fixed charge, not spread into the piece price.
- Use your own average actual hours from past jobs for that line.
- For short runs, show the customer the fixed charge — it explains why ten pieces cost more each than a hundred. On jobs already invoiced, nothing recovers it; the fix is the next quote.
Your part: Set the price and send the quote. Product: NEW: Rate & Price Builder.
Quote wording and what I tell the customer: [COMPANY] — Quote # [QUOTE #] 1. Setup and programming (one-time, per release): [AMOUNT] 2. Parts — [QTY] pcs at [PIECE PRICE]: [AMOUNT] 3. Material: [AMOUNT or included] Repeat orders using the same program and setup: line 1 reduced to [AMOUNT] if ordered within [TIME]. If the customer asks why short runs cost more per piece: 'Setup and programming take the same time whether I run ten parts or a thousand. I show it as its own line so you can see it — and so a bigger order gets the benefit.'
Log actual setup and programming hours on every job and compare to the quote before the next one goes out.
What this kit can't decide for you: All numbers from your own job records.
That's 1 of 6. The other 5 come the same way in the kit: steps, words to send, a habit to keep each one closed.
Opens secure checkout. Instant download after payment. 30 days to ask for a refund — refund policy · terms
What people in this work look up
When machine shops and custom fabricators go looking for answers, they search things like “machine shop hourly rate”, “first article inspection”, “machine shop quoting” and “machine shop rates”. Those searches turn up forms, averages and other people's numbers. This kit starts from your own records instead: the 6 places money leaks in this work, where to look first and the words to send to close each one.
What you get for each leak
- Numbered steps to close each leak
- Your part, spelled out
- Words you can use: letters and scripts, ready to send (fill in the brackets)
- A habit that keeps each leak from coming back
- An honest line on what the kit can't decide for you
A page from the kit
Questions people ask
How do I quote setup and programming on short runs?
Not as a per-piece cost. The kit shows how to quote setup on its own.
Should first article inspection be its own line?
Yes. First-article and PPAP time done for free is a leak the kit covers.
What if metal prices move after my quote?
Tie an escalation clause to a published index. The kit shows how.
What it can't decide for you
This kit works from your own records. It doesn't give legal, tax, licensing or financial advice, and it never tells you what to charge. Where a CPA, attorney, insurer or state board makes the call, the kit says so and gets your records ready for them.
10-page PDF · instant download after payment · Code VYR-KIT-LATHE-01
Opens secure checkout. Instant download after payment. 30 days to ask for a refund — refund policy · terms
Use Jobber or Housecall Pro? Run the free leak check — it reads your job export in your browser and shows the money leaks the software doesn't flag. Nothing is uploaded.