Tailoring & Alterations: Rush Fee By Days Of Notice

Excel Formulas › Tailoring & Alterations

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Rush work disrupts a tailor's schedule, so most shops add a surcharge when the pickup date is less than three days away. An IF test on the days of notice applies the rush percentage only when it is earned and leaves normal jobs untouched.


Quick formula: Apply the rush percentage only when notice is under three days:
=IF(C2<3,B2*D2,0)

A $120 suit with 2 days notice at a 50% rush rate adds $60.00 for a $180.00 total.

Functions used (tap for the full reference guide):

The example

Three worked examples. Change any yellow input in the practice workbook and the results recalculate.

ABCDEF
1CasePriceDaysRush rateRush feeTotal
2Hem$25550.0%$0.00$25.00
3Suit$120250.0%$60.00$180.00
4Dress$80125.0%$20.00$100.00

The formula

Here is the formula, built directly from the inputs:

=IF(C2<3,B2*D2,0) // Rush fee; Total

How it works

Here is the logic, one piece at a time:

  1. C2<3 tests whether the job is a rush.
  2. B2*D2 is the price times the rush percentage.
  3. 0 is returned for normal jobs.
  4. B2+E2 adds the fee to the base price.

Keep every number in its own input cell so the formula never needs editing.

Try it: interactive demo

Interactive

Enter the values below.

Variations

Tiered rush

Higher fee for same-day work.

=IF(C2<1,B2*0.75,IF(C2<3,B2*0.5,0))

Flat rush fee

Charge a flat $15 instead.

=IF(C2<3,15,0)

Pitfalls & errors

Decide whether day zero counts as a rush. Days under 3 includes same-day jobs.

Enter the rush rate as 50% or 0.5, not 50 in a percent-formatted cell.

Keep the cutoff in a cell so you can raise it during holiday season.

Practice workbook

📊
Download the free Tailoring & Alterations: Rush Fee By Days Of Notice practice workbook
Edit the yellow price, days and rush rate cells; fee and total recalculate.

Frequently asked questions

Why a percentage instead of a flat fee?
A percentage scales with the job so a suit costs more to rush than a hem.
Can I exempt regular customers?
Yes, add an OR test against a loyalty column.

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Related formulas: Tailoring: Alteration Price Lookup by Service · Tailoring: Ticket Total With A Shop Minimum

Function references: IF