Session Price and Profit

Excel Formulas › Photography & Creative

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A session price has to cover your time, direct costs, and product and still profit. Price minus all costs is the session profit; the margin shows whether the shoot is worth booking.

Quick formula: profit on a session:
=session_price - total_costs
Session price minus all costs (your time at CODB, props, travel, product) gives the profit on that booking.

The example

$450 price, $260 costs.

AB
1ItemValue
2450 − 260—
3Profit→ $190

The formula

The formula:

=session_price - total_costs // price − all costs

How it works

How it works:

  1. Total the session costs: your billable time × CODB rate, plus travel, props, product, second shooter.
  2. Subtract from price for the session profit.
  3. Margin % = profit ÷ price — the share of price kept.
  4. Compare sessions by profit per hour, not just price, to see what’s worth shooting.

Price hides profit; profit-per-hour reveals it. A $1,200 wedding that eats 40 hours earns $30/hour of gross; a $450 mini-session done in 5 earns $90/hour. Subtract every real cost — including your time at your CODB rate — then divide by hours to compare bookings honestly. The biggest invoice is often not the best use of a shooting day.

Try it: interactive demo

Live demo

Session price, costs, hours.

Profit · Per hr

Variations

Margin percent

Profit ÷ price:

=(session_price - total_costs) / session_price

Profit per hour

Compare bookings:

=(session_price - total_costs) / hours_spent

Price for a target profit

Work backward:

=total_costs + target_profit

Pitfalls & errors

Cost your time. Include your hours at your CODB rate, not just out-of-pocket.

All-in costs. Editing and delivery time count too.

Zero price. Margin % on $0 gives #DIV/0!.

Practice workbook

📊
Download the free Session Price and Profit practice workbook
A session-pricing sheet with the margin, per-hour, and target-profit variants, plus 4 challenges with answers. No sign-up required.

Frequently asked questions

How do I calculate session profit in Excel?
Subtract all costs from the price: =session_price - total_costs. A $450 session with $260 of costs profits $190.
Why compare profit per hour?
Price alone is misleading — a big invoice that eats many hours can earn less per hour than a quick mini-session.
How do I price for a target profit?
Add the target to costs: =total_costs + target_profit.

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Related formulas: CODB hourly rate · Print / product markup · Revenue per shoot