For promotional products distributors and branded merch shops
Quote the price break, collect the deposit, release the order.
Branded merchandise is a business of quantity breaks, setup charges, art fees, rush fees, freight and overruns, and every one of them has to be on the quote before the client signs off. Fee-Lion turns that quote into an approval with a deposit attached, so nothing goes to the decorator until it is funded, and the final invoice already knows what was paid.
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Sound familiar?
The paperwork side of the job.
- The client approved "the tees" by email, but not the second print location, the screen setups or the rush fee. Now the invoice is an argument.
- Orders go to the supplier before the deposit comes in, and you are floating $4,000 in blank goods for a client who has gone quiet.
- Three quotes at 144, 288 and 500 pieces live in three attachments, and nobody can find which one they approved.
- Supplier invoices, decorator charges and freight bills arrive weeks later, so you never know the real margin on a job.
- A 3% overrun ships and you forget to bill it.
A real example
What an estimate looks like.
Line by line, the way you’d actually quote it: quantity times rate, tax worked out for you, and the deposit collected the moment the client approves.
- Your client opens one link and approves it, paying the deposit by card.
- Approved estimates turn into invoices in one click.
- Your logo, your terms, and your line items saved for next time.
Prepared for Tasha Greer, Marketing — Riverbend Credit Union
| Item | Qty | Rate | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ring-spun cotton tee, heather navy, 2-color front imprint (288+ price break) 300 ea × $9.40 | 300 ea | $9.40 | $2,820.00 |
| Screen setup, per color 2 ea × $35.00 | 2 ea | $35.00 | $70.00 |
| 20 oz stainless tumbler, laser-engraved logo (150–249 price break) 150 ea × $18.75 | 150 ea | $18.75 | $2,812.50 |
| Laser setup 1 ea × $50.00 | 1 ea | $50.00 | $50.00 |
| Natural canvas tote, 1-color imprint (250–499 price break) 250 ea × $4.85 | 250 ea | $4.85 | $1,212.50 |
| Art cleanup and vector conversion 1 ea × $45.00 | 1 ea | $45.00 | $45.00 |
| Rush production, 5 business days after proof approval (10% of goods) 1 ea × $684.50 | 1 ea | $684.50 | $684.50 |
| Ground freight to 3 branches 3 ea × $68.00 | 3 ea | $68.00 | $204.00 |
Tax-exempt certificate on file. 50% deposit releases the order to production after you approve the proofs; balance due on delivery. Decorated quantities may vary up to 3% over or under and are billed at the unit price.
Sent with Fee-Lion · example document, fictional client
How Fee-Lion fits
The parts that do the heavy lifting.
Quotes with every charge
Goods at the quoted price break, screen or laser setups, art cleanup, rush, and freight each on their own line with the imprint spelled out. The client sees exactly what they are approving.
More on estimates & proposalsDeposit before production
Approval and the 50% deposit happen on the same page, by card. The order goes to your supplier funded, not on faith.
More on online paymentsExpiring quotes
Blank-goods prices move. Give each quote a validity window and Fee-Lion warns you before it goes stale.
More on estimates & proposalsFinal invoice from the quote
Convert the approved quote to an invoice with the deposit already credited. Adjust quantity for the actual overrun or underrun and the balance updates.
More on invoicingSupplier costs per order
Record the supplier invoice, decorator charges and freight as expenses tied to the order's project, with the vendor named, so each job shows revenue against real cost.
More on expense tracking & bookkeepingProofs and approvals in one thread
Attach the virtual proof to the project and keep "can the logo be 10% bigger?" in the discussion, where the client and your team both see it.
More on project managementRepeat buyers
Every company keeps its full order history, so the 2nd annual golf outing quote starts from last year's, not from memory.
More on companies & contactsA day with Fee-Lion
How it actually plays out.
- The marketing manager emails: 300 tees, some tumblers, totes, needs them in two weeks. You price the blanks at the right break, add setups, art cleanup and the rush fee, and send the quote link before lunch.
- She opens it on her phone, asks in a comment whether the totes can be one color. They already are, so you reply in the thread.
- She approves and pays the 50% deposit by card. The quote is now funded and you place the supplier orders that afternoon.
- Proofs go up on the project; she signs off in the discussion. The decorator's invoice and the freight bill go in as expenses against the order.
- Delivery: the decorator ran 304 tees. Convert the quote to an invoice, change the tee quantity to 304, and the balance (minus the deposit) goes out on Net-15.
- Month end: the order shows revenue against supplier, decoration and freight cost, so you know what the job actually made.
Live demo
Click around Logo Lift Promo.
A promo distributor's week: price-break quotes with setups and rush fees, 50% deposits, supplier and freight costs per order, and repeat corporate buyers.
A real Fee-Lion workspace set up as Logo Lift Promo, with sample clients, jobs, estimates and invoices. No signup, no password. Changes are switched off, so click anything.
Questions
What people ask before they switch.
How do I quote promotional products with quantity breaks?
Price each item at the break the client is ordering and say so in the line ("288+ price break"). If they want to see more than one quantity, send separate quotes or add the alternate quantity as its own clearly labeled line. Fee-Lion does not build price-break tables automatically, so you enter the break price from your supplier.
Should I charge setup and art fees on promotional orders?
Most distributors pass through screen or laser setup charges per color or per location, plus a fee for art cleanup or vector conversion when the client's logo is not print-ready. Listing them as separate lines keeps them from being a surprise on the final invoice.
How much deposit should I take on a promo order?
Fifty percent is common, and many distributors take full payment upfront from new clients or on custom items. Fee-Lion lets you set a percentage or fixed deposit that the client pays by card when they approve the quote.
How do I bill overruns on decorated merchandise?
Industry practice is to state an overrun and underrun allowance (often a few percent) on the quote and bill the actual quantity delivered at the unit price. When you convert the quote to an invoice, change the quantity to what shipped and the total updates.
Do I charge sales tax on promotional products?
Branded merchandise is generally treated as tangible goods and taxable, unless the buyer is exempt or buying for resale, but rules vary by state, including whether freight is taxable. Check with your state or accountant. Fee-Lion applies the tax rate you set on each document and lets you set it to zero for exempt buyers.
Your next estimate could go out tonight.
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