Photography Shoot Profitability Spreadsheet - Job Costing Tracker for Photographers, Excel and Google Sheets, Instant Digital Download

You shot it, edited it, delivered it, and still can't say what the job paid.

Compare what a shoot was quoted at against what it actually cost in shooting, editing and retouching hours — and find where the day really went.

You don't need to be good with Excel. You type into the white cells and everything else is worked out for you. The formulas are locked, so nothing breaks by accident.

WHAT'S INCLUDED
• Dashboard — True margin, variance and cumulative profit. Read-only.
• Start Here — Five steps from opening the file to a real number on screen.
• Shoot Costing — Where you close out one job. The main working sheet.
• Shoot Log — Every job you have closed, and cumulative profit across them.
• Settings — Your target margin and the cost categories you track.
• Instructions — What each sheet does, and what to do if a number looks off.
• About — Version, license and support.
• PDF Quick-Start Guide — two pages, first result in five minutes

PERFECT FOR
• Photographers pricing next year off what shoots really cost
• Wedding shooters whose editing hours never hit the invoice
• Studios juggling second shooters, rentals and travel
• Part-timers deciding whether the numbers support going full time

HOW IT WORKS
1. Open Settings. Set the margin a shoot is supposed to earn, and edit the cost categories to match how you break one down.
2. Open Shoot Costing. Name the shoot, enter the Package value excluding tax, and the date it completed.
3. Enter your estimate for each category — the numbers you worked from before you started.

COMPATIBILITY
✓ Google Sheets
✓ Microsoft Excel 365
No macros. No add-ons. Works immediately.

FAQ

Q: How is this different from the Photography Package Quoting Calculator?
A: That one prices the shoot before you take it. This one measures what it actually earned afterwards. Different questions, different days.

Q: Should I count my own shooting time as a cost?
A: Yes, at your all-in hourly cost. If your own hours are free, every shoot looks profitable and you never learn which ones are not.

Q: Does this work in Excel and Google Sheets?
A: Both. Google Sheets: File > Import, or open and make a copy. Excel 365: open it directly. No macros, no add-ons, nothing to install.

Q: Should I measure margin against the estimate or the actual?
A: Always the actual. Measuring against the estimate tells you how good your forecast was, which is useful, but it is not profit.

Q: I'm not confident with spreadsheets. Will I manage?
A: Yes. The white cells are the only ones you touch. The Quick-Start Guide has your first real number on screen in about five minutes, and if you get stuck, message me.