To price a balloon garland, add up what the whole build costs you - the balloons with spares for pops, the strip, glue dots and greenery, your time to inflate, build and install at an hourly wage, the inflator power and a share of your monthly costs - and divide it by the feet. Then set the price so that after card fees and the drive you still keep the profit share you pick (40% of the price to start), or use cost x multipliers or check your own price.
Price every design you build
The Balloon Garland Pricing Calculator workbook on Etsy uses the same math as this page and adds:
- A materials list: type each bag, roll or tank once - the price, how much is in it and the unit - and the cost per balloon, foot or cu ft is worked out for you.
- Strip, ribbon and helium in your own units - in, ft, yd, cu ft or liters - converted for you.
- Each design built from a recipe picked from dropdown lists, with finished examples to start from: a garland and an arch per foot, a column pair and a helium bouquet.
- A one-page Quote Builder with a rush fee, a delivery and setup fee, a discount and a deposit, and an Order Tracker with profit by month.
- Every design on one Price List: cost, wholesale, retail, fees, delivery, profit and profit per hour.
One .xlsx file for Excel, plus a link to make your own copy in Google Sheets. Instant download.
Questions
How much should I charge per foot of balloon garland?
Add the balloons, the spares for pops, the strip, glue dots and greenery for the whole build, your time at your hourly wage, the inflator power and a share of your monthly costs, then divide by the feet. In the example, a 20 ft organic garland costs $14.24 a foot, with about 16.5 paid minutes a foot at $25 an hour, and sells for $25.00 a foot - $500 for the 20 ft - keeping $10.01 a foot after a 3% card fee.
How do I price in balloons that pop?
Type the share of spare balloons you blow up (10% = 10 extra for every 100). The spares are added to the balloons and helium of the build, not to the strip, glue dots, greenery or weights.
Should I charge for install and stand-by time?
Install time - load, drive, put up, take down - is part of your work minutes. Stand-by at the venue is your choice: pay yourself 0% of that wait, 100% or anything between.
How do I charge for delivery?
Type the delivery fee you charge and what the drive costs you (gas, parking). The drive stays your cost, and the profit is worked out after it.
Which fees are counted?
The example starts with a 3% card fee on what the customer pays, about what card readers charge. Open "Fees and sales tax" to change it, add a platform or booking fee, or add sales tax. Selling on Etsy? Type its US rates in the same fields: 6.5% as the platform fee, 3% + $0.25 as the card fee and $0.20 as the fixed platform fee.
Good to know
- This free calculator prices one design at a time and does not save anything.
- One balloon goes in by its bag here and the rest as one dollar amount; every material by its own pack and unit is in the workbook.
- Fee rates and the example numbers are starting points; type your own.
Questions? Message us on Etsy.