A client asks what you charge before they ask almost anything else, and the answer shapes everything after it. There are three ways to charge for the same design, and each tells the client something different about what they're paying for.
This guide works all three out on the Sharma Residence: a 2BHK in Baner, Pune, with 1,400 sq ft of carpet area and ₹14,80,000 of work. The free fee calculator does the same arithmetic on your own numbers.
1. Per sq ft: the area sets the fee
Multiply the carpet area by your rate. At ₹85 a sq ft, the Sharma Residence comes to:
1,400 × ₹85 = ₹1,19,000
It's easy for a client to compare, because every studio can be lined up on the same number. That's also its weakness: a client comparing rates per sq ft isn't comparing what you'll do for them. Say on the quotation which area you mean, carpet or built-up, because the two can be far apart.
It changes when the area changes: a room added, a balcony left out.
2. A percentage: the work sets the fee
Take a share of what the work costs. At 8% of ₹14,80,000 of work, the fee is:
8% × ₹14,80,000 = ₹1,18,400
It grows with the project, so a client who upgrades the kitchen pays for the extra design and supervision that comes with it. Say on the quotation what the percentage is of: whether furniture, appliances and loose items are in the cost of the work, or not.
It changes when the work changes, which some clients find fair and others find open-ended.
3. A lump sum: you set the fee
One figure for the whole project: ₹1,10,000 for the Sharma Residence. Nothing moves it except you, and the client knows the number from the first meeting.
Write down what it covers — the rooms, the number of design revisions, the site visits — so a project that grows doesn't quietly grow your work without your fee.
4. The same home, three ways
Side by side, each fee can be read in the other two's terms:
| FEE | AMOUNT | PER SQ FT | OF THE WORK |
|---|---|---|---|
| Per sq ft | ₹1,19,000 | ₹85 | 8.0% |
| Percentage | ₹1,18,400 | ₹85 | 8.0% |
| Lump sum | ₹1,10,000 | ₹79 | 7.4% |
On this home the three are within ₹9,000 of each other, so the choice is less about the money than about what the client wants to be sure of: a fixed number, a fee that follows the work, or a rate they can compare.
5. Which to offer
You don't have to choose. Offer all three on the same quotation, each with its own list of what you'll do and its own payment schedule, and let the client pick. The one they choose tells you what they care about, and you didn't have to guess.
If you'd rather offer one, choose the one that matches how the job will run: a lump sum when the scope is settled, a percentage when it isn't, and per sq ft when the client is comparing studios on rate.
6. When the fee is paid
Each fee needs a schedule: stages the client can see, with a share against each. The Sharma Residence's lump sum is paid 50% at booking and 50% at handover; the per sq ft and percentage options are 30% at booking, 40% at design sign-off and 30% at handover.
There's no standard split worth copying. Ask for enough at booking to cover the design work you'll do before the next stage, and make every stage something both of you can point to when it's reached.
7. GST on your fee
If you're GST-registered, GST usually appears on the fee as it does on the work: CGST and SGST when the client is in your state, IGST when they're not. On the Sharma Residence's booking stage, ₹55,000, that's ₹4,950 of CGST and ₹4,950 of SGST at 18%, for an invoice of ₹64,900.
Which rate applies to design services, and when the GST is due, are questions for your CA. If you're not registered yet, charge the fee without GST and say so on the quotation.