Build a Custom Quote Calculator with Google Sheets' AI

What This Does

Most bookings fit your standard packages, but the ones that do not, extra hours, a second shooter, a long drive to a remote venue, force you to do the same math by hand every time. Gemini in Sheets can build the formulas for a small calculator once, so future custom quotes just need new numbers typed into a few cells.

Before You Start

• You have a Google account with access to Google Sheets
• Gemini's spreadsheet features are enabled on your account. On Business Standard and higher this ships as part of the plan ($14/user/month); on a personal account it needs an eligible Google AI plan. Look for a sparkle or star icon near the top of the Sheets window
• Your base package prices, your hourly rate for extra time, and your per-mile or flat travel fee written down somewhere, even roughly

Steps

1. Lay out your inputs

Start a new sheet with a column for each variable a custom quote depends on: base package, extra hours, travel distance, second shooter (yes or no), and any add-ons like an album or a rush turnaround. Put one row aside as a working example with real numbers filled in.

2. Ask Gemini to build the formula

Open the Gemini panel in Sheets and describe what you need in plain language: "Build a formula that adds a base package price to (extra hours times an hourly rate) plus (travel miles times a per-mile rate), and adds a flat fee if a second shooter checkbox is checked." Gemini writes the formula into the cell you specify.

3. Test it against a real booking

Plug in the numbers from an actual recent quote and check that the total matches what you sent the client, or explains the difference if it does not. Adjust the formula's inputs, not by hand-editing the formula text, until the example row checks out.

4. Turn it into a reusable calculator

Once the formula works, clear the example numbers and leave the input cells blank or set to zero. Add labels next to each input so a future you, or anyone else quoting a job, knows exactly what to type where.

Real Example

Scenario: A client wants an eight-hour wedding day instead of your standard six-hour package, plus a second shooter and a ninety-minute drive to the venue.

What you type in Gemini: "Create a formula in cell F2 that starts from the base package price in B2, adds two extra hours at the hourly rate in C2, adds travel miles in D2 times the per-mile rate in E2, and adds a flat second-shooter fee from G2 if H2 is checked."

What you get: A working total in F2 that updates instantly if any input changes, ready to screenshot or copy into the quote email.

Tips

• Keep the calculator on its own tab, separate from your booking tracker or client list, so a formula edit never risks other data.
• Check the AI-generated formula's logic once by hand on paper before trusting it with a real quote. A misplaced parenthesis in a nested formula can quietly overcharge or undercharge a client.
• If a client questions a total, you can point to the specific inputs (hours, miles, add-ons) that produced it instead of explaining a mental calculation after the fact.

Tool interfaces change. If a button has moved, look for similar AI/magic/smart options in the same menu area.