An exact corporate-merch quote is possible only when the brief fixes one version of what is being costed: exactly what will be made, in what quantity and size breakdown, with which decoration, packaging, addresses, and dates. Every unknown must either be resolved before pricing or explicitly marked as an assumption that will change the estimate when clarified.
First define the brief version and the outcome the contractor must quote
Start with the project name, the customer-side decision owner, the brief author, a version number, and a date. Describe the outcome in one sentence: for example, not “we need team merch,” but “we need issue-ready kits for named recipients, with approved decoration and allocation across two addresses.”
Separately identify what the request includes: products, decoration, sample, individualisation, packaging, marking, kitting, and delivery. If a block has not yet been selected, ask not for an “exact price” but for a comparable preliminary estimate with clearly labelled assumptions.
Stop before quoting
Do not combine different product, decoration, or delivery scenarios into one figure. If the team is still choosing between them, each scenario needs its own row or a separate estimate version.
Put every unique product, colour, and decoration combination on its own row
A specification row should include the product category, brand or acceptable equivalent, item code, colour, material or composition, required properties, decoration method and position, quantity, and selection status. “T-shirts in assorted colours” conceals several production items and makes the total impossible to reconcile.
Size breakdown
For each item code and colour, give the quantity in every size. The size total must equal the total quantity on that row, not the total number of all products in the project.
Individualisation
If there are names, numbers, or roles, add a separate register linking “recipient – product – size – variable element.” The number of records must match the number of personalised units.
Reserve
Do not hide spare units in the overall figure. List them separately, specify the sizes, and state whether they need decoration, packaging, and an assigned recipient.
For each decoration, name the file, version, position, and approval boundary
Link each item to the exact filename and artwork version, the variant for that product colour, the placement, an approximate overall size, and a colour reference if one exists. Do not write only “logo on chest”: the contractor needs to know which mark and which side of the product to inspect.
The decoration size should not be approved separately from the product. The available area depends on the garment size, construction, seams, method, and equipment, so state in the brief whether the artwork size is fixed across the size range or needs separate approval. The contractor confirms final production suitability of the files and placement before the run.
Accept the sample and visual proof against criteria named in advance
Record whether you need a digital visual, a physical product sample, a decoration test, or a complete pre-production sample. For every control stage, name the approval owner, how the decision will be recorded, and exactly what is being checked: product model and colour, mark size and position, readability of variable data, kit contents, or packaging.
Approval of one sample does not prove the fit of every size and does not carry over to another product, colour, technology, or artwork version. Any such substitution sends the changed block back for review and may alter both the estimate and the schedule.
Treat packaging, addresses, and dates as part of the specification
Describe the issue unit: an individual product, a named bag, or a kit containing several items. Add requirements for inserts, the label, recipient list, and outer marking. Then allocate the full volume by address; the sum of delivery batches must equal the total number of finished units.
Separate the event date, preferred receipt date, last acceptable delivery date, and approval dates. The contractor confirms the real schedule after checking the scope and logistics; the brief itself does not create an automatic deadline guarantee.
Run three reconciliations and freeze the version before requesting a price
If all three reconciliations pass, send one numbered brief version and request an estimate specifically for it. If the quantity, product, decoration, kit contents, address, or date changes afterward, create a new version and ask to update only the affected assumptions. This keeps the estimate, sample, and actual scope comparable.
Once the product list, decorations, and control stages are defined, you can compare available classes of printing equipment and clarify technical constraints with a MyPrint specialist. The catalogue does not replace a production estimate for the specific merch request.
View printing equipment at MyPrint