QuotedPartAnswers · Updated 2026-10-30
Should I charge for material certs, C of C and inspection reports?
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Charge for any document that takes your people time to produce, and price it from minutes times rate. At a $55 an hour office rate and a $75 an hour inspection rate, the example minutes below give $9.17 for a material cert attached to a lot, $9.17 for a certificate of conformance, $112.50 for a first article report and $300.00 for a full PPAP package. Many buyers expect a C of C to come free. Put every one of them on the quote as its own line, so the decision to pay or drop it is theirs.
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A price list built from minutes
The times are examples, not an industry average; time your own and replace them. The point is the method: write down what you do to produce the document, time it, and multiply by the rate of the person who does it. Material certs are pulled from the receiving file and matched to the lot; a C of C is generated and signed; an inspection report means measuring features and recording the results, so it is inspection time; a PPAP package is a stack of documents.
| Document | Minutes | Rate | Cost to you | Charge per | Quote line wording |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Material certification (mill test report) attached | 10 | $55/h | $9.17 | Per lot of material | Material certification: mill test reports for lot [x] |
| Certificate of conformance | 10 | $55/h | $9.17 | Per shipment | Certificate of conformance, per shipment |
| First article inspection report | 90 | $75/h | $112.50 | Per part number and revision | First article inspection, per part number |
| Measured inspection report (sample) | 30 | $75/h | $37.50 | Per lot | Inspection report, [n] pieces measured |
| PPAP submission (level 3 package) | 240 | $75/h | $300.00 | Per part number | PPAP submission, per part number |
| Process certifications from outside finisher | 10 | $55/h | $9.17 | Per lot | Finisher certification, pass-through |
When to charge, when to absorb
A cert that your system produces automatically at no cost is a different thing from one that someone digs out of a binder. If the material certs are already scanned and the C of C is generated in one click, a charge of a few dollars is fair for a stranger and an annoyance to a good customer; folding it into a minimum lot charge or the standard rate for that customer works. If a customer requires a first article or measured report on every lot, put it on the quote each time, since the cost repeats.
Charge for paperwork the customer adds after the quote. A buyer who sends a PO with a requirement that wasn't in the RFQ is asking for a change; the PO is a counter-offer and you can decline it or quote the extra. Say so politely, once.
Don't let paperwork hide in the rate. A shop that gives away certs on every order has a lower margin on small orders than on large ones, because the paperwork is a fixed cost per shipment. Our quoting engine has charge types for exactly this: certification, first article, NRE and tooling charges, entered once and applied to the lines they belong to.
Putting it on the quote
Itemize. A quote that says "Price each: $42.00. First article report: $135.00. C of C: $9.17 per shipment" gets the first article questioned once, and then accepted or dropped. A quote with the cost buried in the unit price gets compared against quotes that exclude it.
State what each document contains. A first article report is a ballooned print, measured values for each characteristic and an approval sign-off; if the buyer needs a particular form (AS9102 for aerospace, for example), say that your price includes it. State the format and who signs. If a document requires a measurement method you don't have (a CMM, an optical comparator), say that it's an outside service and will be passed through at cost plus handling.
Sources and limits
Claims are dated where they can change. Product calculations are examples from the stated inputs, not a promise about a customer's quote. Competitor wording is attributed to the source shown.
- Minutes, rates and the document list are examples for the arithmetic; no industry average price for certs or reports is claimed.
Questions
What if my competitors give certs for free?
Then your price has to carry the cost somewhere. Either charge for the document or raise the base price; the buyer will compare totals, not lines.
Do I charge for a C of C on every shipment?
A per-shipment charge is fair for a stranger; for a regular customer, fold it into the terms. Either way, decide in advance.
Price one of your own parts
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