How to Price Funeral Tributes: A Florist's Guide

Price funeral tributes from the frame, flowers and time needed for the chosen design. Confirm the size, finish and delivery arrangements before quoting, including any substitutions. For help with the conversation, the sympathy and funeral flower etiquette guide covers questions to ask the family and funeral director.

Understanding Your Cost Components

Frames and Mechanics

Use the current supplier price for the exact frame, size and construction. Include delivery and VAT you cannot reclaim. Compare individual letters with a complete word frame using the same finished design; do not assume either option is cheaper.

Check whether the venue permits the proposed materials before committing to foam, moss or another construction.

Flowers by Type

Write down the flower variety, buying unit, quantity and current cost. A stem, bunch and flower head are different units. Check how many usable heads your purchased stems provide, and allow for the grade and condition you receive.

Basing Costs Are the Hidden Expense

Basing a tribute, covering the foam entirely in short-cut flowers before you add the focal design, is where a big chunk of your cost sits. Flower heads and stems are different units. For illustration, an estimated 30 heads at 6 usable heads per stem needs 5 stems. At £1 per stem, that base costs £5 before focal flowers. Actual requirements depend on frame size, flower-head size and coverage. Always cost your base layer separately.

Pricing by Tribute Type

Letter Tributes

Cost the complete word, including frames, basing, focal flowers, edging and any support. Wider letters and different finishes can need different quantities. Divide the total by the number of letters only if you want to present a per-letter price.

Offer a discount only after checking the actual cost and remaining return. A longer word does not by itself establish a saving in workroom time.

Named Tributes

For hearts, crosses, cushions and other shapes, record the dimensions as well as the name. Build a recipe for each size and finish you offer. Use photographs of your own work to show the customer what that specification looks like.

Sprays and Sheaves

Confirm the finished size, flowers and viewing direction. Include supporting materials, wrapping where used and the delivery requirements. A sheaf and a made-up spray need their own recipes even if the customer gives the same budget.

Accounting for Labour: Track Your Time

Time preparation, basing, making up and clearing away on the designs you sell. Add consultation and delivery separately where they are not already included.

Multiply that time by the rate or employment cost you use for the job. Include your own time when you make the tribute yourself. Use recorded times to check future quotes, rather than copying a national time allowance.

Building a Printed Price List

A clear price list makes quoting faster and more consistent. Include photographs of your work, size options, upgrade options, lead times and contact details. Review it at least twice a year.

Our free Pricing Guide Generator builds printable price sheets straight from your markups, labour and sundry costs, with separate manager and staff versions. To keep the recipes behind each tribute in one place across your team, the Digital Florists platform stores your product database with ingredient and recipe lists, so a NAN letter is made up the same way and priced the same whoever is in the workroom.

Quoting Consistently

Our free Arrangement Calculator lets you build any tribute from the stem and sundry costs you enter, with markup, labour and VAT, so you can check the price against those inputs. For dedicated sympathy work, the Tribute Calculator (part of a Plus plan) does the lot: pick the frame type and size, choose your flower style, add edging and accessories, and review estimated stems and costs using your settings. The Tribute Calculator tutorial walks through a full worked tribute, screen by screen. When every quote is built on real costs, you can answer the phone with confidence rather than dread.

Common Questions

How much should I charge for a funeral letter tribute?

Cost the word's frames, basing, focal flowers, edging, labour and delivery. Check the complete total before deciding whether to present a per-letter price. There is no single price that covers every finish and supplier cost.

How much do OASIS frames cost?

Ask your supplier for the exact frame and size, with delivery and VAT treatment clear. Record that cost in the quote. A price for a different shape or an old invoice may not match what you need to order now.

Why can a funeral tribute quote miss costs?

A quote can omit the frame, basing or preparation time. For basing, divide estimated flower heads by usable heads per stem, round up, then multiply by the stem price. Check the estimate against the flowers you receive.

How long does a funeral tribute take to make?

Time your own preparation, basing, making up and clear-up. Different sizes, finishes and working methods need different allowances. Use those records when you price the next tribute.