23).The Bid: Cost estimate

Though the simplest items to put on the bid, these can also be the most time consuming especially for rookie freelancers, not to mention, at times stressful.Now comes the important question to ask yourself: How much do I charge? It is almost useless to search the internet for freelance billing rates by profession since they vary wildly. If you can find or know other freelancers in a similar field, consult them to obtain a rough estimate of what they charge. I know that this is usually a long shot, though.It is good to start out with determining the hourly rate you should be charging then you can base your project fees on this rate. Using the Rate Calculator should give you a good estimate which applies to all fields of employment.So now that you have your hourly rate we are left with the next piece of the puzzle: 
what to charge for an entire project. This can also be a bit complex to a new freelancer who may not have enough projects under their belt to be able to determine this.
It is normal for a new freelancer to take longer completing a certain project than a more experienced freelancer tackling the same project. It will not be fair, however, if the new freelancer charges more because he will have to work more hours than the more experienced one. The project bid price has to be a competitive and fair price. Here are some ways you can create a competitive bid price:
• In some FWEs, you can browse similar projects and view the bids and bid prices that others place (Elance is one of them). You may notice a wide variation in bid prices, so also take note of what they offer in relation to the price. From there, you may be able to generate a rough estimate for your bid price.
• Look for the relatively simple projects where you can easily determine the number of hours necessary and apply your hourly rate. It should be no surprise, too, that the easier projects are also the easiest projects to win.
• Keep track of the first fifteen bids you make. A general rule is if a high percentage of them accept (eight of them or higher) then you are likely bidding too low. Conversely, if two or less accepts, you are likely bidding too high. If 3 - 5 accept, you have the pricing at an optimal level.
The quality of your bid also can be a factor here, too, so it’s important to stick with the methods outlined in this chapter.
What happens many times is that the project description is too vague to give an  accurate estimate. In this situation, it is always best to just estimate anyway and state that it is just an estimated amount. Employers most often like to see a price on a bid whether estimated or not.