A useful change can
still cost too much.

A fixed price can stop a bill from growing. You still need to check what paying it would leave.

The proposed change

One video.
Two ways to pay.

Vela, our fictional studio, is making a short animated video. It uses an online service to turn animation files into finished pictures.

Its current agreement charges for the computer time used. The supplier offers a fixed price for this job instead. Vela has not started the work or accepted the offer.

The same video can take more work to finish.

Animation filesComputer workFinished video
More computer time adds charges under the current agreement.

A process illustration, with no time or money scale.

Current agreement
No fixed total

Vela pays for the computer time used. More time means a larger bill.

Proposed price for this job
€1,400

Paid upfront. All processing and delivery included, even if the same job takes longer. Extra work needs a separate agreement.

The proposed terms fix what this job would cost. They do not establish that it is cheaper than paying for computer time.

Before committing

A fixed price still has to pass the cash check.

Before considering the offer, the person running Vela chose a cash level the studio would not go below. The quote is checked against that decision.

Cash Vela has
€6,200
Cash level Vela chose
€5,000

Lucid cannot choose this level. It stays fixed while you try different prices below.

What to consider when choosing

Your recorded business bills, commitments outside the business and promises to pay personally all matter. The chosen level is separate from the bills you owe. It does not cancel them or set money aside in a bank account.

The supplier's fixed quote

Cash now
€6,200
Price
€1,400
Cash after payment
€4,800
The chosen line stays where Vela put it.

This price is refused.

€4,800 would remain. That is €200 below the level Vela chose.

The quoted price leaves too little cash. Try another price above. Only the proposed price changes here. The job and its fixed-price terms stay the same. No payment or agreement is made in this example.

A check on the way to your decision.

The offerYour cash ruleYour decision

See the cost of changing the terms.

Check the cash left against the level you chose.

This proposed price cannot go ahead under the rule.

The quote stops here. A fixed price does not override the cash rule.

An expected client payment cannot make up a shortfall before it arrives. AI may explain the result; it cannot lower the chosen level or change the calculation.

After the check

You still have a choice.

Refusing this quote does not approve the open-ended bill. Vela can ask for a lower fixed price, reduce the job or leave it unstarted. The supplier would have to agree any change.

A lower price that passes the cash check still leaves a choice. Vela must judge whether the job is worth paying for. Any agreement must be signed and recorded before it changes what is owed.

You can do these sums in a spreadsheet. We are building Lucid to keep the terms beside the spending decision: what the price covers, whether further charges are possible, and what paying would leave.

This is a worked illustration of the process we are building. The full product is still in development.

Try a different price
The example and its limits
  • Vela, the job, the prices and the agreements are fictional. This is a separate decision from the studio's writing retainer, screen-rights project and office expansion.
  • The current agreement has no fixed job total. The proposed €1,400 covers all processing and delivery of the defined job, including taxes and service fees. Vela has not accepted it or started the work. No job price is recorded here as money already owed.
  • The quoted price leaves €6,200 − €1,400 = €4,800, which is €200 below the chosen level. A price of €1,200 leaves exactly €5,000. A cent more leaves too little.
  • The chosen level is a personal declaration. It is separate from recorded business bills. This check alone cannot establish whether the whole business can afford a decision or settle promises to pay personally.
  • Buying credits does not automatically fix a processing bill. RebusFarm's FAQ explains that work already running can use more than the remaining credits. Its terms do not supply Vela's invented fixed-price offer.
  • This example assumes the supplier performs the agreed job. A fixed price does not guarantee delivery or cover the studio's other costs. No total saving or expected job cost is calculated.