AURA

Decor calculator: a client price and a photo mockup

The «Calculator» (formerly «Decor calculator») prices drapery, a backdrop or banner (a press wall included), carpet, linoleum, artificial turf, a plastic floor and painting from the sizes and the studio price list. The result is a client total broken down by rows, a client PDF, rows for the project estimate and the decor drawn on the venue photo. Available in beta to everyone, no invitation needed.

Learn more: Help · Features.

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How to use it

  1. Open the calculator: in an order it is the «Count» stage, the «Calculator» card, the «Count» button (a tool marked «Beta»); without an order it is the «Calculator» in the Production header. Without a project it is handy for quoting a client a price right during a call.
  2. In the «What we calculate» block, choose the decor: «Drapery», «Backdrop / banner», «Carpet», «Linoleum», «Artificial turf», «Plastic floor» or «Painting». A press wall and a printed backdrop are calculated as «Backdrop / banner».
  3. Enter the sizes in metres. For a banner, carpet, linoleum, turf and a plastic floor, the size can be set «By sides» or «By area». Below, choose the options: frame, print, side returns, kind of cover, pile, material or underlay. Drapery has no options: it is for a wall, and you enter the fabric price yourself.
  4. Check the «Studio markup» field in percent. In a project it comes from the project estimate; without a project it is 0% by default. You can change the markup for this calculation.
  5. On the right, the «Client total» appears at once, with «What makes up the total» rows and the formula of each row. The total is calculated by a formula from the studio price list, not by a neural network.
  6. If a row shows «no price», type the price in the field below it and click «Save to price list»: the price is saved in the studio norms and filled in automatically in later calculations. «Apply to this calculation» puts the price into this calculation only. A price from the price list can be changed at any time with «Change price» under the row. If you are not allowed to change this studio's price list, only «Apply to this calculation» is there.
  7. To show the decor at the venue, click «Upload a photo of the venue», mark the decor area with a frame or with the «Back wall», «Left wall» or «Floor» button and click «Draw the decor on the photo». The before and after photos are compared with a slider.
  8. Click «To the order estimate»: the decor goes into the «Decor» section of the estimate as one item with its composition, the installation as a row of its own. The «After the event» ticks add the teardown and the disposal to them. In a studio without a project, the calculator asks which project’s estimate to add it to.
  9. «PDF for the client» builds a file with the studio brand, sizes, photo mockup, rows and total. «Copy the total» and «Copy the calculation» put the text on the clipboard, for example to send it in a messaging app.
  10. «Save calculation» puts it into «Recent calculations». To start another calculation without changing the saved one, click «New calculation». The bin button beside a calculation deletes it; the rows it added to the estimate stay.

Drapery: how many rolls to buy

  • For drapery, set the wall width and height, the «Gather» (how many times the fabric is wider than the wall), the «Roll width», the «Roll length», the «Fabric cost», the «Hems top + bottom» and the «Reserve».
  • A drapery calculation has three rows: «Drapery fabric», «Sewing: hems and joins» and «Setup and teardown» by the wall width (with «By crew» installation, one «Installation» row instead). Since 17 October 2026 there is no «Wire and fixings» row: the wire and the fixings are counted in the installation. Calculations saved earlier open with their previous total, and the row goes away when they are recalculated.
  • The «Fabric cost» is entered in roubles per running metre: every client has their own fabric, of different kinds, suppliers and prices. The «Drapery fabric» row is priced at this cost plus the studio markup. While the field is empty, the row shows «no price» and is not included in the total. The calculator does not ask for a fabric colour, and the fabric price is not saved to the studio price list.
  • Drapery in the calculator is for a wall only. A ceiling drapery is counted differently, so price it separately. Calculations saved earlier with a fabric colour or a ceiling open with their previous total and are counted as a wall when recalculated. After such a recalculation, the photo mockup of a ceiling drapery becomes «Outdated».
  • By default a roll is 30 m, the hem is 30 cm for both edges together (15 cm at the top and 15 cm at the bottom) and the reserve is 30%. If the studio norms set their own roll, gather and reserve, those are used.
  • Under the total, the calculator says what to buy: for example «Buy 3 rolls of 30 m», how much fabric is needed including the reserve and how much will be left over. Rolls are always whole and the number is rounded up: better to have some left than to buy more.
  • If the gather comes from an example and not from an approved studio norm, a mark like «Gather ×3 from the example, not a studio norm yet» appears under the sizes. You can check and approve the norm in the «Price list and norms» section.

Side returns: panels at the banner's ends

  • «Side returns» are panels at the banner's ends. They stand at a right angle to the wall, go back along its full height and hide its technical side: the weights and braces.
  • Choose «Side returns»: «No», «Left», «Right» or «Both sides». A metal frame and a frame on timber have «Both sides» by default, a wall without its own frame «No». Until you choose, the choice follows the frame, and the «Back to the frame's choice» button brings it back.
  • The «Return depth» is 0.6 m by default: usually enough to hide the weights and braces. A return is as high as the wall.
  • Each return adds its depth × the wall height to the «Printed banner» and «Tensioning and fixings» rows and to the frame row of the same type as the wall. A 6 × 3 m wall with returns on both sides, 0.6 m deep: returns 2 × 0.6 × 3 = 3.6 m², frame and tensioning 18 + 3.6 = 21.6 m², banner (18 + 3.6) × 1.08 = 23.33 m². The returns are printed on the outside, the inner side is not printed.
  • With the size set «By area» the wall height is unknown, and since 17 October 2026 the side returns are counted anyway: their height is taken as for a square of the same area, rounded up to the centimetre. For 18 m² this is 4.25 m: returns on both sides, 0.6 m deep, give 2 × 0.6 × 4.25 = 5.1 m², the frame and the tensioning 18 + 5.1 = 23.1 m². Under the choice of side returns the calculator says at what height it counted them. For the exact height, set the size «By sides».
  • A frame of timber or a profile can be priced per running metre of the wall: in the frame row, click «Change price» and choose the «Unit» «per running m». The length is then the wall width together with the side returns: 6 m + 2 × 0.6 m = 7.2 m. If the frame price in the studio price list is per running metre, the row is counted this way by itself. With the size set «By area» the width is unknown, and the calculator asks you to set the size «By sides».
  • Side returns used to be counted per piece, as side supports. Calculations with a number of them open with their previous total, and a recalculation turns a number above zero into «Both sides» 0.6 m deep and zero into «No».

Carpet, linoleum and turf: kind, strips and running metres

  • For carpet, linoleum and artificial turf, set the floor sides or its area, the «Roll width» (2 m by default), the «Trim allowance» and the material cost in roubles per running metre: «Carpet cost», «Linoleum cost» or «Turf cost». The calculator does not ask for a colour: every client has their own material, of different kinds, suppliers and prices.
  • The «Kind» names the material in the calculation: for carpet «Exhibition», «With a protective film» or «Rubber-backed», for linoleum «Commercial» or «Stage». The price is still entered per running metre, and «Price list and norms» has a row for each kind.
  • The cover is laid in strips as wide as the roll. The calculator tries strips along each side and takes the option with fewer running metres, and with equal metres the one with fewer seams. For example, a 6 × 4 m floor and a 2 m roll: 2 strips of 6 m, that is 12 running m and one 6 m seam; with a 10% allowance, buy 13.2 running m. The material row says how many strips there are and along which side.
  • The material row is priced at the cost you enter plus the studio markup. While the field is empty, the row shows «no price» and is not included in the total. The material price is not saved to the studio price list.
  • Carpet and linoleum also get consumables: «Double-sided tape» and «Masking tape». Each one takes the floor perimeter plus all the seams, with a 30% reserve: for a 6 × 4 m floor that is (20 m + 6 m) × 1.3 = 33.8 running m. The masking tape goes down before the double-sided one, so the cover comes off later without marks. The tape price per running metre comes from the studio price list; if it is missing, type it and click «Save to price list». Artificial turf has no consumables.
  • If the size is set «By area», the sides are unknown: the strips, running metres and perimeter are counted for a square of the same area, and the calculator says so under the total.
  • Turf keeps its «Pile» and «Coefficient»: the turf cost per running metre is multiplied by the coefficient. Calculations saved earlier with a colour open with their previous total, and their price per m² is carried over as a cost per running metre of a 2 m roll.

Plastic floor: sheets on an underlay (provisional)

  • «Plastic floor» prices a floor of polystyrene sheets. This is a provisional calculation: the head of production will confirm the method and prices, and the calculation may change after that.
  • Set the floor sides or its area, the «Trim allowance» (10% by default) and the «Plastic cost» in roubles per m². Until the cost is entered, the material row shows «no price» and is not included in the total.
  • «Material»: «Polystyrene», «Polystyrene + direct print» or «Polystyrene + printed film with floor lamination». With the direct print, the «Direct print on polystyrene» row is added, with the film the «Printed film» and «Floor lamination» rows. Their prices per m² come from the studio price list.
  • «Underlay»: «No underlay», «Plywood 9 mm», «Plywood 12 mm», «OSB 9 mm» or «OSB 12 mm». The underlay is priced per m² from the studio price list.
  • The plastic, print, lamination and underlay are counted by the floor area with the allowance, «Laying» by the floor area. A 6 × 4 m floor with a 10% allowance on 9 mm plywood: 24 × 1.1 = 26.4 m² of plastic and plywood, laying 24 m².
  • Consumables as for carpet: «Double-sided tape» and «Masking tape» along the floor perimeter plus 30%, for a 6 × 4 m floor that is 20 × 1.3 = 26 running m. The joints between sheets are not counted yet, because the sheet size is not set.

A row's price and unit: per m², per running metre or for the whole job

  • The price of any row can be changed right in the calculation. A row priced from the price list has the «Change price» button under it, and after «Save to price list» it reads «Studio price list price · change». Click it, type the price and choose «Apply to this calculation» (this calculation only) or «Save to price list» (a new version of the price in «Price list and norms»).
  • Work rows have a «Unit» next to the price: «per m²», «per running m» or «for the whole job». These are the banner and back fabric tensioning, laying carpet, linoleum, turf and plastic, hanging the drapery and removing the floor covering. Per m² and per running metre the price is multiplied by the area or the length: for a banner it is the wall width with its side panels, for a floor its perimeter. «For the whole job» counts the row once. Running metres can be chosen when the size is set «By sides». Materials keep their own unit.
  • If a price per m² or per running metre is much higher than usual, a warning appears under the row, for example «The price 75 600 ₽ per m² gives 3 477 600 ₽. Maybe it is the price for the whole job?», with the «Count as the whole job» button: the row becomes one job at the same price. The calculator does not forbid such a price: some works are expensive.
  • The calculator saves a suspiciously high price to the price list only after you confirm it. In the «Check the price» window click «Yes, per m²» if the price is right, or «It is for the whole job». A price saved «for the whole job» is counted for the whole job in later calculations too.

Installation: the crew, the hours and the minimum shift

  • In the «Installation» block under the sizes choose how to count the installation. «By crew» (every new calculation is counted this way): tensioning, laying and hanging the drapery become one row «Installation», which is «People» × paid hours × «Hourly rate». «By area»: tensioning and laying stay separate rows per m², as before. Calculations saved before 13 October 2026 open «By area» and are counted as before.
  • Paid hours are never fewer than the «Minimum shift», 10 h by default: the crew is paid for the shift even if the installation took 4 hours. 2 people for 4 hours at 900 ₽ an hour give 2 × 10 × 900 = 18 000 ₽, and 2 people for 12 hours give 2 × 12 × 900 = 21 600 ₽. The rest of the shift is shown under the row: those hours can go to other work, they are not taken off the sum.
  • The studio sets the minimum shift itself: «Price list and norms» → «Works and rates» → menu → «Minimum montage shift», or «Studio order rules». A new calculation takes it from there, and the «Minimum shift» field of a calculation can be changed for this decor.
  • Under the «Installation» fields and under the total, the calculator says the crew in words, for example «Installation needs 6 people for 11 hours each (minimum shift 10 hours)». Next to it stands «AURA recommends checking this item carefully against the installation inputs»: you set the people and the hours yourself, and the calculator does not know the venue's floor, lift, access and unloading. The same words and this request go into the formula of the «Installation» row in the estimate.
  • If only the person-hours are known, type them into «Only know the person-hours?»: AURA splits them into people for a shift of 10 to 12 hours. 66 person-hours are 6 people for 11 hours each, 25 person-hours are 3 people for 8.5 hours each, paid the minimum shift. The «Put into the installation» button moves the people and the hours into the fields.
  • The «Hourly rate» comes from the price list, it is the «Installer» rate: a rate per shift is divided by the hours of the shift. For this calculation you can type the rate in the «Installation» block. Without a rate the «Installation» row shows «no price» and is not included in the total.
  • The studio markup is not added to the installation: the row reads «Without the studio markup», and the line under the total title says the markup is not added to the installation. In the project estimate the «Installation» row goes into the «Installation» category at cost, without the estimate markup. Its price in the estimate is its own: an estimate markup set or changed later is not added to it either.
  • This is the installation of one decor. The order's «Installation and logistics» counts the installation of all the order's products by shifts. If the estimate already has the installation from there, the calculator warns you when adding to the estimate: check that the installation is not counted twice. In the estimate the installation is a row of its own, «Installation: …», beside the item; the removal of a floor covering is in it.

The item in the estimate, teardown and disposal

  • A decor comes into the estimate as one item with the sum of its production: the print, the frame, the materials. The installation is a row of its own, «Installation: …», and is deleted with the item.
  • The «After the event» ticks under the calculation: «Teardown» adds half of the installation’s sum to the installation row, «Disposal» adds 5% of the production to the item’s composition. Both are on at once. If a line of the calculation counts the teardown already, as a drapery’s installation and teardown, it is not added twice.
  • The sums of the teardown and the disposal can be changed in the estimate: «⋯» → «Specification».

A material variant in a calculation row

  • If the material of a row has variants in «Price list and norms», for example «Banner, UV print» and «Solvent», an «Option» list with prices appears under the row. Choose a variant and the row is recounted at its price.
  • Without a choice the row is counted by the price list row itself, as before. The choice is saved with the calculation. If the variant is later removed from the price list, the row is counted at its own price and shows a warning.
  • A variant's price is changed in «Price list and norms». In the calculation it can be changed with «Change price», but for this calculation only: a variant has no «Save to price list».
  • Variants are added in «Price list and norms»: «Set your price» at the row, then «Add an option».

Photo mockup: the decor on a venue photo

  • The photo mockup draws the chosen decor on the venue photo in the marked area. Shoot the hall from where the guests will see it. The picture is usually ready in 20–40 seconds; you can keep changing the calculation, the total does not wait for the picture.
  • Each photo mockup is charged to your balance as an image refinement. You can make up to 10 photo mockups a day; how many are left today is shown under the button.
  • If you change the decor, the area or the colour after the photo mockup, its status becomes «Outdated»: the photo still shows the previous version. Click «Update the photo mockup».
  • If the «Draw the decor on the photo» button is inactive, the text next to it says what is missing: a venue photo, a decor area on the photo, a valid calculation or photo mockups left for today.
  • The AI does not invent the client's logos and lettering: the mockup keeps a space for the client's file.
  • If it says «Photo mockup unavailable», the generation service is not connected right now. The calculation, total, estimate and PDF work as usual, and the PDF contains the original photo with the marked area.
  • A «Scheme or drawing» (JPG, PNG or a PDF page) is shown alongside as a hint and does not affect the total.

«We'll do it turnkey»: a partner request

  • Click the «Client total» bar («Who can deliver it turnkey ›»). The «We'll do it turnkey» window opens: an AURA partner (HD by default) will buy, prepare, install and dismantle everything in the calculation.
  • Enter a name and phone number (at least 10 digits), and optionally an email, the event date, the venue and a comment, then click «Send request».
  • The request includes the calculation with its total and the photo mockup, if it is ready and not outdated. The studio's cost is not included in the request.
  • Only the partner and the AURA team see the request. Nothing is sent to your client.
  • A sent calculation gets a «Partner request» label in «Recent calculations». You can send up to 10 requests a day. If the partner is not accepting requests right now, the window says so.

A decor kind in products: the studio's own lines

  • In professional-level production every kind of the calculator is also in the «Product library», in the «Decor kinds» group: drapery, backdrop / banner, carpet, linoleum, turf, plastic floor and painting. The calculator's lines and all its numbers stay as they were: the kinds' formulas are checked against the calculator on hundreds of sizes.
  • To add a line of your own, for example tiebacks for drapery: open the «Studio products» tile, click «Product library», click «Copy to the studio» next to «Drapery», then «Own lines». Enter the name, the code of the material or work from «Price list and norms», the quantity as a formula and the unit, and click «Save and publish».
  • Formulas can use the kind's fields (width, height, area, gather, written in Russian as in the calculator) and its intermediate numbers, such as the fabric length of drapery: the list of names is shown above the lines. Percentages in the formulas of decor kinds are plain numbers: a 30% reserve is 30. The studio's own parameters, such as the tieback spacing, appear in the calculator as the «Studio parameters» block.
  • Your own line is priced from «Price list and norms» with the calculation's markup. If there is no price, type it under the line and click «Apply to this calculation»: the price goes into this calculation only. Your own line goes into the estimate, the PDF for the client and the partner request together with the others.
  • While the copy is published, every calculation of this kind in the studio counts by it, and a saved calculation keeps the kind's code and version. To go back to the built-in kind, archive the copy.
  • The estimate row calculators (fabric, frame, cladding and others) are in the «Product library» too, in the «Estimate calculators» group, and count on the order's «Estimate» tool. The «What we calculate» list of the «Studio products» tile holds only products: the decor kinds are picked by their own tiles.

Beta: open to everyone

  • The «Calculator» is part of «Production» together with the estimate, the price list and the reference projects. Since 4 October 2026 they are available to every account, no invitation needed. An AURA administrator can close the module again to everyone except invited people on the «Beta access» tab: if you do not see the tool or the item in the «Production» section, contact support.
  • The order's tool is visible only to the owner and editors, because the calculation contains the studio's prices. Commenters, readers and the client do not see it.
  • Spotted a mistake or something missing? On the «Calculator» page open «⋯» next to the heading and click «Leave feedback», and in the order's tool click «Beta feedback» next to the heading. The AURA team will see the feedback together with the page address.

Good to know

  • Prices exclude VAT. A row without a price is not included in the total; under the total it says how many such rows there are.
  • Only the owner of the studio the project belongs to can save a price to the price list. Everyone else applies the price to their own calculation only.
  • Adding to the estimate again updates the same item and its installation instead of duplicating them. A line without a price makes the item «no price», never a zero.
  • If no line of the calculation has a price, for example while the studio's price list is still empty, the total and its row in «Recent calculations» show «no price», not 0 ₽. «PDF for the client» and «Copy the total» become available once at least one line has a price. «To the order estimate» is available: the lines come into the estimate marked «no price», and the prices can be entered there.
  • A saved calculation is changed at the next save. The photo and the area on it belong to the saved calculation, and «New calculation» starts a clean one.
  • If the calculation was changed in another tab, your data stays on the screen: open the calculation from the recent ones and enter it again.
  • The client PDF contains only client prices: the studio's cost is not included.
  • If directions are on for you, the calculator is called «Calculator» (formerly «Decor calculator»): the link in the Production header, the order's tool and the page itself. In the AURA app the tab at the bottom has the short label «Calculation». It works the same way.

Frequently asked questions

  • Why does the total differ from my estimate? The calculator takes prices from the studio price list («Price list and norms») and the markup from this calculation. Check the «What makes up the total» rows: each one shows its formula.
  • How is the decor calculator different from the estimate calculators? It prices finished decor straight away as a client price, with markup and a photo mockup. The calculators in the «Estimate» tool count materials and work in more detail: cutting by rolls, frame, sewing.
  • The client sent a whole brief: do I have to count each item by hand? No: click «Count what can be counted» above the calculator, and the helper reads the brief and counts everything given in numbers.
  • Where did the press wall and the printed backdrop go? They are the same product as the banner: choose «Backdrop / banner», the print on a banner or fabric and the frame. Old press wall and backdrop calculations open there with their own total.
  • How are «Studio products» different from the decor kinds? Decor kinds are counted by built-in formulas. The «Studio products» tile counts a product by its composition from your materials and works and shows each line's formula. See the guide on studio products for details.
  • Why is the installation counted as 10 hours? The crew is paid at least the minimum shift, 10 hours by default, even if the work took less. Change the shift in the «Minimum shift» field of the «Installation» block; the rest of the shift can go to other work.
  • The contractor quoted a price for the whole installation, not per m². How do I count it? Click «Change price» on the row, choose «Unit»: «for the whole job» and type the sum. The row is counted once instead of being multiplied by the area.
  • How do I check the installation by crew, for example 6 people for 6 hours at 1 500 ₽ an hour? In the «Installation» block choose «By crew» and type «People» 6, «Working hours» 6, «Hourly rate» 1 500 and «Minimum shift» 10. The «Installation» row shows 60 h: 6 people × 10 h, the minimum shift 10 h, 6 h in fact, the sum 6 × 10 × 1 500 = 90 000 ₽, and under the row the rest of the shift, 4 h, and «Without the studio markup». If the installation was multiplied by the area, the «By area» mode is chosen or a calculation saved before 13 October is open: switch to «By crew». The rate can be changed at any time, also after «Save to price list».

Decor calculations on the phone

In the mobile app the decor calculator is available from Production, a project, an order and its estimate, with the production estimate beta key. Choose one of the eight kinds, set the sizes and check the preliminary calculation.

  1. Save the parameters and prices. A calculation can be reopened, copied, or saved as a client PDF through the system menu.
  2. Add a venue photo and a scheme from the camera, the gallery or files. For a PDF scheme, the first page is used.
  3. Choose a zone on the photo. The photo binding is started separately after the price is checked and confirmed. If the photo, zone or parameters change, the earlier binding is marked as outdated.
  4. Pass the calculation to the chosen estimate. Adding it again updates the linked lines without duplicates.
  5. A request to a production partner contains the contacts, date, venue, comment and calculation. It is sent only after a separate confirmation.
  • The decor calculator, the engineering calculators by norms and the brief analysis assistant are different tools. If the result of a request is unknown, first check the earlier sending with the partner.

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