Studio products: costing by composition

How to use it

1. Open «Production» and the «Calculator» in the header (or the «Calculator» card on the «Count» stage of an order). «What we calculate» has the «Studio products» tile.
2. Write «What the product is called», for example «Light sign „Bar“». A banner backdrop is counted in «Backdrop / banner»: it is a position, not a product. Below, fill in «Operations»: for each choose the operation, the quantity, the coefficient and the price. «Add an operation» adds a row.
3. Take a product made before or a template with «Take from the product library». For a template, enter the sizes in millimetres, choose the materials and tick the options. In an order you can take a template's sizes from a drawing: the «Sizes from a drawing» field.
4. On the right you see «Client total», the cost, the recommended price and the margin. Below is the composition by groups: click a line to see its formula, values and every step of the calculation.
5. «Save calculation», «PDF for the client» and «Photo mockup» work as for decor. The client sees one line in the PDF: the name with the sizes and the price, without the composition or the cost.
6. Click «To the order estimate», pick the order zone (for example «Bar») and the quantity. The product goes into the estimate as one row, its composition opens under it.
7. «Save to the product library» saves the calculation and puts its copy into the library: if you change the open calculation afterwards, the product in the library stays as it was. Next time take it with «Take from the product library» and change the name or the numbers: it becomes a new calculation.

Own product by operations

• You name the product yourself in «What the product is called»: the list of templates is no longer the first step. A banner backdrop is not a product but a position: it is counted in the «Backdrop / banner» tile.
• Operations: «Plastic» (m², price per m², coefficient), «Milling» (running m), «Metal frame» (running m, price, coefficient), «LED strip» and «Neon» (running m), «Painting» (m² or an amount), «Film lamination» (m²), «Decoration», «Sewing» and «Development» (an amount), «3D printing» (an amount or hours), «Engineering design» (hours or an amount), «Designer's work» (hours × rate) and «Other» with its own name, quantity, unit and price. The operations also include «Power supplies and wiring» (pcs, set or running m of cable). «Other» starts with the unit «pcs».
• A row is counted as quantity × coefficient × price. The coefficient multiplies the quantity: 3 m² of plastic with a coefficient of 1.2 at 1,800 ₽ is 3 × 1.2 × 1,800 = 6,480 ₽. This is the studio's cost; the client price follows the studio markups, as for any product.
• Below the operations there are «Markup, %» and «Margin, %». Markup is counted on the cost, margin on the client's price: a 25% markup is a 20% margin. Type either, the other is counted. The studio's markup is there by default. The client's total and the product's price in the estimate include it, and «Save to the product library» keeps the product with its markup.
• If the studio's «Price list and norms» has its own row whose name has the operation in it, for example «Flexible neon 12 mm» per metre or «CNC milling», and its unit fits, its price fills in by itself and «from the studio price list» with the row's name is written under the price. The platform's example rows are not filled in. Otherwise type the price. A row without a price shows «no price» and is not included in the total, and a product with no prices at all goes neither into the estimate nor into the PDF.
• «To the order estimate» puts the product in as one row with its composition: each operation is visible under the row. «Save to the product library» puts the product into «Products made» of the library, and «Take from the product library» brings its name and operations back into the form as a new calculation.

How a product is counted

• A product is made of parameters (a size, a choice, a checkbox, a material), variables and components. Each component has a material or a work from your library by its code, a quantity formula, a unit, waste and rounding.
• The order of the calculation: parameters, variables, rules, then each component (condition and option, quantity, waste, rounding, price, source), and finally the totals and the outputs for installation.
• The price comes from your library row with that code, otherwise from the platform's row. The approved version counts. If none is approved, the line shows «Example price, not approved yet» or «The norm version is not approved yet». If a new version awaits approval, the line says which version it counted with.
• A purchase price is converted into the line's unit as in the «Materials» tab: a sheet into m², a bar into metres, a can of enamel into m² of a coat.

Sizes and formulas

• Sizes are entered in millimetres and are in metres inside formulas: 3000 mm is 3. So a formula of twice the length plus the depth gives the perimeter in metres right away. Percentages in formulas are fractions: 10% is 0.1.
• Formulas are written as in Russian Excel: a decimal comma, arguments separated by semicolons, functions such as IF, MIN, MAX, ROUNDUP and the sheet and bar counting functions.
• A line with an error in its formula, for example a division by zero, is not in the total and is shown in «Not in the total» with the reason. The other lines count as usual.
• A material parameter brings its sizes into the formulas, in metres: «<parameter>_длина_листа» and «<parameter>_ширина_листа» (the long and the short side of the sheet), «<parameter>_длина_хлыста» (bar length), «<parameter>_ширина_рулона» (roll width). For example, «Длина>Обшивка_длина_листа» checks for a joint against the sheet that is chosen. If the material has no such size, what depends on it is not counted and the reason is given.
• The formulas, form and composition of a product are changed in the editor «Production» → «Products»: it checks formulas as you type and shows where a mistake is.

Cutting sheets

• Parts cut from a sheet (the front, the sides, the shelves) are laid out on whole sheets with a 4 mm kerf between them. A part with a grain direction is not turned. Offcuts of at least 300 mm on both sides count as usable offcuts.
• If the material is costed by purchase, there are exactly as many sheets as the cut needs. If by consumption, m² with waste count, and the line warns when the cut needs more sheets.
• A part larger than a sheet is joined from pieces: the line and the «Cutting» block say so.

We make, from stock, rent, outsourced

• «From stock»: your own frame, only the wear goes into the cost, its percentage is set in the product. «Rent»: the price per day times the days. «Outsourced» and «We buy» count at the contractor's or purchase price.
• The markup of a line depends on its kind: materials, works, subcontracting, rent (multipliers in the studio markups). Where no multiplier is set, the calculation's markup applies.
• If a stock line has no wear percentage, its cost is 0 and the line warns «Stock wear is not set».
• A good frame from the studio stock is taken in the «From stock» block under the parameters with the «Take from stock» button: the wear percentage comes from the stock item, the group's labor is not needed and its material is not purchased (article «Order actual costs and stock»).

Product price

• By composition: the recommended price is the sum of the lines with the studio markups, then the studio rounding to 100 or 1000 ₽.
• By the price list: the product has one price from the price list. If the margin falls below the threshold, a «now at a loss» warning appears.
• By a price table: a size or a run and an option give the price (or work hours). This suits banners and print. If the value is above the last row of the table, the price is not counted and the reason is given.
• If the product's price cannot be counted (the size is above the last row of the price table or no line of the composition is counted), the total shows «no price», not 0. The client PDF and the partner request become available once the price is known.
• In a product's breakdown a group where no line is counted says «not counted» instead of a sum, not 0 ₽. If only some lines of the group are not counted, «not all counted» stands next to the group's sum.
• If a material or work of the composition has variants in «Price list and norms», a «Material options» block appears under the product in the calculator. The chosen variant counts every line of the product with this material by its price.

A product in the order estimate

• «To the order estimate» puts the product into the estimate as one row: the title, sizes, the client specification, the quantity and the price. Under the row the «Product composition» button shows the groups with their sums and every line with its quantity per 1 pc, the price per unit and the amount.
• You pick the zone the first time, and it becomes a section of the estimate. «To the order estimate» again after changing the sizes or options updates the same row instead of adding a second one. The title, zone, quantity, visibility to the client and a price typed by hand stay.
• The row price follows the product price: the studio markups by category and the rounding. If you type a price by hand, it stays, and the row details offer «Back to the product price».
• When the price of a product material changes (for example, a new MDF price) or a new product version comes out, the row gets a mark with the reason. The total does not change by itself: click «Recalculate», check the difference in the «Estimate recalculation» window and click «Apply the recalculation».
• A product without its price does not go into the estimate: fill in the missing prices first. If the composition has a «no price» line, the product cost in the estimate is «no price» too, never a smaller amount.
• In the export the client sees one row with the sizes and the price, without the composition and the cost. In the Excel file for the team the composition opens under the product by group.
• Products also go into the estimate with the «From a visualization» button in the «Estimate» tool: AURA picks a product for each object of the frame, and you confirm the sizes and the lines. More in the estimate article, section «From a visualization to the estimate».
• The «Count what can be counted» helper picks products too: it fills in sizes from the brief with a quote and page and asks only for what is missing (see the article about the helper).

Prices by table

1. Click «Product library» next to the product choice.
2. For a studio product with a price table, click «Prices by table». For a platform example, first «Copy to the studio».
3. Change the prices in the cells. An empty cell means «no price».
4. Click «Save and publish», or «Save as a draft» to check it later.

Versions and the product library

• A published product version does not change. An edit creates a draft of the next version, and the calculator counts with it after publishing. Saved calculations remember which version they were counted with.
• Publishing checks every formula and material code: an error blocks publishing and shows where it is.
• A platform example can be copied with «Copy to the studio» and published: then the calculator counts with your copy. Your own product from scratch or a variant of a ready one is assembled in «Production» → «Products», see the article «Product editor and formulas».
• The studio owner changes the studio's products. Order editors count with the owner's products and prices and do not change them.
• «Archive» removes a product from the calculator, «Restore from archive» in the product library brings it back. If the studio's copy is entirely archived, the calculator counts with the platform example again, and it can be copied again.

Rules and warnings

• A product rule checks the sizes and options. A hint or a warning is shown at the product or at a line, for example that a panel wider than a sheet will have a joint. A block stops the calculation and explains why, for example that a panel taller than 4 m will not stand on its own.

For installation and logistics

• The product counts the weight, the packed volume, the number of sections, the longest and the highest section, the installers and the hours of the installation and teardown. From these numbers the order's «Installation and logistics» tool counts the crew's shifts, picks the trucks and checks the carry-in path.

Bar counter

• The platform example «Bar counter» is built by its full composition: a metal frame of profile (top and bottom frames, posts at a set spacing, cross bars under the shelves), welding by joints or piecework per metre, the frame painted by powder coating outsourced or with enamel in the workshop, adjustable feet and screws, the front and side cladding cut from sheets, a laminated printed film on a PVC substrate over the MDF or painted cladding (insulator, sanding, primer, sanding, paint and varnish), shelves with an edge band, a countertop with an overhang, CNC milling of a logo, lighting (strip, profile, power supply, electrician), assembly and packing.
• Since 15.10 the example is version 2. With the finish «Printed film on a PVC substrate» the composition has a «PVC substrate under the film», cut from sheets like the front and sides. The finish «Paint: insulator, primer, paint, varnish» goes in the layers «Insulator», «Primer», «Paint» in two coats and «Varnish», and the painter sands the cladding twice: after the insulator and after the primer. Products in estimates counted by version 1 get the mark «New product version: v1 → v2», and «Recalculate» counts them by the new version. The studio's copies of the counter do not change.
• If the counter is longer than the cladding sheet, there will be a joint: putty and sanding of the joint are added to the composition, and the cladding shows a warning. The sheet length is taken from the chosen material.
• If the counter is longer than the truck body (the «Truck body length» field, a 3000 mm Gazelle van by default), a warning says it will not fit. Tick «Splits into sections»: the counter is split into sections no longer than the body, each with its own frame, and connectors and assembly time are added.
• For installation and logistics the counter counts its weight, packed volume, the number and length of sections, installers and hours of installation and dismantling.
• All the numbers of the example are illustrative: prices from the platform library, coefficients in the template's formulas. Copy the counter to the studio («Product library») and set your prices in «Materials» and «Works and rates».

Comparison with Excel

1. Count the product in the calculator with the same sizes and options as in your Excel.
2. Under the total, click «Compare with Excel».
3. In your Excel select the lines of this product (a name and a sum, with the quantity and price if you have them) and paste them into «Lines from Excel». A «Total» line becomes the total to compare; headers and lines without a sum are skipped.
4. Choose what to compare, the cost or the client price, and the tolerance (10% by default). Click «Compare».
5. AURA shows each line: the sum in Excel and in AURA, the difference in roubles and percent and why it is there: another quantity or price, waste, rounding to whole sheets and bars, consumption instead of whole sheets by the cut, a line not counted or switched off. Lines only one side has are shown separately.
6. If a line was matched wrongly, choose the right line, group or «Not in AURA» in the «AURA lines» column: the comparison is redone. «Copy the table» copies the table for a task card.

• The comparison saves nothing and changes neither the product nor the prices. To make the numbers match, correct the prices in the library or the product's formulas.
• The Excel comparison checks a product against your estimate before an order. «Reference projects» compare a calculation with the actual costs of a past order.

Podium, arch, backdrop, circle and steps

• Besides the bar counter, «Platform examples» have five more products: «Podium», «Fabric arch», «Backdrop on a frame», «Round photo zone» and «Steps». All count by composition from the materials and works of the library; the prices are examples, your materials with the same codes replace them.
• «Podium» is built of modules: a profile frame with joists and legs, a deck cut of sheets, carpet or paint, a fabric skirt on the chosen sides. A module bigger than the deck sheet gives a warning about a joint, and a height over 30 cm gives a hint about steps.
• «Fabric arch» counts both faces of the frame with cross bars, the arc bending outsourced for a semicircular top, a sewn fabric cover and base plates. An opening that is too narrow is not counted, and the arch says why.
• «Backdrop on a frame» is split into panels with struts: a banner printed outsourced or a sewn fabric, on one or both sides. A panel wider than 3 m will not fit a Gazelle, and a warning says so.
• «Round photo zone» is a solid disk or a ring: a bent rim, a face sheet cut on the CNC, a laminated print, a stand or a wall mount. «Steps» count the number of steps by the podium height, treads and risers cut of sheets, carpet and a handrail.
• The podium, the arch, the backdrop and the circle take the width, height and depth from a drawing of the order: choose the drawing in «Sizes from a drawing». If a typed size differs from the drawing, the calculation takes the drawing and shows the difference.
• Quick estimate rates («Podium at a rate per m²», «Backdrop at a rate per m²», «Construction at a rate per running metre») count the price by a rate table from the area or length and the cost by the library's rate. The studio changes the rates and the table thresholds in «Prices by table» of its copy.
• Besides products, the «Product library» has the decor calculator's «Decor kinds» (a copy of a kind gets «Own lines») and the «Estimate calculators», which open in the order's estimate. They are not counted as products by composition: they have calculators of their own.

Draft from a description

1. Open «Product library» next to the product choice and press «Draft from a description».
2. Tell what the product is made of and how you count it: type it or dictate with the microphone, for example «podium: 40×40 frame every 500, 18 plywood on top, carpet, a fabric skirt». You can attach a photo of an Excel sheet with the calculation.
3. Press «Assemble a draft». AURA proposes the parameters, formulas and composition only from the materials and works of your library. A material that is not in the library and a formula with a mistake are removed, and the list of what was removed is shown above the draft.
4. Fill in the sizes in «Check on sizes» and press «Count»: the total and the breakdown appear as in the calculator. A line without a material shows «no price».
5. If the numbers are right, press «Publish». Until then the draft counts nothing and is not in the calculator. You can open the draft later with «Check on sizes» in the library.

Beta: open to everyone

• The «Studio products» tile and the product row in the order estimate are part of professional-level production. Since 7 October 2026 they are open to everyone, no invitation needed.
• Found a bug? Open «⋯» next to the heading of the «Calculator» page and click «Leave feedback».

Frequently asked questions

• Why is a line «not counted»? There is no material with that code, the material has no price, the price cannot be converted (the sheet or bar sizes are missing) or the formula has an error. The reason is written in the line.
• How is a product different from a decor kind? Drapery, banner and floors are counted by built-in formulas. A product is made of your materials and works by a template, and its whole composition is visible.
• Why does the total differ from the recommended price? The total is rounded by the studio rule, or the product is priced by the price list or a price table.
• Why is the Excel comparison out of tolerance? Most often the AURA prices are still platform examples, or the Excel counts a material in whole sheets while AURA counts its consumption with waste. The reason is written at each line.
• Why did «To the order estimate» again not change the row title? The title, zone, quantity and a price typed by hand are yours: AURA updates only the composition, sizes, cost and product price.
• Where do the prices of a draft from a description come from? Only from your library of materials and works. AI proposes the composition and formulas but never invents prices and does not write them into the draft.

Related guides

• Decor calculator: a client price and a photo mockup
• Production estimate: cost and client price
• Price list and norms: the studio's consumption norms
• Studio materials, works and rates
• Workshop task, purchase and timing
• Product editor and formulas
• Order actual costs and stock