Why our studio quotes USD for U.S. work and COP for Colombia

A short note on how we price cross-border work, because the alternative — one studio, one currency for everyone — sounds simpler and produces more surprises than it removes. Qvicom works from Miami and Bogotá, in English and Spanish, and our quoting follows one rule: the quote speaks the market's language, including its currency. U.S. engagements are quoted in USD; Colombian engagements are quoted in COP.

Why not one currency

Three reasons, in order of how often they bite:

Cost realities differ. The same scope carries different delivery costs, different payment rails (ACH/card expectations vs local transfers), and different tax paperwork (a U.S. client and a Colombian client receive different legal documents from us — invoices are not decorative). Pricing in the client's market currency keeps each of those layers visible instead of buried in a conversion.
Comparison honesty. Your quote lands next to local vendors' quotes. If ours arrived in a foreign currency, you would be comparing our number to a converted number — an exercise that always introduces a fictional exchange rate somebody has to choose.
Exchange risk has to live somewhere. A fixed quote in a foreign currency silently transfers rate risk to whoever absorbs variance mid-project. We would rather set the currency per market up front and never move it.

What happens to exchange rates: nothing, on purpose

The quote's currency is the invoice's currency. We do not re-denominate mid-project when rates move, we do not add "FX adjustment" lines, and we do not switch currencies at payment time. Where the site displays a counterpart (market switcher on pricing, COP/USD views), the conversion is informational, sourced from a public rate service, and clearly a display — not a contract term. The contract term is the number you approved.

For clients with feet in both markets

If you sell in both, you can quote your own customers in both currencies — and we will price your work per entity or per project as engaged: U.S. entity work in USD, Colombian entity work in COP, or one mixed project with the split written into the quote before signing. What we will not do is invent a blended rate that satisfies neither ledger.

The practical takeaway

When you compare proposals, normalize once — convert everything to your reporting currency with the same rate, on the same day — and then read the scope lists. The currency choice tells you whether a studio understands your market's paperwork and payment reality, or is just hoping the rate holds. Ours is written down either way: same inclusions, same change-order rules, different currency, no surprises halfway through the project.