How to write a quote as a UK tradesperson

A clear quote is how the customer trusts you. It is also how you both prove what was agreed if the job goes wrong.

Customers compare quotes. A vague figure on a text is easy to argue about. Get it in writing. After they say yes, it is a binding agreement, written or not. Writing is the proof.

This is what to put on a UK trades quote, and how to send it.

They are not the same.

A quote is a fixed price for a defined job. Once the customer accepts it, you likely have a contract. You cannot charge more than the quote unless:

• they ask for extra work that was not on it
• you tell them extra work is needed and they agree to pay more
• there was a genuine mistake in the figure

Your costs going up after you sent it is not a reason to raise a quote.

An estimate is a rough guess. It is not usually an offer, because it sits on incomplete information. Label it Estimate. Say it is an approximation. Say a full quote needs a proper look at the job. Keep it realistic. A misleading low guess can break consumer law.

Use a quote when you can see the job and price it. Use an estimate when you cannot (hidden pipework, opening up a wall, a house you have not fully surveyed).

Write the word at the top. Do not mix them.

A quote should include:

• A fixed total price, not a daily rate
• A breakdown of the work and the materials
• Separate costs for each material and each part of the work
• How long the price is valid
• Whether the price includes VAT
• When the price can go up, for example only if they agree extra work

Give the total price up front, including charges the customer cannot avoid, such as tax. Do not drip extra fees in later. If you cannot work out the full total yet, put next to the figure the information they need to work it out themselves.

Your name and address must be on key business documents, and available before a contract is made.

That is the official core. The rest is so the customer can actually compare you with the next person, and so you both know the edges of the job.

Checklist

On the page

• The word Quote (or Estimate)
• Your business name, address, phone and email
• Customer name
• Site address, and billing address if they differ
• A unique reference and the date
• How long the price stands. 30 days is the usual window. Put a date on it so you are not stuck with old material prices.

The job

• What you will do, in plain English. Not “general plumbing”. “Replace the bathroom basin, tap and waste. Make good the tiles around it.”
• What you will not do. Exclusions. If you do not list making good, decorating or taking waste away, people often assume it is in.
• Any assumptions you priced on. Clear access. No asbestos. Existing wiring is sound.

The money

• Labour and materials broken out
• The total, easy to find
• VAT as its own line if you are registered. If you are not, write that you are not VAT-registered
• When you get paid: any deposit, staged payments, final balance
• How they pay

The rest

• Start date and how long the job should take. Promises about timescales can bind you if the customer relied on them, so be honest.
• Terms: extra work, cancellation, what happens if the job changes. If you agreed the job in their home, they may have 14 days to cancel.
• If you offer a guarantee on the work, say so. There is no legal duty to give a written guarantee.
• Space for them to accept. A signed copy, or a clear yes by email.

If you can only give a day rate, get it in writing: how many days, how many hours count as a day, and when you need their go-ahead to work more days. A fixed total is cleaner.

Write it down. A price in a text is easy to lose and hard to prove.

Send a proper document. Email with a PDF is the usual way. Keep the covering note short:

• thank them for the visit
• say what the quote is for
• put the total in the email so they do not have to open the file to find it
• ask them to reply if they want to go ahead

If the bit that fails is actually sending it, your assistant prices the job from your own rates, sends the quote, and chases it until they answer.

Tell them on site when it will land, then send it.

Ask them to accept in writing. “Yes, go ahead” on email, or a signed copy. If they change the scope, that is a new offer. Write a fresh quote.

If extra work turns up, stop. Tell them. Agree the new price in writing before you carry on.

You can write all of this by hand. If you want the layout done, use the live job quote template. When the scope is still unknown, use the job estimate template.

The method is simple. Time is what breaks it. That is why the assistant exists.