How to quote a job: a step-by-step guide for trades and agencies

A good quote wins the job and protects you once you have won it. It tells the customer exactly what they are buying, tells you exactly what you have promised, and gives both of you something to point at when the scope drifts. This guide walks through quoting a job from the first questions to the sent document. For the document itself, download the free job quote template in Word, Excel or PDF.

Quote, estimate and invoice

A quote is a fixed price for defined work. Once the customer accepts it, you are expected to deliver that work at that price unless the scope changes, which is why the definition of the work matters as much as the number.

An estimate is your best judgement of the likely cost. It can move as the job reveals itself. Use it when you genuinely cannot define the work yet, and say so in writing.

An invoice is a request for payment for work done or about to be done. It comes after the quote is accepted, not instead of it.

Use the right word and the rest of the process gets easier.

The questions to ask before you price anything

Never price from the first message. Ask the questions that change the number, and write the answers down, because they become your assumptions.

Scope. What exactly is being done, and what is not? For a kitchen rewire, does that include the extractor and the outside socket?

Access. Can you park and unload? Is there a working lift? Are there restrictions on hours, as in a managed office or a school?

Materials. Who chooses and who buys? Is the customer expecting a specific brand?

Timing. When does the work need to start and finish?

Who supplies what. Will the customer clear the room, provide the logo files or supply the content?

Condition and unknowns. What can you not see until you start? Name the unknowns so your contingency has a reason.

Each trade has its own version of these. The pages for builders, electricians, roofers and cleaning services show how the questions differ.

Building the price

Labour. Price by the day or the hour, and be consistent. Multiply the rate by the realistic time, not the optimistic time, and include travel if it is significant. If you have not set a rate yet, work out your day rate from your costs and the days you can bill.

Materials. List them with quantities and your sell price, with a margin for sourcing, collecting and warranting them. A quote that passes materials through at cost loses money on every one.

Subcontractors. Include their quote plus your margin for managing them. You carry the risk of their work, so you should be paid for it.

Contingency. For jobs with real unknowns, add a named contingency line or state a percentage, and say what triggers it. A hidden contingency buried in the labour rate makes you look expensive. A visible one makes you look careful.

VAT. If you are VAT registered, show the net amount, the VAT and the gross total clearly, and state your VAT number. If you are not registered, say so, so the customer knows no VAT will be added later. Which rate applies, and whether you need to register at all, depends on your registration status and the type of work. Check the current guidance at gov.uk/vat-registration and gov.uk/vat-rates, or ask your accountant.

What every quote must contain

A complete quote has these parts, in roughly this order.

1. The parties. Your business name, address, contact details and company or VAT number if you have them, and the customer’s name and the address where the work will be done.
2. The date and a reference.
3. A validity period. How long the price holds, typically 14 or 30 days.
4. A description of the work. Two or three sentences on what the job is and the result.
5. Itemised lines. Each line with a description, a quantity, a rate and a total.
6. Assumptions. Everything you have taken as true to reach this price: access, condition, who supplies what, working hours.
7. Exclusions. Everything that is not included and could be mistaken as included: making good, skip hire, hosting.
8. Totals. Net, VAT and gross, or a clear statement that no VAT applies.
9. Payment terms. Deposit, stage payments, final payment and payment deadlines.
10. How to accept. A signature line, a reply email or a button, and a sentence saying that acceptance confirms the scope, assumptions and exclusions above.

Use a quote template

Writing each quote from a blank page is how parts get missed. The free job quote template for UK trades has every part above in Word, Excel and PDF, with a filled-in example, VAT worked out for you in the Excel version, and the cancellation notice a job agreed in the customer's home needs.

Common mistakes

Quoting from the first message. You price what you imagine, not what they need, and the correction comes after acceptance.

Leaving assumptions in your head. If you assumed the walls were sound and they were not, that is your problem unless the quote said so.

No exclusions. Customers assume the quote covers everything they mentioned. Spell out what it does not.

Forgetting the validity period. A quote from March accepted in September at March prices is a loss you agreed to.

A mismatched invoice. The invoice should follow the quote line for line, with any agreed changes shown separately. Anything else looks like padding.

How AI quoting software changes the routine

The steps above do not change. What changes is who does the asking and who writes the first draft. AI quoting software such as ChatQuote puts an assistant on your website or behind a chat link that asks the scoping questions above while the prospect is still on your site, captures their contact details and drafts an itemised quote and branded PDF proposal from rates learned from your own website and past quotes. The draft lists line items, quantities and rates, assumptions, exclusions and VAT, and it waits for your review and “Approve & send” unless you turn on automatic sending. You still check the numbers and own the decision. The hours of asking and retyping are what go. Whether it should mention a price in chat is covered in can an AI chatbot give visitors a price.

Frequently asked questions

How long should a quote be valid for?

Long enough for the customer to decide and short enough that your costs have not moved. Thirty days is common for domestic work and fourteen for jobs where material prices are volatile. If the customer comes back later, reissue the quote rather than honouring old numbers.

Should I charge for a quote?

Most trades and agencies quote for free as the cost of winning work. Charging is reasonable when quoting takes real effort, such as a detailed survey or a design, and the fee is usually credited against the job if it goes ahead.

Do I have to show VAT on a quote?

If you are VAT registered, yes. Show the net price, the VAT and the total so the customer knows what they will pay. If you are not registered, say that no VAT applies. For which rate applies to your work, check the gov.uk guidance or ask your accountant.