You did the site visit and you know the job. Here is how to write a quote that gets a yes.
This guide works for any quote for a job, big or small.
How to write a quote: the seven parts
A good quote answers every question before the customer asks it. Put these seven things in.
- Who it is for. The customer's name and the job address.
- What you will do. The work, in plain words.
- What you get. The parts, the work and the rest of what the price covers.
- What is not included. Anything the customer might expect, but is not in the price.
- How you got the price. Is it fixed, or does it depend on something? Say which. Say whether it includes GST.
- How long the offer stands. Give a date. Give a date, so the price stays fair to you.
- How to say yes. One clear step. Reply to the email, or sign here.
If one of these is missing, the customer has to ask. Or they quietly go elsewhere.
Keep it plain
Write the way you talk. Say "we will fit the new switchboard". Skip the fancy trade words.
Use short lines. Use a list for the work. Leave out jargon your customer would not use.
Say you run a plumbing business. Your customer is not a plumber. They want to know what happens, what it costs and when you start. Write for that person.
Say what is not included
This part is easy to skip. It is also where disagreements can start.
Picture a quote to replace a hot water system. The customer may think you will also patch the wall behind it. If the quote does not say, you both guess.
Add a short line: "Not included: painting and patching the wall." It costs you one line. It saves an awkward call later.
Make the next step obvious
Do not make the customer work out what to do. Tell them.
Put the next step at the bottom, in one sentence. "To go ahead, reply YES to this email and we will book you in."
Make it easy to say yes. The easier it is, the more often you hear it.
Send it fast and follow up
A late quote can make customers wonder. Send it while the job is fresh in their mind.
Then follow up. Customers can mean to reply and forget. A short, kind message does the job: "Hi, just checking you got the quote. Any questions?"
Write down when you will follow up. Do not rely on memory.
When the sums slow you down
For a simple job, you can work out the price in your head. For many jobs, you cannot.
Maybe the price depends on the size, the extras, the distance, and who does it. So you open a spreadsheet. You type the same details into it, then type them again into a quote. That is typing things twice.
It is slow. It is also easy to get wrong.
A quote tool fixes this. It uses your own rules. Your team picks the job, answers a few questions, and the tool works out the price. Then it makes a clean quote. We build these. See the instant quote calculator.
It suits trades and solar and battery installers well. Both can lose hours to quotes.
Want to try one first? Our free Quote Builder turns your notes into a tidy quote you can download.
Your next step after you write a quote
Write your next quote with the seven parts above. See how it feels.
If the sums are what slow you down, talk to us. We start with a free review. You talk to people, not a ticket system. We listen first, and there is no cost to find out what is possible.