Quote or estimate?
A quote is a fixed price for a defined job. An estimate is your best guess, and the final figure can move. Clients often treat both as fixed, so if it is an estimate, say so clearly at the top and explain what could change it.
The checklist
- Your business name, address, phone and email (and your VAT number if registered)
- The client's name and the address of the job
- A quote number and date, and how long the price is valid - 30 days is common
- The work, broken into lines: what you will do, with a price for each
- Materials: what is included, and the brand or standard where it matters
- What is not included - the most useful line on the whole quote
- Whether VAT is included or added
- Deposit and stage payments, and when the final payment is due
- Expected start date and roughly how long the job takes
- How extra work will be priced and agreed
- Cancellation information if the contract is agreed at the client's home (see below)
Exclusions: write down what you have not priced
Anything you cannot see is a risk: what is under the floor, behind the plaster, inside the wall. Name the likely ones. "Price assumes floor joists are sound; any repairs priced separately." When it comes up, nobody is surprised and you price it as extra work.
Build a proper quote from photos on site and get it signed on the client's phone.
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Work agreed at the client's home: the 14-day rule
When a consumer agrees a contract with you at their home rather than at your business premises, the Consumer Contracts Regulations normally give them 14 days to cancel. You have to give them that cancellation information and a cancellation form in writing.
If the client wants you to start within the 14 days, get their request to start early in writing. If they then cancel, they pay for the work done up to that point. If you never gave them the cancellation information, the cancellation period can run for up to a year and you may not be able to charge for work already done - so it is worth getting right.
Make it look like a proper business
A price in a text message makes you look cheap even when you are not. A clean PDF with your logo, numbered lines and clear terms tells the client you are organised - which matters more to most homeowners than being the lowest price.
Send the quote the same day you visit. Speed wins more jobs than a slightly lower price.
General information for England and Wales, not legal or tax advice. For your own situation, speak to a solicitor, accountant or Citizens Advice.