How to create a professional quote: a step-by-step guide for builders and trades
A professional quote wins jobs at a higher price than an amateur one with a lower number. Clients are not just buying the work; they are buying confidence that the work will happen as described, on time, at the price. The quote is where that confidence is created. Here is how to build one, section by section.
1. Header and parties
Your company name, logo, address, contact details, company number and VAT number. The client's name and the site address. A quote reference, the date, and how long the quote is valid (30 days is standard).
2. The scope of works
The heart of the document. Describe what you will do, element by element, in the order you will do it: demolition and strip-out, groundworks, structure, roof, openings, first fix, plaster, second fix, decoration, externals. Be specific about specification: the brick, the insulation, the doors, the finish. Where the client has drawings, reference them by revision.
3. Inclusions and exclusions
List what is included that the client might not expect (building control fees, skips, scaffolding, making good) and what is excluded that they might assume (the kitchen units, the flooring, decoration, the garden). Add the client-supplied items and when you need them on site.
4. Provisional sums and assumptions
For the things nobody can know yet: foundation depth, service diversions, asbestos. State an allowance and the rate at which extras will be measured. State your assumptions: working hours, access, parking, that the house is occupied or not.
5. The price
Build it up from quantities and your rates: labour at the loaded rate, materials, plant, subcontractors, prelims as a list, then overhead and margin. Present it to the client as a summary by element with a total, VAT shown separately. Clients understand element totals; they do not need your labour rates. On commercial work, itemise as far as the client asks.
6. Optional extras
Items the client can add with a tick: the underfloor heating, the larger rooflights, the external lighting. Optional extras increase the average job value and make the client feel in control. EstiMate quotes include them as tick boxes on the client's link.
7. Programme
A start date (or lead time from acceptance), the duration, and the key stages. Make the client's decisions part of it: "kitchen design confirmed by week 2".
8. Payment schedule and terms
Deposit on acceptance, stage payments at defined milestones, final payment at practical completion. Payment within 7 days of each invoice, interest on late payment, and the variation procedure: changes priced and approved in writing before the work is done.
9. Credentials
Insurance levels, trade body memberships, accreditations, and two or three recent similar projects with photographs. A link to reviews. This section does more to win the job than a lower price.
10. Acceptance
How the client accepts: signing the quote or clicking accept on the link, followed by the contract. Say what happens next: contract issued, deposit invoiced, start date confirmed.
Presenting it
A branded PDF, consistent fonts, your logo, numbered sections, and a one-page summary at the front for the client who will not read eight pages. Send it with a short personal email or message, not just an attachment. Then follow up at three days and ten days.
Doing it in twenty minutes
Every section above is what EstiMate's quoting produces from the walk-round and your rates: the scope drafted by AI from your notes, the build-up from your own prices, prelims as a list, provisional sums, optional extras, the programme, the payment schedule and the credentials, in a branded PDF and a client link with online acceptance. The contract and the deposit invoice follow with one tap, and the follow-ups send themselves. Try it free on your next enquiry.
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