How to write a quote for a job (UK)
Last updated
A good quote tells your customer exactly what you'll do and exactly what it costs. It should be quick to read on a phone and leave nothing to argue about later. Here's how to write one, step by step.
What a good quote does
A quote is a fixed price for the work you describe. If the customer accepts it, that's the price. So the quote has two jobs: describe the work clearly enough that you both agree what's included, and give one price for it.
Keep it short. Most customers read quotes on their phone, often more than once, and often alongside quotes from other trades. Clear beats long.
Step by step
1. Your details
Your business name, address, phone number and email. If you're VAT registered, include your VAT number. Customers trust a quote more when they can see who it's from and how to reach you.
2. The customer and the job address
The customer's name and the address where the work will happen, if it's different from where they live. It avoids confusion on bigger jobs and rented properties.
3. A clear title
One line that says what the job is, such as "Full rewire with new consumer unit, three-bed semi". It's the first thing the customer reads and the way you'll both refer to the job.
4. The work as bullet points
Set out what you'll do as short bullet points: materials, quantities, finish and roughly how long it will take. Be specific. "Replace fence" invites questions; "12 m of 1.8 m closeboard fencing on concrete posts" doesn't.
5. What's included and what isn't
Say what's in the price (waste removal, making good, certificates) and what isn't (decorating, skip hire, parts the customer supplies). Most disputes start with something nobody wrote down.
6. One fixed price
Give a single price for the work described. If there are genuine unknowns, say what you've assumed, and say that anything outside it will be priced and agreed before you do it.
7. VAT, if you're registered
If you're VAT registered, show the price, the VAT and the total. If you're not, don't add VAT or show a VAT line. Our guide to VAT on quotes covers this in more detail.
8. The date, a reference and how long it's valid
Date the quote and give it a reference so you can both find it later. Say how long the price stands, for example 30 days, as material prices change.
Bojit quotes sent by link show the customer a 'valid until' date 30 days after you send them.
9. Payment terms
Say when you expect to be paid: on completion, in stages, or with a deposit up front. If you want a deposit, say how much, what it covers and when it's due.
Bojit quotes currently say payment is due on completion, and Bojit sends one invoice for the full amount. If you agree a deposit or stage payments, confirm them with the customer in writing and keep track of them yourself.
10. How to accept
Tell the customer how to say yes. The easier it is, the sooner you can book the work in. A written acceptance also gives you both a record of what was agreed.
Worked example: a full rewire
Here's an example from a sample business, Marsh & Cole Electrical. It's not a real customer quote, but it shows each step in practice.
Full rewire with new consumer unit, three-bed semi
• Consumer unit: new metal-clad unit with RCBOs on every circuit and a surge protection device (SPD).
• Circuits: 32 double sockets and 24 lighting points, cooker, shower, interlinked smoke and heat alarms.
• Chasing and making good: included, to a plaster-ready finish; floorboards lifted and refitted.
• Certification: inspection and testing to BS 7671, and an Electrical Installation Certificate (EIC).
Building Regulations notification included. Not included: redecoration. About seven working days.
- Price
- £7,200
- VAT (20%)
- £1,440
- Total to pay
- £8,640 including VAT
Notice what it does: a clear title, the work as bullet points with real quantities, certification spelled out, what's not included, and roughly how long it will take. The customer sees the price, the VAT and the total to pay.
Common mistakes
- Vague descriptions like "bathroom refit" with no detail of what's included.
- Forgetting exclusions, then arguing later about who pays for decorating or skips.
- Adding VAT when you're not VAT registered, or leaving it out when you are.
- No date or validity period, so an old price gets accepted months later.
- Calling an estimate a quote, or a quote an estimate.
- Starting extra work without agreeing the new price in writing first.
- Taking days to send it. The first clear quote often wins the job.
Quoting from your phone
You can use our free quote template as a checklist, or send the quote straight from your phone with Bojit. A Bojit quote has a title, the work as bullet points in the description, up to two photos and one fixed price. Your customer opens it from a link and accepts online in one tap, with no account needed.
Sources
General guidance for UK tradespeople, not legal or tax advice.
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