How to write a quote for a job.What to include, and what wins the work.

In the UK a quote, or quotation, is a fixed price for an agreed piece of work. Citizens Advice describes it as a promise to do the work at that price, and a trader cannot normally charge more unless the customer agrees to extra work or the price was obviously a mistake. If you cannot fix the price yet, you are giving an estimate, and you should call it one.

1. Your business name, address, phone, email, and VAT number if you are registered.
2. The customer's name and the address of the job.
3. A quote number and the date, so you can both refer to it.
4. The scope: what you will do, in plain words, and what is not included.
5. Itemised materials and labour, with quantities, so the customer can see where the money goes.
6. Any provisional sums or allowances, clearly labelled, for things you cannot price yet.
7. The subtotal, VAT shown separately, and the total.
8. The deposit, and how and when the rest will be paid.
9. How long the price is valid for, and roughly when you could start.
10. Your terms, including guarantees, and the customer's cancellation rights if the contract is made at their home or online.

If a contract is agreed in the customer's home, or at a distance such as by email or online, the customer usually has 14 days to cancel under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013. You must give them this information in writing. For contracts agreed at the customer's home it is a criminal offence not to.

If they want you to start inside the 14 days, they must ask you to in writing, and they may have to pay for work already done if they then cancel. Put this on the quote.

If you are VAT registered, show VAT separately and include your VAT number. You must register once your taxable turnover goes over the VAT threshold, which has been £90,000 since 1 April 2024. If you are not registered, say so, so the customer knows the total is the total.

• Speed. The first good quote sets the standard the others are judged against.
• Clarity. A customer who understands the work stops comparing only on price.
• Proof. Photos of what you found, and a picture of the finished result, answer the question the customer is really asking.
• Follow up at the right moment, when the customer is looking at it, not a week later.

In Upheld you talk the job through on your phone. It builds the itemised quote from your own price list, markup and day rate, adds your business details, and sends your customer a short video quote in your name with the written quotation, an accept button and a deposit link. You check every line before anything is sent.