How to write a construction quote that wins the job

Write the scope in plain words

Start with the work, not the price. Describe it the way you’d explain it on site: which rooms, what comes out, what goes in, and what it looks like when you’re done.

Be specific where people disagree later. “Install a vanity” is open to argument. “Supply and install a 36-inch vanity, up to the allowance below” isn’t.

Group the lines the way the job runs, like demolition, framing, plumbing and finishes. The client can follow it, and later your crew can build from it.

Name the drawings or the plan you priced from, with their date. If the drawings change, the price can change with them.

Say what’s included and what isn’t

The exclusions are the most useful lines on the whole quote. Anything a client might assume is in, and isn’t, belongs on the list. For example:

• Permits and their fees, if the client is getting them.
• Appliances, fixtures or finishes the client is supplying.
• Painting, cleaning or repairs outside the work area.
• Anything hidden behind walls or floors, like rot, old wiring or asbestos.
• Work by trades the client hires directly.

An allowance is a sum set aside for something the client hasn’t picked yet, like tile or light fixtures. Give the amount, and say whether it covers supply only or supply and install.

Then say what happens either side of it. If the tile they pick costs more, the difference is an extra, priced like any other. If it costs less, the difference comes off their price.

Give the client options to pick

Options let a client spend more without you writing three versions of the same quote. Price the base job first, then list the upgrades under it, each with its own price.

Good options are things a client really weighs, like a heated floor, a better window or more pot lights. Keep the list short.

Keep the base price honest. If something is needed to do the job right, it isn’t an option. Put it in the base, and say why.

Build the price from your costs

Price a quote from your own cost up, the way you’d price an extra: labour at wage plus burden, materials with waste, subs and rentals. Then add your markup.

If you charge tax, show it on its own line and say whether your prices include it. What’s taxable, and at what rate, depends on the work and where the job is, so ask your accountant.

Say how long the price holds and how you get paid

Every quote needs a date the price holds until. Material prices move, and so does your schedule. Pick a period you can stand behind, like 30 days, and re-price after it.

Then set out how you get paid, and what triggers each payment:

• A deposit on signing, to order materials and hold the dates.
• Progress payments at set stages, like rough-in done or drywall up, or once a month on a bigger job.
• The balance on completion, less any holdback your contract or the law requires.

Present the price, then follow up

Send the quote while the visit is still fresh, within a few days if you can. A quote that takes three weeks to arrive tells the client how the job will run.

Better still, go through it with them, in person or on a call: the scope first, then the exclusions, then the price. A question answered now doesn’t turn into an extra later.

1. 1A few days after it goes out, call and ask what questions came up. Answer them in writing too.
2. 2A week before the price runs out, remind the client of the date. It gives you a fair reason to call.
3. 3If they say no, ask why, and write it down: price, timing, or they went with someone else. Over a year, that tells you which work you win.

If they ask for changes, send a revised quote with a revision number, not a note in an email. Then there’s only ever one price on the table.

Turn the yes into the job

Get the yes in writing: a signature on the quote or on the contract it becomes, with the options they picked. A yes on the phone isn’t a price anyone can point to later.

Take the deposit before you order materials or book the crew. Then turn the quote into the job’s budget, using its cost lines and not its prices, as the job costing guide shows.

Give the foreman the scope and the exclusions along with the address. When the crew knows what was sold, anything more becomes a change order and not a favour.