VanlyTuesday night, half nine. The quote for the Watson bathroom has been open on your laptop since Sunday. You started it after tea, got as far as the address, then the kids needed bed and you closed the lid. Wednesday night you open it again, can't remember if you said the tiles were supply only or supply and fit, and close it again. By Friday Watson has gone with the other bloke who came round on Monday. This is how to write a quote as a tradesman the right way, fast enough that it actually leaves the laptop, and proper enough that it stands up when the job turns awkward.
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Quote vs estimate, why the word matters
Most tradesmen use the words "quote" and "estimate" like they mean the same thing. They do not, and the difference can cost you in court.
A quote is a fixed price. Once the customer accepts it, you have a contract. You agreed £2,400 for the bathroom, you finish the bathroom for £2,400, even if it took you a day longer than you thought. That is the deal.
An estimate is a best guess. The final price can go up or down depending on what the job turns out to need. Estimates are not binding on the final figure, but they should still be honest and reasonable. Citizens Advice has a clear explainer on the legal weight of each.
The practical rule. Use a quote when the scope is clear and you can price it tight. Use an estimate when you genuinely cannot see what is behind the wall, under the floor, or in the loft. Mark it clearly at the top of the document. "Quote" or "Estimate", not both, not neither.
If you write "quote" out of habit on a job where the scope might balloon, you are agreeing to absorb the overrun yourself. If you write "estimate" on a tight job to feel safer, the customer assumes you might invent extras and trusts you less. Pick the right word for the job in front of you.
The 9 things every tradesman quote must have
A tradesman quote that wins work and protects your back has nine parts. Miss any of them and the customer either gets nervous, the job goes ambiguous, or both.
| # | Element | What goes wrong if you skip it |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Your business name, address, contact, UTR or company number | Customer can't tell if you are a proper business. Trust dies. |
| 2 | Customer name and job address | Sounds obvious. Plenty of quotes go out addressed to "the lady at the bungalow". |
| 3 | Date issued and date the quote expires | No expiry means a customer ringing six months later expecting the same price. |
| 4 | Job description, written like the customer is your gran | Vague scope is where disputes start. |
| 5 | Materials, with "supply only" or "supply and fit" stated | The single most argued point on bathroom and kitchen jobs. |
| 6 | Labour, as a line not a mystery | "Labour: £800" is fine. "Various: £800" is not. |
| 7 | Total, with VAT shown separately if you are VAT registered | Customer should see net, VAT, gross. No guessing. |
| 8 | Payment terms (deposit, stage payments, final balance, days to pay) | Without these, you are funding the job out of your own pocket. |
| 9 | Terms and conditions (variation, cancellation, who pays for waste) | This is the bit that saves you when something changes mid job. |
You do not need a lawyer to write the terms and conditions. A short paragraph covering three things does the job: any change to the agreed work needs to be priced and approved in writing (variations), if the customer cancels after work has started you can charge for what you have done so far, and the deposit secures the slot in your diary.
Print that paragraph onto every quote you send. It pays for itself the first time a customer says "but I assumed that was included".
Fixed price or hourly rate, pick on purpose
A quote can be priced two ways. Pick the one that fits the job, not the one that feels safer.
Fixed price works when you have seen the job, the scope is clear, and you can estimate materials within ten percent. Customers prefer it because they know the number. You make more money when you finish ahead of your estimate, less when you go over. The risk is yours.
Hourly or day rate works when the scope is genuinely open. Insurance jobs where the damage is hidden. Old buildings where every wall is a surprise. Hourly billing means the customer carries the time risk. Be ready to justify every hour in writing, because most disputes on hourly work come down to "what did you do for those four hours".
The hybrid most pros use is a fixed price for the scoped work plus a clear hourly rate for any additional work that the customer signs off in writing before you do it. That way the customer gets certainty on the bit they can see, and you get protection on the bit you cannot.
How much should an electrician charge per hour in the UK covers day rate benchmarks across the trades if you are setting yours.
Where most tradesmen lose the job on presentation
A quote is not just the number. It is the customer's first proper look at how you operate. If the quote is sloppy, the customer assumes the work will be too.
The four things that quietly cost jobs.
Format. Send a PDF, not a Word document and definitely not a photo of a notepad. PDFs look professional, lock in your wording, and open on any phone. Word docs look like you are still drafting it. Photos of paper look like you are nine.
Speed. The customer is comparing you to two or three other tradesmen. Whoever quotes first is in the running. Whoever quotes within 24 hours is in the lead. Whoever quotes after three days is usually too late, regardless of price. Same data on response time we covered in why slow replies cost UK tradies real money applies to quotes.
Spelling and detail. Two typos and a missing zero on the VAT line will lose you a £4,000 bathroom faster than being £200 dearer than the next quote. Read it twice. Or get your other half to read it once.
One page where possible. If the customer has to scroll on their phone past the bit they care about (the number), they will. Lead with the headline price. Itemise underneath. Terms at the bottom.
The bar is low. Most quotes a homeowner sees are bad. Doing the basics well puts you ahead.
The 90 second voice to quote shortcut
The reason most tradesmen quote slowly is not laziness. It is that the moment to write the quote is six hours after they visited the job, and by then they are knackered and on the sofa.
The fix is to capture the quote at the moment you are still on the customer's drive, before the next job swallows the detail. That used to mean a notebook in the van. In 2026 it means a voice note.
You finish the visit. Phone out before you turn the key. Twenty seconds of speaking.
"Watson, 22 Beech Drive. Full bathroom refit, strip out existing, supply and fit new white bathroom suite, new ceramic tiling to walls and floor, replace extractor, new LED ceiling spots times four. Materials estimate two thousand one hundred. Labour seven days at three twenty a day. Total around four and a half grand plus VAT. Valid 30 days. Send it as a quote."
That voice note is enough to produce a proper PDF quote with all nine elements above filled in, your branding, your terms, your bank details, sent to the customer on WhatsApp before you have pulled off the close. This is exactly what Vanly's AI office manager does. Same mechanic we walked through in voice to invoice for tradesmen, only the output is a quote instead of an invoice.
You sit down on Tuesday night with no half written documents on your laptop. The quote went out Monday afternoon. Watson rang back Tuesday morning to say yes. The kids get their bath at the normal time.
A worked tradesman quote example
Here is what a complete quote looks like on one page, no fluff. Copy the shape, change the numbers.
GOFOX PLUMBING LTD
Unit 4, Acacia Business Park, Helsby WA6 9LN
07700 900 000 | hello@gofoxplumbing.co.uk
Company no. 12345678 | VAT 123 4567 89
QUOTE
Issued: 28 May 2026
Valid until: 30 days from the date above
Quote ref: Q-2026-0421
For: Mrs J Watson, 22 Beech Drive, Frodsham WA6 7AA
Job: Bathroom refit, ground floor
Scope
- Strip out existing bathroom suite, dispose
- Supply and fit new white bathroom suite (Roca Debba)
- Supply and fit new ceramic tiling to all walls and floor
- Supply and fit new extractor fan, vented to outside
- Supply and fit 4 LED ceiling spots
- Make good plaster, two coats matt emulsion
Materials (supply and fit): £ 2,100.00
Labour (7 days at £320): £ 2,240.00
Waste removal: £ 120.00
Net total: £ 4,460.00
VAT at 20%: £ 892.00
Gross total: £ 5,352.00
Payment terms
- 25% deposit to secure date in diary
- 50% on first day on site
- 25% on completion
- 14 days to pay final invoice by bank transfer
Terms
- Any change to the agreed work above will be priced and
approved in writing before being carried out
- Deposit secures your slot and is non refundable if you
cancel within 14 days of the start date
- Quote is valid 30 days from issue
That is a quote a customer can read in 90 seconds, understand fully, and say yes to. It is also a quote that protects you if the customer changes their mind on the tiles halfway through.
What to do after you send it
Sending the quote is half the job. The other half is the follow up, which is where most tradesmen lose work to silence. The customer means to reply, the weekend eats their attention, the cheaper guy rings, and by Wednesday you are out without ever knowing why.
The fix is a structured nudge at day 3 and day 10, with a polite close out at day 21. Templates and timing in tradesman quote follow up.
If the quote turns into a yes, the next bit that goes wrong is the invoice. Same job, same shape. Send a proper one fast, in a format the customer can pay from on their phone. Walkthrough in WhatsApp invoicing for tradesmen. And if they take their time paying, how to chase late payers as a tradesman is the playbook.
Want the whole sequence handled for you, from the voice note on the drive to the invoice on the Friday? Try Vanly free for 14 days. No card needed to start.
FAQ
Is a quote legally binding in the UK?
Yes, once the customer accepts it. A written quote that the customer says yes to forms a contract at that price. That is why the word you use matters. If the scope might change, write "estimate" and say so.
Can I send a quote by WhatsApp?
Yes. There is nothing in UK law that requires a quote to be on paper or email. A PDF attached to a WhatsApp message is perfectly valid, and most customers open it faster than email. Keep a copy. WhatsApp message history counts as a record.
Do I need to charge VAT on a quote if I am not VAT registered?
No. If you are under the VAT registration threshold (currently £90,000 turnover in any 12 month period) and not voluntarily registered, you do not add VAT and you should not mention a VAT number. Just show the total. If you are registered, show net, VAT, and gross separately so the customer can see how the number breaks down.
Should I charge for quoting?
Most jobs no. Standard practice in the UK trades is free quoting on domestic jobs you have a reasonable chance of winning. Where it gets reasonable to charge is when the job needs a detailed survey, drawings, or scaffolding to inspect. In that case agree the survey fee upfront in writing, and credit it against the final job if they go ahead.
How long should a quote be valid for?
Thirty days is the standard. It gives the customer time to think without leaving you exposed if material prices move. Put the expiry date in writing at the top of the quote. If the customer comes back after the expiry, you are free to requote.
What if the job grows once I start?
Stop and write it down. Any work outside the original scope is a variation. Price it, send a short note to the customer (text or WhatsApp is fine), get a "yes" back in writing before you carry on. The terms paragraph on your quote should already say this. Variations are where most disputes happen, and almost all of them come from work that started without a written sign off.