# How to Write an Estimate or Quote, With a Worked Example

Write an estimate by fixing the scope, pricing labour in hours and materials with waste and markup, adding a contingency and tax, then stating exclusions, validity and the deposit. A full worked job estimate shows every number.

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- **Canonical URL:** https://dothecalculation.com/blog/business/how-to-write-an-estimate
- **Category:** Business
- **Author:** Do The Calculation Team
- **Published:** 2026-09-21
- **Reading time:** 24 min read
- **Publisher:** Do The Calculation (https://dothecalculation.com)
- **Methodology:** https://dothecalculation.com/methodology

---

## How do you write an estimate?

To write an estimate, agree the scope in writing, break the work into tasks and price each in hours at your rate, list materials at cost plus waste and markup, add a contingency for the unknowns, then tax. State what is excluded, what you assumed, how long the price stands and what deposit starts the job.

The rest of this guide walks through each step for trades, contractors and freelancers, then builds one complete estimate for a hypothetical bathroom re-tile with every figure worked out. After that come three-tier options, exclusions wording you can adapt, follow-up timing and the mistakes that quietly cost money.

Tool: [Build your estimate as you read](https://dothecalculation.com/tools/estimate-generator) — Free estimate and quote generator: line items with taxable and non-taxable lines, a valid-until date, a deposit to accept and a sign-to-accept block, saved in your browser.

One note on words. This guide uses “estimate” for the document throughout, but the method is the same whether you title it Estimate, Quote or Quotation. Whether the figure should be a flexible estimate or a fixed quote is its own decision, covered in [invoice vs receipt vs quote](/blog/business/invoice-vs-receipt-vs-quote). The short version: only fix the price when you are confident about the scope.

_[Figure: The estimating sequence — Each step feeds the next. Skipping the first one is what makes the later numbers unreliable.]_

**What a finished estimate shows, from top to bottom**
| Part | What to put | Why it matters |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Your details | Business name, address, phone, email, tax number if registered | The client knows who is bound by the price |
| Estimate number and date | Its own series, such as EST-0041, and the issue date | Lets you and the client refer to one version when things change |
| Prepared for | Client name and the site or project address | Ties the price to one location and one job |
| Valid until | A specific date, not “30 days” | Material prices and your calendar both move |
| Scope summary | Two to five sentences describing the finished result | Stops “I thought that was included” at the end |
| Line items | Labour, materials, fees, contingency, each with quantity and unit price | Shows how the total was built and makes changes easy to price |
| Tax and total | Tax per rate, then the estimated total | The figure the client compares with other bids |
| Deposit to accept | Amount or percentage payable to book the work | Turns a yes into a commitment |
| Exclusions and assumptions | What is not included and what the price relies on | Your protection when the job turns out differently |
| Acceptance | A line to sign, print a name and date | A clear written record that the client said yes |

## Step 1: Pin down the scope before you price anything

Almost every estimate that goes wrong went wrong here. The client describes the job in one sentence (“new tiles in the bathroom”), you picture one version of it, and they picture another. Pricing the wrong version accurately is still pricing the wrong job.

For trade work, see the job in person where you can. For remote or creative work, get a written brief and ask the questions that change the price. Either way, write the answers down and keep the notes with the estimate, because they become your assumptions list later.

### The scoping checklist

- Measurements, taken yourself. Note them with units (square feet or square metres, linear metres, number of openings).
- Photographs of the current state, especially anything that could hide a problem: stained ceilings, soft floors, old wiring, a slow-loading legacy site.
- What finished looks like to the client. Ask for a photo or example they like. For creative work, ask how many rounds of changes they expect.
- Who supplies what. Client-supplied materials, fittings or content change both your price and your responsibility.
- Access and working conditions: parking, stairs, working hours, pets, whether the room must stay usable, whether a live website can go offline.
- Deadlines and why they exist. A hard date may justify an overtime rate or rule the job out.
- Decisions not yet made. If the tile or the feature list is undecided, you will need an allowance or options rather than one fixed number.

A useful test before moving on: could another competent person in your trade price the job from your notes alone? If not, something is still in your head rather than on paper, and that is the part the client will remember differently.

## Step 2: Estimate labour in hours, not in a lump

Guessing a lump sum for a whole job hides your mistakes from you. Breaking it into tasks, estimating hours for each and multiplying by your rate makes each assumption visible, and gives you a record to compare with the real hours once the job is done.

**Labour cost**

```
Labour = Σ (task hours) × hourly rate
```
- Include the tasks clients never see: loading, travel to the supplier, set-up, protecting floors, drying time you have to wait through, clean-up and disposal runs.
- Your hourly rate should already cover overheads (vehicle, tools, insurance, software) and non-billable time. If it does not, the estimate will look competitive and still lose money.
- For a day rate, estimate in half days and multiply by the day rate. The logic is the same.

If you have not worked out a rate that covers your costs, do that first. The [freelance rate calculator](/calculators/freelance-rate-calculator) and the guide to [freelance rate setting](/blog/business/freelance-rate-setting) work from your target income, expenses and billable hours to a rate you can defend.

### When you cannot be precise, estimate a range

For work where the hours genuinely depend on the client, a range is more honest than a single figure. Say a freelance web designer charging £55 an hour is estimating a small business site.

**Hypothetical range estimate for a small website at £55 per hour**
| Phase | Low (hours) | High (hours) | Low (£) | High (£) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Discovery and site map | 4 | 6 | 220.00 | 330.00 |
| Design of key pages | 12 | 18 | 660.00 | 990.00 |
| Build and content entry | 20 | 30 | 1,100.00 | 1,650.00 |
| Revisions (two rounds) | 4 | 8 | 220.00 | 440.00 |
| Total | 40 | 62 | 2,200.00 | 3,410.00 |

Put both ends on the document and say what moves the figure toward the high end: late content, a third round of revisions, extra page templates. Many clients will also want a cap. If you agree one, write it as a firm ceiling (“will not exceed £3,410 without your written approval”) and track hours against it, because a cap you drift past is a dispute waiting to happen.

Keep your own record of estimated against actual hours for each type of task. After a handful of jobs you will know whether you habitually under-estimate prep, revisions or clean-up, and by how much. That record is worth more than any rule of thumb.

## Step 3: Price materials, waste and markup

Materials are where estimates leak money in small amounts: a box of tiles short, adhesive forgotten, a trip back to the supplier. Work from your measurements to quantities, add a waste allowance for cuts and breakages, round up to what you can actually buy, and only then price.

**Material line**

```
Quantity = measured amount × (1 + waste %), rounded up to purchasable units
Line price = quantity × cost per unit × (1 + markup %)
```
- The waste allowance is your call and depends on the material and the layout. Diagonal patterns and large-format tiles usually waste more than a simple grid.
- Sundries (adhesive, fixings, tape, sealant, sandpaper) belong on the estimate too. One “sundries” line is fine if you price it from a real list.
- Price from a current supplier quote or price list, not from memory. Note the date you priced it.

Markup covers the time spent choosing, ordering, collecting and handling materials, the cash you tie up buying them, and the risk of returns and breakages. How high it should be, and how it differs from profit margin, is covered properly in the [markup, overhead and sales tax quote guide](/blog/business/markup-overhead-sales-tax-quote-guide) and the [markup formula guide](/blog/business/markup-formula-complete-guide). The one thing to remember here: a 20% markup is not a 20% margin. On a $100 cost sold at $120, the $20 is 16.67% of the price.

> **Mark up the unit price, not just the total** — If you show material lines to the client, put the marked-up unit price on each line rather than adding a separate “markup” line. A visible markup line invites a debate about your supplier costs; a unit price is simply your price. If you mark up the unit price and then round it to the cent, compute the line from the rounded unit price so the document adds up exactly.

Two tools help at this step. The [markup calculator](/calculators/markup-calculator) converts cost and markup into a selling price, and the [profit margin calculator](/calculators/profit-margin-calculator) shows what that means as a margin on the finished job.

## Step 4: Allow for the unknowns

Every job has things you cannot see until you start: what is behind the old tiles, whether the subfloor is sound, how organised the client’s content really is. You have four ways to deal with them on an estimate, and they can be combined.

**Four ways to price what you cannot see yet**
| Method | How it appears | Best for | Watch out for |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Contingency percentage | A line such as “Contingency allowance, 10% of labour and materials” | General uncertainty spread across the job | Say whether unused contingency is billed or dropped |
| Provisional sum | A fixed amount for a known item not yet specified, e.g. “Light fitting, provisional sum $150” | Choices the client has not made yet | Adjust to the actual cost on the invoice, up or down |
| Unit rate | “Subfloor replacement if required: $9.50 per sq ft” | Problems whose size is unknown until opened up | Agree how the quantity will be measured and shown to the client |
| Exclusion | “Repairs to hidden pipework are not included” | Risks you will not price at all | The client must see and accept it before work starts |

The most client-friendly approach is an open contingency: a separate line that is only drawn down with the client’s agreement, and that is removed from the final invoice if nothing goes wrong. Clients can see that they are not being charged for problems that never happened, and you are not arguing about money for problems that did.

The alternative is to bury the contingency in your rates. That can win jobs on headline price when competitors do the same, but it is harder to justify if a client asks how you reached the figure, and it removes the natural conversation about unexpected work.

## A complete worked estimate: bathroom re-tile

Here is one full estimate built with the steps above. Everything in it is hypothetical, including the prices and the tax rule. Say a tiling contractor is asked to strip and re-tile a small bathroom: 48 sq ft of floor and 120 sq ft of wall. Their rate is $65 an hour, they mark materials up by 20%, allow 10% waste on tiles and carry a 10% contingency on labour and materials.

For the tax, assume the local sales tax is 7% and, under the local rule in this example, applies to materials but not to labour, the disposal fee or the contingency allowance. That is a simplification to show the mechanics. Real rules differ a great deal between states and countries, so check yours or use the [sales tax calculator](/calculators/sales-tax-calculator) and the guide to [GST and sales tax compliance](/blog/business/gst-sales-tax-compliance).

### Labour: 29 hours

**Labour at $65 per hour**
| Task | Hours | Rate ($) | Amount ($) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Strip out existing tiles, protect adjoining rooms, bag waste | 6 | 65.00 | 390.00 |
| Prepare surfaces and fix cement board to walls | 5 | 65.00 | 325.00 |
| Tile floor and walls | 14 | 65.00 | 910.00 |
| Grout, seal, silicone and final clean | 4 | 65.00 | 260.00 |
| Labour total | 29 |  | 1,885.00 |

### Materials: $865.20 at cost, $1,038.24 to the client

The floor needs 48 × 1.10 = 52.8 sq ft, rounded up to 53. The walls need 120 × 1.10 = 132 sq ft. Each unit cost is marked up by 20% and the line is computed from the marked-up unit price.

**Materials with 10% tile waste and 20% markup**
| Item | Qty | Cost per unit ($) | Line cost ($) | Price per unit ($) | Line price ($) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Floor tile (sq ft) | 53 | 4.20 | 222.60 | 5.04 | 267.12 |
| Wall tile (sq ft) | 132 | 3.10 | 409.20 | 3.72 | 491.04 |
| Cement board (sheet) | 6 | 14.50 | 87.00 | 17.40 | 104.40 |
| Adhesive, grout, sealant, trims (sundries) | 1 | 146.40 | 146.40 | 175.68 | 175.68 |
| Materials total |  |  | 865.20 |  | 1,038.24 |

The markup earns $1,038.24 − $865.20 = $173.04, which is 20% of cost and 16.67% of the materials price.

### Contingency, fee, tax and total

- Contingency: 10% × ($1,885.00 + $1,038.24) = 10% × $2,923.24 = $292.32 (rounded from $292.324).
- Waste disposal fee: a flat $85.00, not taxable in this example.
- Subtotal: $1,885.00 + $1,038.24 + $292.32 + $85.00 = $3,300.56.
- Sales tax: 7% × $1,038.24 = $72.68 (rounded from $72.6768), on the materials only.
- Estimated total: $3,300.56 + $72.68 = $3,373.24.
- Deposit to accept at 30%: 30% × $3,373.24 = $1,011.97 (rounded from $1,011.972). Balance on completion: $2,361.27.

**The estimate as the client sees it (EST-0041)**
| Line | Qty | Unit price ($) | Taxable | Amount ($) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Labour: strip out, prepare, tile, grout and seal (hours) | 29 | 65.00 | No | 1,885.00 |
| Floor tile, supplied (sq ft) | 53 | 5.04 | Yes | 267.12 |
| Wall tile, supplied (sq ft) | 132 | 3.72 | Yes | 491.04 |
| Cement board (sheet) | 6 | 17.40 | Yes | 104.40 |
| Adhesive, grout, sealant, trims | 1 | 175.68 | Yes | 175.68 |
| Waste disposal | 1 | 85.00 | No | 85.00 |
| Contingency allowance, used only with your agreement | 1 | 292.32 | No | 292.32 |
| Subtotal |  |  |  | 3,300.56 |
| Sales tax 7% on $1,038.24 |  |  |  | 72.68 |
| Estimated total |  |  |  | 3,373.24 |
| Deposit to accept (30%) |  |  |  | 1,011.97 |

The contractor could equally show labour as four lines, one per task. One line keeps the document short; four lines make it easier to price a change later (“skip the wall tiles and it is 14 fewer hours”). Either is fine, as long as your own working sheet has the breakdown.

The deposit here is a flat 30%. An alternative is to ask for the materials plus their tax up front, $1,038.24 + $72.68 = $1,110.92, so the contractor never funds the client’s tiles. How much to ask for, how to word it and how long to hold the price open are covered in [quote deposits and validity](/blog/business/quote-deposit-and-validity). This estimate is valid for 30 days, dated rather than described.

### The unknown under the floor

The contractor noticed the floor flexed near the toilet but could not see the subfloor. Rather than pricing a guess, the estimate adds a unit rate: “If the subfloor is found to be damaged, replacement will be charged at $9.50 per sq ft including materials, measured and agreed with you before the work is done.” If 20 sq ft needed replacing, that would add 20 × $9.50 = $190.00, which the client can see in advance and approve on the spot.

That $190.00 is not in the total, because it may never happen. Whether the contingency allowance absorbs it or it is added on top is something to say in the terms. In this example the contingency covers it, so the client’s maximum exposure without further agreement stays at $3,373.24, plus tax on any replacement materials if they are taxable where you work.

## How to present good, better and best options

A single price asks the client a yes-or-no question. Three priced options ask “which one?”, and give a client with a tight budget somewhere to go other than a competitor. It also shows you listened, because each option should answer something they said during the visit.

Build the middle option first: it is the job you actually recommend, and it is the full estimate above. Then build a smaller option that fixes the immediate problem and a larger one that adds what the client mentioned wanting “one day”. Each option is priced with the same rates, markup, contingency and tax rule, so the differences come only from scope.

_[Figure: Three options for the same bathroom — Same $65 rate, 20% materials markup, 10% contingency and 7% tax on materials in every column.]_

The Best column adds 4 hours ($260.00) to lay the heating mat, 3 hours ($195.00) for the niche, a heating mat kit costing $389.00 (sold at $466.80) and niche materials costing $48.00 (sold at $57.60). Its contingency is 10% × ($2,340.00 + $1,562.64) = $390.26, and its tax is 7% × $1,562.64 = $109.38.

> **Why the Best total is not Better plus the extras’ tax** — Worked separately, the extras’ tax would be 7% × $524.40 = $36.71, and $72.68 + $36.71 = $109.39. Taxing the whole taxable amount once gives $109.38. The cent comes from rounding twice. Always calculate each option as its own complete estimate so the figure the client signs is the figure the invoice will show.

### Putting options on the document

- Simplest and least confusing: issue three separate estimates with consecutive numbers from your series (EST-0041, EST-0042, EST-0043) and a one-line cover note naming them. The client accepts one, and only that one converts to an invoice.
- Alternatively, issue the recommended option as the estimate and describe the other two in the notes with their totals. This keeps one document but makes the others harder to accept cleanly.
- Avoid putting all three options’ lines in one estimate with a combined total. The client sees a total for work they would never buy together.
- Label options by outcome (“Repair”, “Full re-tile”, “Re-tile with heating”) rather than just Good, Better, Best, which can read as a sales script.

The same pattern works for freelancers. A copywriter might offer five pages, five pages plus SEO briefs, or five pages plus briefs and a month of blog posts. Keep the options genuinely different in outcome; three versions separated only by the number of revision rounds tend to look like padding.

## Exclusions and assumptions: wording you can adapt

Exclusions say what you are not doing. Assumptions say what your price depends on being true. Together they are the difference between “the price went up” and “the job changed”, and they only work if they are specific to this job. A generic block of small print that the client skims is weaker than five lines they can recognise.

### Exclusions

- “This estimate does not include plumbing work. Removing and refitting the toilet and basin will be done by your plumber before and after tiling.”
- “Final electrical connection of the underfloor heating is not included and must be carried out by a qualified electrician.”
- “Painting of the ceiling and any walls not tiled is not included.”
- “Stock photography, fonts and plug-in licences are not included and will be bought in your name.”
- “Hosting and domain renewal are not included after launch.”

### Assumptions

- “The price assumes the existing wall surfaces are sound once tiles are removed. Plaster repairs will be priced separately before they are done.”
- “The price assumes clear access to the bathroom between 8 am and 5 pm on weekdays and parking within 50 metres.”
- “Tile prices are based on supplier prices on 21 September 2026. If your chosen tile changes, the materials lines will be updated before work starts.”
- “Content for all pages will be supplied by you before the build begins. Delays in content may move the launch date.”
- “The price includes two rounds of revisions on the design. Further rounds are charged at £55 per hour.”

### Change and contingency terms

- “Any change to the work described will be priced and agreed with you in writing before it is carried out.”
- “The contingency allowance will only be used with your agreement. Any unused contingency will not be invoiced.”
- “Provisional sums will be adjusted to the actual cost on the final invoice.”

Put these in the notes (for scope, exclusions and assumptions) and terms (for changes, validity and payment) sections of the document, so they print on the same page as the price. A separate attachment is easy to lose.

## What the law makes of what you write

Rules on estimates and quotes differ between countries and often between industries, so treat this as general information and check your own jurisdiction. A few examples show why wording matters.

- UK, consumer services: under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, anything said or written to the consumer about the service is treated as a term of the contract if the consumer takes it into account when deciding to go ahead, subject to anything that qualified it on the same occasion (section 50). Your exclusions and assumptions are that qualification, which is why they belong on the estimate itself. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/15/section/50
- UK, no price fixed: if a contract for a service does not fix a price or say how it is to be fixed, the consumer must pay a reasonable price and no more, and what is reasonable is a question of fact (section 51). An estimate that sets out how the price will be worked out avoids that argument. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/15/section/51
- UK, accepted in the customer’s home: a contract concluded with a consumer in the trader’s physical presence away from the trader’s business premises is an “off-premises contract” under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013. For a service contract, the cancellation period ends 14 days after the day the contract is entered into, and you may not begin work within that period unless the consumer expressly requests it, which for an off-premises contract must be on a durable medium. Off-premises contracts where the consumer pays no more than £42 are excepted. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/3134/regulation/5 , https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/3134/regulation/30 , https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/3134/regulation/36 , https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/3134/regulation/27
- US, sales at the buyer’s home: the Federal Trade Commission’s Cooling-Off Rule gives buyers until midnight of the third business day to cancel certain sales made at their home (from $25) or at temporary locations (from $130), and the seller must provide a copy of the contract or receipt and two copies of a cancellation form. There are exceptions, including emergencies and some repair visits the buyer requested. https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/buyers-remorse-ftcs-cooling-rule-may-help
- US, industry rules: some states regulate estimates in particular trades. California, for example, requires automotive repair dealers to give a written estimated price for labour and parts for a specific job, and bars charging more than the estimate without the customer’s oral or written consent. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=BPC&sectionNum=9884.9

The practical lessons are the same wherever you are. Write the price and how it is built down, write down the qualifications at the same time, get acceptance in writing, and if you quote in people’s homes, find out whether a cancellation period applies before you book a start date.

## When and how to follow up an estimate

An estimate that goes unanswered is not necessarily a no. Clients get busy, wait for a partner, or are collecting other prices. A planned sequence of short, useful messages keeps you in the conversation without chasing. The timings below are a sensible starting point for a 30-day estimate, not a rule; shorten them for urgent jobs.

**A follow-up plan for an estimate valid for 30 days**
| When | Purpose | What to say |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Same day | Confirm it arrived | “Your estimate EST-0041 is attached. The full re-tile is $3,373.24; the other two options are in the note.” |
| Day 3 to 5 | Answer questions | “Happy to walk through any line or adjust the tile choice to bring the price down.” |
| Day 10 to 14 | Add something useful | Answer a question they raised, confirm a start date you can offer, or send a photo of a similar finished job of yours. |
| About a week before expiry | Give the date | “The price holds until 21 October. After that I would need to re-check tile prices.” |
| On or after expiry | Close the loop | “I’ll close this one for now. If you want to go ahead later, I can re-price it quickly.” |

The date in the example is simply the issue date of 21 September 2026 plus 30 days. Keep each message short and specific to the job. The estimate generator’s history marks estimates past their valid-until date as expired, which gives you a list to work from, but it does not send anything, so the messages come from your own email or phone.

If the client comes back after expiry, re-check your material prices and your calendar before you confirm. If nothing has changed, a quick “the price still stands, here is an updated copy” is fine. If it has, issue a new estimate with a new date rather than editing the old one, so there is never doubt about which version was accepted.

### After the client says yes

- Get the acceptance in writing: a signed copy, or an email reply that names the estimate number and the option chosen.
- Take the deposit and give a receipt for it. The [receipt guide](/blog/business/how-to-write-a-receipt) covers what a deposit receipt should show, and the [receipt maker](/tools/receipt-maker) can produce one.
- Record changes as they happen, each with its own price and the client’s agreement, so the final invoice holds no surprises.
- Invoice from the accepted estimate, not from memory. Show the deposit already paid so the balance is right; the [guide to writing an invoice](/blog/business/how-to-write-an-invoice) covers the invoice itself, and [invoice payment terms explained](/blog/business/invoice-payment-terms-explained) covers when the balance is due.

In the estimate generator, Convert to invoice opens the [invoice generator](/tools/invoice-generator) with the same client, lines, taxes and currency, gives it the next invoice number and keeps the estimate number as a custom field. You then add the deposit as an amount already paid, adjust any provisional sums and remove unused contingency before issuing it.

## Common estimating mistakes

- Pricing before scoping. A fast number feels helpful, but the client anchors on it. If you must give a figure on the spot, give a wide range and say it will be confirmed in writing.
- Forgetting invisible time. Travel, supplier runs, set-up, drying time and clean-up can add up to a large share of a small job. They belong in the hours.
- No waste allowance. Buying exactly the measured quantity means an extra supplier trip, and a colour or batch that may not match.
- Confusing markup and margin. If you need a 20% margin, a 20% markup will not get you there; you need a 25% markup (0.20 ÷ 0.80 = 0.25).
- Hiding everything in one lump sum. It feels simpler, but it makes every change a negotiation from scratch because neither side can see what the original price covered.
- No validity date. Without one, a client can reasonably expect last spring’s price this autumn, and you may be reluctant to argue.
- Adding tax to the wrong lines or twice. Decide which lines are taxable where you work and let tax be the last calculation, on the taxable subtotal only.
- Editing an accepted estimate. Once accepted, it is the record of what was agreed. Price changes go on a new, numbered document.
- Never following up. A short, useful message a few days later costs little and can bring back clients who simply got busy.

Finally, compare every finished job with its estimate. How many hours did you guess, how many did it take, and which lines ran over? That comparison is the only way the next estimate gets better.

Tool: [Turn your working sheet into a signed-off estimate](https://dothecalculation.com/tools/estimate-generator) — Titles for Estimate, Quote or Quotation, a valid-until date, deposit to accept, sign-to-accept lines and Convert to invoice when the client says yes. Free, no sign-up, PDF built on your device.

## Sources

- Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 50, statements about the service treated as contract terms, subject to qualifications: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/15/section/50
- Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 51, reasonable price where none is fixed: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/15/section/51
- Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, regulation 5, definition of off-premises contract: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/3134/regulation/5
- Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 27, scope and the £42 off-premises exception: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/3134/regulation/27
- Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 30, 14-day cancellation period for service contracts: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/3134/regulation/30
- Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 36, starting a service within the cancellation period on express request: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/3134/regulation/36
- Federal Trade Commission, the Cooling-Off Rule for sales at home and temporary locations: https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/buyers-remorse-ftcs-cooling-rule-may-help
- California Business and Professions Code section 9884.9, written estimates for automotive repair: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=BPC&sectionNum=9884.9

This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Rules differ by country, state and trade and change over time, so check the current rules where you work before relying on them.

## Where to go next

The natural next step is [quote deposits and validity](/blog/business/quote-deposit-and-validity), which covers how much to ask for up front, how to word it, how long to hold a price and what happens when it lapses. If you are unsure whether to call your document an estimate or a quote, [invoice vs receipt vs quote](/blog/business/invoice-vs-receipt-vs-quote) sets out the difference and the full document lifecycle.

Freelancers deciding between hourly, day-rate, fixed and milestone pricing will find the options compared in [how to invoice as a freelancer](/blog/business/how-to-invoice-as-a-freelancer). And for the pricing arithmetic behind the material lines, the [markup, overhead and sales tax quote guide](/blog/business/markup-overhead-sales-tax-quote-guide) works through the order of calculations in more depth.

## Common questions

**What should be included in a job estimate?**

Your business details, an estimate number and date, the client and site address, a valid-until date, a short scope description, line items for labour, materials, fees and any contingency, tax, the estimated total and the deposit to accept. Add job-specific exclusions and assumptions, how changes will be priced, and a place for the client to sign and date their acceptance.

**How do I calculate labour on an estimate?**

Break the job into tasks, estimate the hours for each and multiply the total by your hourly rate. Include tasks the client does not see, such as travel, set-up, protecting the area, waiting for materials to dry and clean-up. Make sure the rate itself already covers overheads and unbillable time, and compare actual hours with estimated hours after each job to improve.

**How much contingency should I add to an estimate?**

There is no single right figure; it depends on how much of the job you could not inspect. Many trades use a percentage of labour and materials, and the worked example here uses 10%. For specific unknowns, a unit rate or provisional sum is fairer than a larger percentage. Say whether unused contingency will be dropped from the invoice.

**Should I show my markup on materials?**

Usually not as a separate line. Put the marked-up unit price on each material line, so the client sees your price rather than your supplier’s cost plus a percentage to argue about. Keep the cost, markup and margin in your own working sheet. If a contract is on a cost-plus basis, the markup is shown by agreement.

**What is good, better, best pricing on a quote?**

It means offering three priced versions of the job: a smaller one that fixes the immediate need, the one you recommend, and a larger one with the extras the client mentioned. Each is calculated as a complete estimate with the same rates and markup. It gives a client with a tight budget an option and turns the decision into “which one” rather than “yes or no”.

**How long after sending an estimate should I follow up?**

A reasonable pattern is to confirm it arrived on the same day, check for questions after three to five days, send something useful around the second week, remind the client of the expiry date about a week before it, and close the loop when it expires. Shorten the gaps for urgent work and keep each message short and specific.

**Can I charge more than my estimate?**

It depends on your wording, your jurisdiction and your trade. An estimate that sets out assumptions, unit rates for unknowns and a written change process makes increases easier to justify, but some rules restrict them. California, for example, bars auto repair dealers from exceeding a written estimate without the customer’s consent. Agree any increase in writing before doing the extra work.

**Is there a free estimate template I can use?**

The estimate generator on this site is free with no sign-up. It produces an Estimate, Quote or Quotation PDF with numbered lines, taxable and non-taxable lines, a valid-until date, a deposit to accept and optional sign-to-accept lines. Everything stays in your browser, and an accepted estimate converts into an invoice with the same lines.

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_Source: [Do The Calculation](https://dothecalculation.com/blog/business/how-to-write-an-estimate). Quote freely with attribution and a link to this page._