Quote vs estimate: what each one commits you to

An estimate is your best guess at the price; the final bill can be higher or lower. A quote is a fixed price for a defined piece of work; once the customer accepts it, you are expected to do that work for that price. The difference matters most on the day the job turns out bigger than it looked, because it decides who pays for the surprise.

Consumer advice services describe the two the same way. Citizens Advice tells people having work done to ask for a quote, not an estimate, because a quote is a fixed price. New Zealand’s consumer protection service calls an estimate a rough idea of the cost and a quote a confirmed price. The exact legal effect depends on your country and on what the document says, so the wording on the page matters more than the heading at the top.

Quote and estimate side by side

When to give an estimate

• On the phone or from a photo, before anyone has seen the job.
• For fault-finding work, where the cause, and so the fix, is unknown until you open it up.
• For work paid by the hour where the hours genuinely cannot be known in advance.

Say plainly that it is an estimate, what it is based on, and what would push it up. "About $400 to $600 for two technicians for half a day, assuming the existing pipework is sound" is an estimate a customer can plan around. "About $500" is a number they will remember as a promise.

When to give a quote

• When you have seen the job, or have enough measurements and photos to price it properly.
• When the customer is comparing businesses. A fixed price is easier to compare, and customers tend to prefer it.
• For repeat work you price the same way every time: a standard service, a regular clean, a set installation.

What to write on a quote so it holds up

1. The scope, line by line. What you will do, what you will supply, and how much of each. "Replace hot water system" is not a scope; the unit, the labour and the disposal of the old one are.
2. The exclusions. What is not included: making good plaster, council fees, work behind walls you cannot see.
3. The assumptions. What you are relying on being true: access on the day, the existing wiring being to standard.
4. How changes are priced. Extra work is quoted and agreed before it is done, in writing. This is usually called a variation.
5. How long the price stands. A validity period, so an accepted quote from last year does not bind you to last year’s material prices. See how long a quote should stay valid.
6. Deposit and payment terms. How much up front, if anything, and when the balance is due.

A quote that says all of that rarely turns into a dispute, because the conversation about a surprise has already happened on paper. Our guide on writing a quote customers accept goes through the wording.

Turning an estimate into a quote

The usual path is estimate first, quote second: a rough range on the first call so the customer knows whether to continue, then a site visit, then a fixed quote. If the customer wants to go ahead without a visit, a quote with clear assumptions ("price assumes one day’s access and no asbestos") gives them a fixed number while protecting you if an assumption turns out to be wrong.

How quotes work in Primemgr

Primemgr sends quotes as a link the customer opens on a phone. Each quote has an expiry date, after which it can no longer be accepted, and can ask for a deposit as a percentage of the total. Lines can be marked optional, so the customer ticks the extras they want. The customer accepts with a click or a typed or drawn signature, and the record keeps who accepted, when and what they saw. If the price has to change, you revise the quote and the customer accepts the new version. An accepted quote becomes the job and, when the work is done, the invoice, without retyping.

For the terms themselves, see quote and estimate in the glossary.