How to quote a job professionally

Send it while they’re still deciding

Get the quote to them within a day or two of the visit, while the job’s fresh in their mind and yours. Take photos and notes while you’re there, so you price what you saw rather than what you remember. How to organise job photos.

Write it the way they’d say it

Describe what they’ll end up with, then the work that gets them there. Lines help them see what they’re paying for: split out anything they chose, such as the finish or the model, and anything optional, with its own price.

Where a trade word can’t be avoided, add a few plain words after it. Instead of “2nd fix”, say “fit the sockets, switches and lights once the walls are plastered”.

Show the VAT properly

Not VAT registered

Don’t add VAT, and don’t write “plus VAT”: you have to be registered to charge it.

VAT registered

Show three figures: the price before VAT, the VAT and the total. Most work is at the standard rate, currently 20%, so the total is the price before VAT times 1.2: £1,850 plus VAT at 20% is £370 of VAT and £2,220 in total. Some goods and services are charged at 5% or 0%, and GOV.UK lists which.

Lead with what they’ll pay

Only a VAT-registered business can claim VAT back, so a householder pays the total. Put it where they’ll see it first. A business customer who’s registered will look for the VAT as a figure of its own.

Your VAT number

Put it on the quote, so it matches the VAT invoice that follows, which must show it.

From GOV.UK on charging VAT, VAT rates, reclaiming VAT and what a VAT invoice must show, checked 28 September 2026.

Say how long the price stands

Give the number of days and the date it runs to: “Valid for 30 days, until 28 October 2026.” After that you’ll look at it again, which protects you when material prices move and your diary fills. If they come back later, check the price before you book them in.

Say what isn’t included

Anything a reasonable customer might assume is in the price. The usual ones:

• Making good and decorating after the work.
• Skip hire, and taking away waste.
• Parking, where it has to be paid for.
• Anything the customer is buying themselves, such as their own tiles or taps.
• Anything you can’t see until you start, which you’ll price and agree with them before you do it.

The same goes for extras they ask for on the day: price it, get a yes, then do it.

Deposits and stage payments

A deposit when they accept books the date and covers what you’re buying in for them. Give it as an amount or a percentage, and say what it’s for. On a bigger job, add stage payments, each tied to something you can both see is done, and the balance on completion.

Each payment gets its own invoice when it’s due, and the final invoice shows what’s already been paid, so the balance is never a surprise.

Agreed in their home? The 14-day rule

They can cancel within 14 days

When a householder agrees a job with you in their home, they can usually cancel within 14 days of agreeing it, without giving a reason.

You tell them so, first

Before they agree, you must give them information about that right and a cancellation form, on paper or, if they agree, by email. If you don’t, they can cancel for up to 12 months longer.

Starting sooner

If they want you to start within the 14 days, they have to ask you to, on paper or by email. If they then cancel, they pay for the work done up to that point, as long as you gave them the cancellation information.

Urgent repairs

A visit they asked for to carry out urgent repairs is outside these rules, though extra work you agree on the day isn’t.

From the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013: Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, reg 10, reg 5 (“durable medium”), reg 28, reg 29, reg 30, reg 31, reg 36 and Schedule 3, the model cancellation form. Checked 28 September 2026.

Make yes easy, then follow up once

Tell them how to accept: reply, sign a printed copy, or tap Accept on a quote page. If you’ve heard nothing after a week, send one short, friendly message, then leave it with them.