Guide
What should a trade quote include?
The short answer
A trade quote should say who it’s from and who it’s for, carry a reference and a date, and describe the work plainly with a price for it, VAT shown clearly if you’re registered. Then it should say how long the price stands, what isn’t included and how you want paying, so the customer can say yes without ringing you first.
The checklist
Put these on every quote. Once they’re in your template, most take seconds.
- Your details
- Your name and any business name, an address, a phone number and an email, and your VAT number if you’re registered. Your invoice will need the same details, so the two match. What an invoice must include.
- The customer
- Their name, and the address of the job if it isn’t where they live.
- A reference and a date
- A quote number, such as Q-0143, and the day you wrote it. When they ring about “the quote”, you both know which one.
- The work, in plain words
- What you’ll do and what you’ll supply, in words the customer would use. Split it into lines where that helps them see what they’re paying for.
- The price, with VAT shown clearly
- Not VAT registered? Don’t add VAT: you have to be registered to charge it. Registered? Show the price before VAT, the VAT and the total: £1,850 plus VAT at 20% (£370), £2,220 in total. GOV.UK on charging VAT.
- How long the price stands
- A number of days and the date it runs to: “Valid for 30 days, until 28 October 2026.” Material prices move, and your diary fills.
- What isn’t included
- Anything the customer might assume is in the price: making good, decorating, skip hire, or parts they’re buying themselves.
- How you want paying
- Any deposit, any stage payments, the balance, and how: “A 25% deposit to book the date, the balance on completion, by bank transfer.”
- How to say yes
- Reply to accept, sign a printed copy, or tap Accept on a quote page. Kept with the quote, their yes is your record of what was agreed.
Extras: quote them before you do them
An extra agreed by word of mouth is easy to forget and awkward to charge for later. When the customer asks for more on the day, give them the price and get a yes, in a text if nothing else, before you do it. Then it goes on the invoice at the end, and nobody’s surprised.
if you do jobs where there are often extras make sure they are quoted in writing before the start, do not wait until the final bill is presented
Agreed in their home? Mind the 14 days
When a householder agrees a job with you in their home, they can usually cancel within 14 days without giving a reason, and you must give them information about that right before they agree. What that means for starting work and taking a deposit.
Start from a template
Our free quote template has every item above. Fill it in on the page, then print it, save it as a PDF or copy it as text.
Sources
Each source was read on 28 September 2026.
