Free Contractor Quote Template
A quote is a fixed price you are committing to. That is the whole difference from an estimate, and it means the exclusions and the valid until date on this one are carrying more weight than they look like they are.
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Quote, estimate or bid: this is the same document
It is one form with one word changed on it, and that is deliberate. A quote is normally a fixed price you are committing to, an estimate is a considered approximation that can move with the scope, and a bid is a price submitted into a competitive process. Customers use all three interchangeably, so nobody is going to read the word at the top the way you meant it.
What they will read is the scope and the exclusions, and one line inside does more than the heading ever will: changes to the scope are priced in writing and approved before the work is performed. On a quote that sentence is the only thing standing between a fixed price and pricing the discovery behind the wall for free. It is already in the template and in the generator below.
The longer version, including what belongs in the exclusions and why every price you send needs a valid until date, is in estimate vs quote vs bid. The blank contractor estimate template is this same form with the other word on it.
What a contractor quote should contain
- Your business details and license number where required
- The customer name and the job address
- A quote number and the date you wrote it
- The word quote on the document, so nobody has to guess whether the price can move
- A valid until date, because a fixed price you wrote in March is not a fixed price in September
- Scope in plain language, line by line, so the customer knows what is and is not included
- What is explicitly excluded, which is what stops a fixed price turning into free work
- A line saying scope changes are priced in writing and approved before the work is performed
- Subtotal, tax, any deposit required to book the work, and the total
Write an exclusions line, it wins arguments before they start
Most disputes are not about the price, they are about whether something was included. Permits, disposal, painting after drywall, moving furniture, parking, after hours work, unforeseen rot behind a wall. Name them.
"Excludes permit fees, asbestos or mold remediation, and any repair to structure found behind existing finishes" is a single line that has saved contractors thousands.
Put an expiry on every price you send
Material prices move. An estimate with no valid until date is an open ended offer that a customer can accept next spring at last summer's lumber price.
Thirty days is the usual default. If your material is volatile, say 14 days and say why.
Questions people ask
Is a quote binding once the customer accepts it?
Treat it as binding on the price, for the scope you wrote down. That is what the word means to a customer and it is how it will be read back to you later. The law varies and nothing here is legal advice, but the practical protection is the same either way: an exclusions list, and a line saying scope changes are priced in writing and approved before the work is performed.
Can I change a quote after it has been accepted?
Not the quoted price for the quoted scope. You can price extra work, and that is exactly what the change order line is for. Anything you could not see before you started, behind a wall or under a floor, belongs in the exclusions rather than in an argument three weeks later.
How long should a quote stay valid?
Put a real date on it, not a number of days. Thirty days is the usual default and shorter is sensible when material prices are moving, because on a fixed price that movement comes out of your margin and not the customer's.
What is the difference between a quote and an estimate?
A quote is a fixed price for a defined scope. An estimate is a considered approximation that can move if the scope moves. Customers use both words loosely, so the document has to say which one it is and what happens when the scope changes.