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Quotes for trades, priced properly

Labour, materials, exclusions and a deposit structure — the four things that decide whether a trade quote gets accepted or argued about.

Quote or estimate One click to an invoice Runs entirely in your browser

SOURCE·Arithmetic only — no external rate·REVIEWED JUL 2026

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CARRIES · CLIENT · LINE ITEMS · TAX · TOTALS — NOTHING IS SENT TO A SERVER

SOURCE·Arithmetic only — no external rate·TAX RATE IS YOUR SELECTION·REVIEWED JUL 2026

TOTALS REVIEWED JUL 2026 · how this quote adds up

Pricing a trade job so the quote holds up

Trade quoting has a specific failure mode: a single number for a job with a dozen moving parts. It wins on price occasionally and it creates a variation argument almost every time.

Split labour from materials. Hours × rate on one line, materials on another. The client can see what they are paying for, and if material prices move before acceptance you have an obvious place to point at. Under a short expiry, that is usually enough.

Write the exclusions down, especially the ones you think are obvious. Making good, painting, disposal of the old unit, scaffolding, consent fees, and repairs to anything you find once the wall is open. "Obvious" to a tradie is not obvious to a homeowner, and every one of those has ended in someone doing free work.

Structure the deposit around materials. A third on acceptance to cover the order, the balance on completion, is standard and rarely questioned. For longer jobs, a progress claim partway keeps your cash flow off the client's payment cycle.

Name the site. Put the address in the job title. Property managers and builders run several jobs at once, and the quote that is instantly identifiable is the quote that gets approved first.

How this quote adds up, line by line

  1. Each line is quantity multiplied by its unit price. Nothing is rounded yet — rounding a line at a time is how a quote and its invoice end up a cent apart.
  2. The lines are added together, then any discount percentage comes off that subtotal, not off individual lines.
  3. Tax is applied at the rate you selected — NZ GST 15%, AU GST 10%, UK VAT 20%, a custom rate, or none at all.
  4. If your prices are tax exclusive, the tax is added on top. If they are tax inclusive, the tax already sits inside the figures you typed and is separated back out so the quote can show it as a line.
  5. The total is rounded to two decimal places once, at the end, and shown in the currency you chose.
line      = qty x unit price
subtotal  = SUM(lines) - discount%
tax       = subtotal x rate            (prices tax-exclusive)
tax       = subtotal x rate/(1 + rate) (prices tax-inclusive)
total     = subtotal + tax

The full guide to quoting →

A quote is a sales document, not a price

Most small businesses treat a quote as a number with a letterhead. The ones who win more work treat it as the last piece of selling they get to do — because by the time a client is comparing quotes, the number is rarely the only thing being compared.

Three quotes land in an inbox. One is a text message saying "$4,200". One is a spreadsheet screenshot. One is a clean PDF with the job named, the scope written out, what is included and excluded, a deposit structure and an expiry date. The third wins a surprising amount of the time even when it is not the cheapest, because it is the only one answering the question the client is actually asking: can I trust this person to do the job without surprises?

Quote or estimate — pick deliberately

A quote is a fixed price. Once accepted, you are generally committed to it for the work described. An estimate is your considered guess and can move as the job unfolds. Both are legitimate; calling one the other is where trouble starts.

Use a quote when the scope is knowable — a defined install, a fixed deliverable, a set number of hours. Use an estimate when it genuinely is not, such as renovation work behind a wall nobody has opened yet, and say plainly what would change the number. Switch the document type at the top of the form and the heading updates.

Scope is where the money is lost

Almost no quote dispute is about the price. They are about what the price covered. "Repaint lounge — $1,400" is an argument waiting to happen: does it include filling, does it include the ceiling, does it include moving furniture, does it include a second coat?

Write the exclusions down. It feels negative and it is the single most protective thing on the document. Includes: two coats, all prep and filling, drop sheets, cleanup. Excludes: ceiling, furniture removal, repairs to damaged plaster (quoted separately if found). That sentence has ended more disputes than any contract clause.

Deposits, expiry and following up

Ask for a deposit on anything substantial. Covering materials up front is standard practice in the trades and increasingly normal in services. It protects your cash flow and filters out clients who were never going to proceed. A third on acceptance, balance on completion, is a structure nobody argues with.

Put an expiry date on it. Material prices move. A quote accepted four months later at a price you set before a supplier increase is a job you do at a loss. Thirty days is the normal default; seven or fourteen is entirely reasonable when your inputs are volatile — just say why, because a short expiry with a reason reads as professional rather than pushy.

Follow up once, at day three. Not a chase — a genuinely useful message. Confirm they received it, offer to walk through anything unclear, mention the expiry in passing. Most quotes that go quiet were not rejected; they were opened on a phone, filed mentally, and forgotten. One short follow-up recovers a meaningful share of them, and a second rarely adds anything.

When they say yes: use Convert to invoice above the preview. Every line, the client, your details and the tax settings move across to the invoice generator, so the invoice matches the accepted quote exactly — which is what stops the second round of questions.

Quote or estimate — the difference, in a table

Both are legitimate documents. Calling one the other is where the trouble starts, so pick deliberately and label it honestly.

Quote compared with estimate
QuoteEstimate
Is it binding?Generally yes once accepted — a contract at that price for the work described.No. It is a considered guess that can move as the job reveals itself.
When to use itThe scope is knowable: a defined install, a fixed deliverable, a set number of hours.The scope genuinely is not knowable yet — renovation behind a wall nobody has opened.
What protects youWritten exclusions and a variation clause.Naming the assumptions, and what would change the number.
ExpiryEssential. 30 days is the default; 7-14 when material prices are volatile.Still worth setting, for the same reason.
If the job changesPrice the variation separately and get it agreed before proceeding.Update the estimate and say what moved.
Quote generator Estimate template Builders & tradie quote template

When quoting becomes a real workflow

This tool covers you for as many quotes as you like. Past a certain volume, tracking which ones were accepted becomes the job. Some links below are affiliate links: if you sign up through one, this site earns a commission at no extra cost to you. That is what keeps the tool free.

Hnry

Quote, get paid, and never think about GST or provisional tax again. Hnry handles the whole tax side for New Zealand sole traders automatically.

See Hnry

Xero

Once quotes turn into repeat work, Xero tracks which ones were accepted, converts them to invoices and chases the payments for you.

See Xero

QuickBooks

A cheaper alternative with solid quoting and invoicing. Worth comparing if you are early on and watching every subscription.

See QuickBooks

Quoting questions, answered

What is the difference between a quote and an estimate?
A quote is a fixed price you are committing to. Once the client accepts it, that is generally the price you can charge for the work described. An estimate is your best guess and can move as the job reveals itself. The distinction matters legally, so label the document honestly — this generator lets you switch between the two, and the heading changes with it.
Is a quote legally binding in New Zealand?
Once a client accepts your quote, you generally have a contract at that price for the work described. That is why the scope wording matters more than the number: if the job changes, a variation needs to be agreed and priced separately rather than absorbed. Including an expiry date protects you from an old quote being accepted months later at prices that no longer work.
How long should a quote be valid for?
Thirty days is the common default and a reasonable balance. Shorten it to seven or fourteen days if your material costs are volatile, which is normal in the trades. The expiry is not aggressive — it is the thing that stops a client accepting a quote you wrote before a supplier price rise.
Should I show GST on a quote?
Yes, if you are GST registered. Show the GST-exclusive price, the GST and the total, exactly as you would on an invoice. The most common quoting complaint is a client who thought the number they saw was the number they would pay, and it is entirely avoidable by showing the GST-inclusive total in large type.
Can I turn an accepted quote into an invoice?
In one click. Use 'Convert to invoice' and every line item, the client details, your business details and the tax settings carry across to the invoice generator ready to send. Nothing is uploaded — the data travels inside the link in your own browser.
Should I ask for a deposit?
On anything substantial, yes. A deposit covering materials is standard practice in the trades and increasingly normal in services. It also filters out clients who were never going to proceed. Add a deposit line in the terms box and state clearly what triggers the balance.
Is this quote generator really free?
Yes. No signup, no watermark, no limit on how many quotes you create. The site is funded by the ads around the tool and by affiliate links to accounting software. Your business details are saved in your own browser so you only type them once.
Where is my data stored?
In your browser, and nowhere else. There is no account and no server database — your business details, logo and last quote sit in local storage on your device. Clearing your browser data removes them.

Where these figures come from

Every number this tool uses, with the official source and the date it applies from. If a figure here is out of date, the source link is the one to trust.