What a free quote template quietly costs you.
A free Word or Excel quote template feels like the cheap option. And it is, until it costs you a job you underpriced, a VAT rate you got wrong, or a customer who never signed. Here's the honest comparison.
| A Word / Excel template | TradeDraft | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free | £29/mo · 14-day free trial, no card |
| VAT, CIS & Reverse Charge | You work it out, and own any mistake | Worked out automatically; you just check it |
| Profit / margin check | None: easy to win work at a loss | Shows if you're actually making money, before you send |
| The maths | Manual: one wrong cell and it's off | Calculated as you go |
| Branded, professional PDF | Re-format it every time | Automatic, on your brand |
| Online accept & sign | No; chase a signature yourself | Client taps to accept on their phone |
| Card deposits | No | Paid straight to your account |
| Your prices & clients saved | Copy-paste the last one | Saved & reused, faster every time |
| On your phone, on site | Clunky on a small screen | Built phone-first |
The hidden cost of "free"
The template costs nothing up front. But absorb one "can you just…" extra you forgot to charge for, get a Reverse Charge wrong, or lose a job to the pro who sent a proper quote first, and it's the most expensive option you've got. One variation you'd otherwise have eaten pays for a year of TradeDraft.
When a template is fine
We'll be straight with you: if you do the odd small cash job, never touch VAT or CIS, and don't mind chasing signatures, a free template does the job. TradeDraft earns its keep the moment your quotes get bigger, your tax gets more complicated, or you want to look like the professional you are.
Building a quote is free. The 14-day trial (no card) unlocks sending, downloading and online acceptance.