What to Put in a Quote: The UK Trade's Checklist

↑ Part of the Quoting series · How to Quote a Job Properly

A quote needs your business details, a clear description of the work with what's included and excluded, a priced breakdown, the VAT and CIS position, payment terms, how long the price holds, and a way for the customer to formally accept it. Most of that is easy. The parts that actually save you money are the scope, the exclusions, and the acceptance, because those are what pin down what was really agreed.

Think of it as the checklist that turns our guide to quoting a job properly into a document. Here's every line that belongs on a quote, and why each one earns its place.

Part 1What has to be on every quote? The basics

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Start with the bits that make it a proper business document rather than a number on a text:

• Your business details. Trading name, contact, and your VAT number if you're registered. This is the brand-level identity, no personal home address needed.
• The customer's details and the job address. Sounds obvious. It matters when you're running several jobs and need to prove which quote covered which property.
• A quote reference number. Something like Q-1042. It gives you and the customer one clean way to refer to the document, and it's what your variation later points back to.
• The date, and a validity period. "Valid for 30 days." Material prices move, and without an expiry a customer can accept your spring price in autumn and expect you to honour it.

None of these win you the job. They're just the difference between looking like a business and looking like a number in a text.

Part 2How do you describe the work so it can't be twisted?

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This is the single most important thing on the page, and it's the one most trades rush. The scope is the description of exactly what you're going to do. Every gap in it is a gap the customer fills in their own favour.

"Rewire the house" is not a scope. It's a lawsuit waiting to happen. How many points, and where? Chased into the walls or run in trunking? A new consumer unit, or reuse the old one? Does the price include making good the plaster after the chasing, or do you leave bare channels for someone else? Write it tight instead: the circuits, the socket and light counts, the board, the certification, and exactly how far the making good goes. The longer, plainer and more specific the scope, the fewer arguments you have on site.

A good test: read your scope back and ask "could a customer who wanted to push it read this generously and cost me money?" If yes, it's too loose.

For more on how vague wording costs you, see quote vs estimate.

Part 3Why exclusions and assumptions matter more than the price

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Here's the part that separates trades who make money from trades who don't. What you leave out of a quote needs saying as clearly as what's in it.

A plasterer quotes "skim lounge and hallway, £450." The customer assumes that covers the blown patch under the window and the cracked corner. The plasterer meant skim over sound plaster. That blown patch needs hacking off and a backing coat first, half a day he never priced. No exclusion line, so now it's a row and he's doing it for nothing to avoid a bad review.

One line would have saved him: "Price assumes existing plaster is sound. Hacking off and making good of blown or loose areas charged separately." That's an assumption (the state you've priced for) and an exclusion (what's not in the price) doing their job. Every trade has their own version:

• "Excludes making good to decoration."
• "Assumes existing wiring is sound and to current regs; remedial work quoted separately."
• "Excludes removal of asbestos, should any be found."
• "Price assumes clear access and a working water/power supply on site."

These aren't you being awkward. They're you saying, plainly and in advance, where your price stops, so the customer can't quietly extend it. The trade who lists exclusions looks more professional, not less, because it reads as someone who's done this before.

Part 4What about prices you can't pin down yet?

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Sometimes you genuinely can't fix a price until something's opened up. The honest tool for that is a provisional sum: a clearly labelled allowance for a bit of work you can't pin down yet, to be confirmed once you can see it.

"Provisional sum of £300 for repairs to subfloor, to be confirmed once flooring is lifted." That tells the customer the final figure on that item may move, and why, without turning the whole quote into a vague estimate. It keeps the rest of your price firm while being straight about the one bit that isn't. Far better than guessing low to win the job and springing the real cost on them later.

Part 5How should you show the money?

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Break the price down enough to be trusted. A single lump sum invites the customer to start chipping at it ("how much of that is labour?"). A clear split shows you know your numbers:

• Labour and materials, at least separated, itemised further if the job's big.
• VAT, handled correctly. If you're VAT-registered it goes on the quote at the right rate, shown clearly.
• CIS and the Domestic Reverse Charge, if they apply. For CIS-registered B2B construction work, the Domestic Reverse Charge changes who accounts for the VAT, and that needs to be right on the quote, not fixed up at invoice stage. This is one to get correct rather than guess. Our VAT, DRC and CIS guide sets out which applies, and if your situation's unusual, confirm it with HMRC or your accountant rather than relying on a rule of thumb.

Don't forget the maths underneath has to actually cover the work. A tidy breakdown of a number that's too low still loses money, pricing a job properly covers that side.

Part 6What payment terms should a quote set?

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Vague payment terms are how a finished job turns into a 60-day chase. Spell it out:

• A deposit, if you take one, and when it's due.
• Stage payments on bigger jobs, tied to milestones ("£2,000 on completion of first fix").
• The final balance, and how long they've got to pay it. "Payment due within 14 days of invoice."
• Retention, if it's that kind of job, the percentage held back and when it's released, often around 5% after the defects period.

Setting terms on the quote means you agreed them up front, when the customer was keen, not when you're trying to extract the last payment. More on chasing it in getting paid on time.

Part 7How does the customer actually accept it?

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A quote nobody formally accepted is hard to enforce. Make acceptance simple and recorded: a signature, a tick-box, or a clear written "yes, go ahead" you can keep. The point is that you can later show the customer agreed to this scope at this price, on this date.

This matters most when there's a dispute. "You accepted quote Q-1042 on the 3rd, here's your confirmation" ends an argument that "I never agreed to that" would otherwise drag out.

Part 8What about changes after they've accepted?

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Once the quote's accepted, any change to the scope is a variation, and it gets priced and recorded before you do the work, never sprung at the final bill. The quote sets the baseline; the variation is how you add to it cleanly. We cover that fully in handling variations.

Common questionsWhat to put in a quote: quick FAQ

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What's the most important thing on a quote?

The scope: the clear description of exactly what's included and excluded. The price is easy. What you're agreeing to do for it is where the money's won or lost.

Do I need to list exclusions?

Yes. What you leave out needs stating as clearly as what's in. A short list of exclusions and assumptions is what stops the customer quietly extending your price.

Should I show VAT separately on a quote?

If you're VAT-registered, yes, at the correct rate, on the quote itself. If CIS or the Domestic Reverse Charge applies, that needs handling at quote stage too. Check specifics with HMRC or your accountant.

How do I price something I can't see yet?

Use a clearly labelled provisional sum, an allowance to be confirmed once the work's opened up, rather than guessing a firm price you'll regret.

Does the customer have to sign the quote?

A recorded acceptance, signature, tick-box or a written "go ahead", makes the quote far easier to enforce. A quote nobody formally accepted is a weaker thing to point at when there's a dispute.

This guide is general information for UK tradespeople, current to the best of our knowledge in 2026. Rules, rates and thresholds change, and how they apply depends on your specific circumstances. It is not tax, accounting or legal advice. Always confirm your position with HMRC, a qualified accountant or a solicitor before relying on it. TradeDraft accepts no liability for decisions made on the basis of this guide. Questions: hello@tradedraft.co.uk.

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