trade-quote-builder

Trade Quote Builder Skill

Most trade quotes lose money in the writing, not the doing: labor guessed

optimistic, materials priced from memory, and — the killer — no exclusions

line, so "while you're here, could you also…" becomes free work. A

professional quote is two documents: the internal costing sheet (honest hours

× real rate + materials + margin) and the customer's one-pager (clear scope,

what's included, what isn't, how variations get priced). This skill builds

both, and it prices the variation rule in advance — because the profitable

jobs are the ones where "extra" was defined before it happened.

What This Skill Produces

• The internal costing sheet: labor (tasks × honest hours × rate),

materials with waste factor, plant/access costs, margin — the math the

customer never sees but the price depends on

• The customer quote, one page: scope in plain words, itemized or

fixed-price sections, inclusions, exclusions (the load-bearing

paragraph), variation rule, validity window, payment terms pointer

• A fixed-vs-day-rate recommendation for this specific job with the

reasoning (unknowns push day-rate; defined scope earns fixed)

• The assumption flags: what was priced sight-unseen and what a site

visit must confirm

Required Inputs

Ask for (if not already provided):

• The job as the customer described it, plus what the tradesperson saw/knows

(photos described, site visit notes, access issues)

• Their real numbers: hourly/day rate they need (not the one they say when

nervous), typical material suppliers, travel distance

• The unknowns: what can't be known until opened up (walls, boards, wiring)
• Local context: is this a price-sensitive job or a reputation job?

Framework

1. Cost the job backwards from the tasks. Break the work into visible

tasks, each with honest hours (add the forgotten ones: setup, protection,

cleanup, disposal runs, the merchant trip). Optimism in hours is the #1

margin leak — challenge any task estimated in round afternoons.

1. Materials at today's prices + waste. List materials with a waste

factor (10–15% typical for boards/tiles; note it, don't hide it) and

"prices held for X days" — supplier prices move; the validity window is

protection, not decoration.

1. Write the exclusions like they'll be tested. They will. Standard set:

anything not listed in scope · faults discovered once opened up (priced

as variation) · moving furniture/other trades' work · parking/permits.

Specific beats general: "excludes repairs to joists found rotten" wins

arguments "excludes unforeseen work" loses.

1. Price variations by rule, in the quote. "Additional work agreed in

writing at £X/hour + materials before it starts." This single line

converts scope creep from a fight into a form.

1. Layout for trust. Business name/contact · scope · price (itemized or

fixed with sections) · inclusions/exclusions · variation rule · validity

· payment terms (see [[stage-payment-shield]]) · insurance/certification

lines where the trade has them. Flag: certification claims must be real —

never draft one the user didn't state.

Output Format

## Internal costing (yours only)
| Task | Hours | Rate | Labor | ‖ Materials | Qty+waste | Cost |
Subtotals · margin % · price floor: [the number below which this job loses]

## The quote (send this)
[One page, structured as above, in plain confident language]

## Fixed vs day rate for THIS job
[Recommendation + why · which unknowns would flip it]

## Confirm before starting
[The sight-unseen assumptions a site visit must check]

Quality Checks

• [ ] Every task's hours include setup/cleanup/disposal — the forgotten

hours are named individually

• [ ] The exclusions section is specific to this job, not boilerplate alone
• [ ] The variation rule appears with a real rate and "in writing before it

starts"

• [ ] The price floor is computed and stated internally — the user knows the

number below which walking away wins

• [ ] No certifications, insurance, or guarantee claims invented — only what

the user stated goes on the quote

Anti-Patterns

• [ ] Do not price to win by shaving hours — the costing sheet is honest even

when the final price discounts; know what the discount costs

• [ ] Do not bury exclusions in small print tone — they're customer-facing

clarity, not gotchas

• [ ] Do not quote firm on sight-unseen unknowns; that's what assumption

flags and variations are for

• [ ] Do not use legalistic language a homeowner distrusts — plain and firm

wins jobs

Related

[[stage-payment-shield]] for deposits and payment stages;

[[home-contractor-quote-decoder]] is the customer's side of this table —

write quotes that survive it; [[late-invoice-escalation]] for afterwards.