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
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.