Blog/ Quotes
A quote the client understands
Clients rarely argue about the price if they understand what it is made of. The argument starts when the quote says one amount and the invoice another. Here is how to build a quote that prevents it.
Many tradespeople send a quote as one line in a text: "Labour and materials, 850 euros." To the client it looks like a number out of thin air. They start comparing it with others who wrote 700, and do not see that the 700 leaves out materials or travel.
A quote with separate lines shows what the client is paying for. It also protects you: if the job turns out bigger, it is clear what was agreed and what is extra.
What a good quote has
A good quote is not long. It has just enough lines for the client to see labour, materials and travel separately:
- Labour with a description and the hours or the agreed sum, for example "Kitchen wiring, 14 h".
- Materials with quantity and price: cable in metres, boxes, breakers, not "materials, 320 euros".
- Travel, the total before VAT, the VAT, the grand total and the date until which the price holds.
The validity date matters more than it seems. Material prices change, and a quote the client finds six months later should not bind you.
When the client sees what the price is made of, they ask about the lines, not the total.
When the job turns out bigger
When you open up a wall, you often find the old wiring needs replacing in the next room too. Do not do it quietly and do not add it to the invoice without warning. Do this instead:
- Show the client what you found, with a photo, while you are still on site.
- Tell them the price of the extra work and materials and wait for their "yes".
- Add it to the job as a separate line, so the invoice shows what was added.
In a Kvedo quote the labour line uses your hourly rate, materials come from your catalogue with their price, and the VAT and total are added up at the bottom. When the client agrees, one button turns the quote into a job, and the invoice gets the quote's price for the work and its materials, plus any materials and travel that were added.
