How to Write a Builder Quote: Step-by-Step Guide

What You Need Before You Start Writing

Before you write a single line, you need to have done a proper site visit. This sounds obvious, but a surprising number of disputes start because a builder quoted from photographs or a brief phone call. Walk every part of the job. Look at access, measure key dimensions, check what is behind walls or under floors if the work involves breaking in. If you cannot see something, say so in the quote and price accordingly.

Gather your material costs from actual supplier quotes, not memory. Timber, block, insulation, fixings and hired plant all move in price. A quote you wrote six months ago may already be loss-making if you use it as a template without checking. Note the date on every supplier price you use, because if there is a delay before the customer signs, you may need to revise.

You also need to know who you are quoting for. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, consumers (private homeowners) have different rights to commercial clients. A homeowner hiring you to extend their kitchen is a consumer. A landlord hiring you to fit out a rental property may also be a consumer in some contexts, so if in doubt, treat them as one. This affects your cancellation obligations and the implied standard of your work.

• •Completed site visit with measurements and photographs
• •Written material prices from your merchant, dated
• •Plant hire costs confirmed with the hire company
• •Subcontractor costs if you are bringing others in
• •Customer's full name and the full address of the site
• •A clear written description of what the customer wants done
• •Any planning permission or building regulations reference numbers already in play

Step 1: Define the Scope of Work Precisely

The scope of work is the most important part of your quote. It tells the customer exactly what they are buying and, just as importantly, tells you what you have committed to. Write it in plain English, broken down into logical phases or areas. Do not write 'build rear extension' and leave it there. Write 'demolish existing lean-to (approx. 3m x 2m), excavate and pour new strip foundations to building inspector specification, construct 100mm block cavity walls to wall plate, install roof structure and cover with concrete interlocking tiles to match existing, fit 2 no. UPVC windows and 1 no. French door supplied by client, internal plaster finish to walls and ceilings, make good to existing house wall opening'.

Be equally clear about what is NOT included. Exclusions protect you. If you are not doing the electrical first fix, say so. If you are not connecting the drainage, say so. If the price assumes no unexpected ground conditions, say so. Every experienced builder has stories about a customer who assumed something was included because it was not explicitly excluded.

Common pitfalls at this stage: using the word 'supply and install' without specifying the product standard or model. If you say 'supply and install insulation' and the customer later expects full Passivhaus-grade rigid foam when you priced mineral wool, you have a problem. Specify product names, thicknesses, and U-values where they matter.

• •Break the scope into numbered phases or work areas
• •List every material type and specification you are supplying
• •List all exclusions explicitly in a separate paragraph
• •Note any provisional sums for items that cannot yet be fixed (e.g. 'drainage connection: provisional sum £450, subject to actual run length on site')
• •If the job is notifiable under Building Regulations, state who is responsible for the application

Step 2: Set Out Your Pricing Clearly

Your price should be broken down by phase or trade section wherever possible. A single lump sum makes customers nervous and makes disputes harder to resolve if something changes. Breaking it down shows you have thought the job through and gives both sides a reference point if the scope shifts.

State whether your price is fixed or an estimate. A fixed price means you carry the risk of material cost changes and unforeseen work (within the stated scope). An estimate means the final figure may change and you must tell the customer in writing before you exceed it. Most builders use fixed prices for straightforward domestic jobs and day rates or schedules of rates for complex or unknown-condition work.

Under section 51 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015, where no price is agreed in the contract, the customer is only required to pay a reasonable price. That might sound fine, but 'reasonable' is determined by a court or trading standards, not by you. A clearly agreed fixed price avoids that argument entirely. Always confirm the agreed price in writing, even if the customer accepts verbally on site.

If you are VAT-registered, show VAT separately. If the work qualifies for the reduced 5% rate under HMRC VAT Notice 708 (for example, work converting a building from non-residential to residential, or the first renovation of a property that has been empty for two years or more), state that on the quote. If you apply the wrong VAT rate and later have to correct it, the customer can reasonably refuse to pay the difference. Get it right at the quoting stage.

• •Phase 1: groundworks and foundations -- £X
• •Phase 2: superstructure brickwork/blockwork -- £X
• •Phase 3: roof structure and covering -- £X
• •Phase 4: windows, doors, and weatherproofing -- £X
• •Phase 5: internal plastering and making good -- £X
• •Provisional sums listed separately and clearly labelled
• •VAT rate applied with the relevant HMRC notice reference if reduced rate applies
• •Total ex-VAT and total inc-VAT shown on a separate line

Step 3: State Your Payment Terms

Payment terms on a building quote are not optional extras. They are the mechanism that keeps your cash flow alive on a job that might run for weeks or months. For domestic work, the standard approach is a deposit, stage payments tied to physical milestones, and a final payment on practical completion. A typical split for a £25,000 job might be 20% deposit, 30% on completion of the structure, 30% on completion of the roof, and the final 20% on handover.

Never rely on a verbal agreement about when you will be paid. The Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 (the Construction Act) applies to construction contracts over a certain threshold and gives both parties the right to stage payments and a formal payment notice procedure. For contracts with commercial clients, the Construction Act's provisions on payment notices and pay-less notices are particularly important. For domestic clients, it is simpler, but written stage payment triggers are still your best protection.

State what happens if a payment is missed. Under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998, you are entitled to charge 8% above the Bank of England base rate on overdue invoices from commercial clients, plus fixed compensation of £40 to £100 depending on the debt size. For domestic clients, your quote terms need to set out the late payment rate you will charge, as the statutory rate only applies automatically to business-to-business debts. Set the trigger date clearly: 'payment due 7 days from invoice date'.

Common pitfall: accepting a large deposit and then having no written milestone trigger for the next payment. The customer knows they are holding the money and you are on site working. Always tie the next payment to something visible and measurable, such as 'first floor slab poured and inspected' or 'wall plate level reached'.

• •Deposit percentage and amount in £
• •Each stage payment, tied to a specific, measurable milestone
• •Final retention amount if any, and the trigger for its release
• •Payment method accepted (BACS, cheque, card)
• •Due date (e.g. '7 days from invoice')
• •Late payment charge rate for domestic clients
• •Consequences of non-payment (right to suspend works)

Step 4: Give a Realistic Start Date and Programme

A builder quote without a start date and a realistic programme is asking for trouble. Customers often decide between quotes partly on timing. If you do not state a start date, the customer assumes you will start immediately and will chase you the day after they sign.

Under section 52 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015, where no timescale is agreed, you must carry out the service within a reasonable time. What is reasonable is again a matter for a court if it is disputed, not you. A stated programme with key milestones is far better than relying on 'reasonable time'. Write something like: 'Subject to receipt of agreed deposit, planned start date week commencing [date]. Estimated duration 8 weeks, subject to weather and any unforeseen ground conditions. Key milestone: structure to wall plate level by end of week 3, roof complete by end of week 6, practical completion week 8.'

Always include a clause covering delays outside your control: adverse weather, delayed material supply, client-instructed changes, and third-party failures such as building control inspections. These are standard and most customers will accept them without question. What they will not accept is you disappearing for three weeks with no explanation, which is exactly what happens when there is no written programme to hold anyone accountable.

Common pitfall: committing to a start date before your current job is finished. If you are running over on another site, be honest. A delayed start that you communicated in advance is far less damaging to a client relationship than a no-show on the date you promised.

• •Proposed start date (week commencing format is safer than a specific day)
• •Total estimated duration
• •Key milestone dates tied to payment stages
• •Delay clause covering weather, supply, client instructions, third-party delays
• •Working hours (e.g. Mon to Fri, 7.30am to 5.00pm) to manage neighbour expectations

Step 5: Include Your Terms and Conditions

Your quote is not just a price list. It is the written record of your contract with the customer. If it does not contain terms and conditions, you are effectively contracting on the customer's terms, which may be nothing at all, leaving you to argue from first principles if anything goes wrong.

Your T&Cs do not need to be written by a solicitor, but they do need to cover a few key points. For domestic clients, you must comply with the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013. These give the customer a 14-day cooling-off period if the contract was concluded off-premises (i.e. at their home or anywhere other than your business premises). You must tell them about this right in writing before they sign. If you do not, the cancellation period extends to 12 months.

Your T&Cs should also cover: what happens if the customer changes the scope mid-job (variation orders, agreed in writing before work starts), your liability limit (usually capped at the contract value for consequential losses), dispute resolution (you might reference the Scheme for Construction Contracts or a trade association adjudication service), and what you will do if defects are found after completion. Under section 49 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015, you are required to carry out the service with reasonable care and skill. Your T&Cs cannot contract out of this, but they can set a reasonable process for dealing with any defects: notification in writing within 14 days of discovery, and a reasonable opportunity for you to return and rectify.

Common pitfall: copying T&Cs from another trade's template without checking they are relevant to building work. A plumber's T&Cs are not the same as a builder's. Make sure yours reference the right obligations and do not include irrelevant Gas Safe or NICEIC references.

• •14-day cancellation right notice (Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013) for off-premises contracts
• •Variation order procedure: written agreement before any additional work starts
• •Defect notification and rectification process
• •Liability cap
• •Dispute resolution reference
• •Your insurance details (public liability at minimum)
• •Any trade association membership or accreditation (FMB, NHBC, etc.)

Step 6: Check Your CIS Obligations Before You Send

If you are a sole trader builder working on domestic properties, you are almost certainly within the Construction Industry Scheme. Before you send the quote, confirm whether you need to operate CIS deductions. If you are subcontracting any of the work to other tradespeople, you are a contractor for CIS purposes on those elements, even if you are also a subcontractor on the main contract. You need to verify your subcontractors with HMRC before paying them.

Following the 6 April 2026 CIS reform under the Income Tax (Construction Industry Scheme) Regulations 2005, the rules on Gross Payment Status are significantly tighter. HMRC now has the power to revoke GPS immediately if compliance failures are found, and any application ban following revocation has been extended from one year to five years. Penalties can reach 30% of the lost tax. If you hold GPS, protect it carefully: maintain clean VAT, PAYE, and self-assessment filing records, because the new 'knew or should have known' test means you can be held liable for failures in your supply chain if HMRC concludes you had reasonable grounds to know something was wrong.

Your quote should not necessarily reference CIS by name in the customer-facing document, because domestic homeowners are not required to make deductions from payments to builders. However, if you are quoting for a commercial client or a landlord with a large portfolio, they may need to deduct 20% or 30% from your labour element and pay it to HMRC. Clarify this before you price, because it affects your cash flow on the job.

Common pitfall: assuming all your subcontractors hold GPS. Check their verification status through HMRC every time, especially if you have not worked with them recently. A lapsed GPS means you should be deducting 20%, and if you pay gross by mistake, the liability falls on you.

• •Confirm whether the client is a contractor for CIS purposes
• •Verify all subcontractors with HMRC before first payment
• •Separate labour and materials in your pricing (materials are not subject to CIS deductions)
• •Keep records of all CIS deduction certificates you issue or receive
• •If you earn above £50,000, check your MTD ITSA obligations from 6 April 2026

Step 7: Format the Document Professionally

The format of your quote matters more than most builders realise. A quote on a torn sheet of notepaper, a text message, or an email with no structure gives the impression you will run the job the same way. A clean, clearly laid-out document with your trading name, address, and contact details at the top, a unique quote reference number, the date, and the customer's name and address communicates that you are organised and professional.

Use a quote reference number every time. This lets you track which version the customer accepted, which matters if you sent a revised quote after a scope change. Date the quote and state a validity period: 'This quote is valid for 30 days from the date above. After this date, material and labour costs may need to be reviewed.' This protects you from a customer who comes back six months later and insists you must honour a price that was based on last winter's timber costs.

Sign the document and ask the customer to sign and return a copy as confirmation. This gives you a written record that they accepted the specific quote, not a different version or a verbal variation. If you are sending by email, ask for a written reply confirming acceptance and retain that email. A PDF with a signature field is better than a Word document, because a Word document can be edited after the fact.

Common pitfall: not keeping copies. Keep every quote you send, whether accepted or not. Under the Limitation Act 1980, a customer can bring a claim against you up to six years after the contract was formed, so your records need to go back at least that far.

• •Your trading name, address, and contact number at the top
• •Unique quote reference number
• •Date of issue and validity period
• •Customer's full name and site address
• •Your VAT registration number if applicable
• •Your CIS registration number or UTR if relevant to the client
• •Signature line for both parties
• •Version control if you revise the quote

Step 8: Follow Up Without Being Pushy

Sending a quote and then going quiet is one of the most common mistakes sole traders make. Most customers are getting two or three quotes and may simply forget to respond to the ones they are not rejecting. A brief follow-up after five to seven days is not pushy, it is professional.

Keep the follow-up simple. A short email or text saying 'Just checking you received the quote I sent on [date] for the works at [address]. Happy to talk through any questions' is enough. If the customer has gone with someone else, most will tell you, and you can ask for brief feedback. Knowing why you lost a job is useful intelligence: were you the most expensive, did your programme not suit, was your scope different from what they asked for?

If a customer goes silent after accepting a quote, that is a different problem. Chase the signed copy before you mobilise. Do not turn up on site, start work, and then find out later that the customer's circumstances have changed. Your quote is not a contract until it is accepted. Acceptance can be written or verbal, but written is always safer.

• •Follow up 5-7 days after sending if no response
• •Ask for signed acceptance before ordering materials or booking plant
• •Log all follow-up contact in case of a later dispute
• •If the customer delays acceptance beyond your validity period, reissue with updated pricing

Worked Example: A Single-Storey Rear Extension Quote

To make this concrete, here is a worked example for a single-storey rear extension on a domestic property in the East Midlands. The customer is a homeowner named Mr and Mrs Davies. The site is their family home at 14 Ashbrook Close, Nottingham NG5 2PQ. The quote was prepared on 10 June 2025 and carries reference TDB-2025-047.

Scope of works: Demolish existing single-skin outbuilding (approx. 3m x 2.4m). Excavate and pour new reinforced strip foundations (trench dimensions to be confirmed by structural engineer's specification, provisional). Construct new 3.6m x 4.2m single-storey rear extension with 100mm dense block inner leaf, full-fill cavity insulation, and facing brick outer leaf to match existing as closely as practicable (exact match cannot be guaranteed). Install steel lintel over new opening to rear elevation. Roof: timber flat roof structure, 150mm PIR insulation, single-ply membrane, fall to rear gutter. One no. aluminium bi-fold door (supplied by client), fitted and made weathertight. Internal: dot and dab plasterboard to walls, skim plaster finish, suspended ceiling with 100mm insulation above. Make good to existing house wall at new opening. Electrical first and second fix: excluded (client to arrange separately). Drainage connection to new bi-fold door threshold: excluded. All work subject to Building Regulations approval, application by client.

Pricing: Demolition and clearance: £850. Foundations (provisional, based on standard 600mm x 900mm strip): £3,200. Superstructure brickwork and blockwork including cavity insulation: £7,400. Roof structure and covering: £4,600. Bi-fold door installation (door supplied by client): £680. Internal plastering and ceiling: £2,800. Sundries, fixings, and site clearance: £470. Total materials and labour ex-VAT: £20,000. VAT at 20%: £4,000. Total inc. VAT: £24,000. Note: standard rate VAT applies. This property does not qualify for the reduced 5% rate under VAT Notice 708.

Payment terms: Deposit 20% (£4,800 inc. VAT) due on acceptance. Stage payment 1: 30% (£7,200) on completion of foundations and ground floor slab, signed off by building inspector. Stage payment 2: 30% (£7,200) on completion of roof covering and installation of bi-fold door. Final payment: 20% (£4,800) on practical completion and handover of building regulations certificate. All payments due by BACS within 7 days of invoice date. Late payments accrue interest at 8% per annum above Bank of England base rate from the due date. Programme: Start date week commencing 7 July 2025, subject to receipt of deposit. Estimated duration 6 weeks. This quote is valid for 30 days from 10 June 2025.

• •Quote reference: TDB-2025-047
• •Total value inc. VAT: £24,000
• •Deposit: £4,800 (20%) on acceptance
• •Three further stage payments tied to inspectable milestones
• •Validity: 30 days from 10 June 2025
• •Exclusions clearly listed: electrical, drainage connection, building regs application
• •Provisional sum flagged for foundations pending engineer's spec

Generate Your Builder Quote in Minutes with TradeDoc AI

If you want to produce a quote like the worked example above without building your own template from scratch, TradeDoc AI generates a compliant builder quote in about two minutes. It is free for your first 100 documents a month, no card required at sign-up, and all four UK trades are covered in one place.

If you want your logo on the PDF and one-tap email send to the customer, Pro is £15 a month. Most sole traders stay on Free. Visit tradedoc.co.uk to get started.