Quoting is where tradies quietly win or lose money. Quote too low and you work for free; quote too slow and the customer has already booked someone else; quote with no detail and you cop endless "but I thought that was included" arguments. Getting quoting right is a skill, and it's learnable. Here's a simple, repeatable system for quoting a job properly, and getting paid what it's worth.
The quoting formula
A complete quote is built from six parts:
labour + materials + markup + travel + contingency + GST
Get each piece right and your margin takes care of itself. The tradie quote calculator runs the whole calculation for you, but it's worth understanding each line.
1. Charge your rate, not your wage
This is the single biggest mistake new operators make. Your charge-out rate is not what you'd earn per hour as an employee. It has to cover everything an employer would otherwise pay for: your tools, vehicle, insurance, phone, software, admin time, superannuation, sick days, public holidays, and the hours you spend quoting jobs you don't win, plus a profit on top.
Worked example: say you want to take home $80,000 a year. After tax, super and overheads, and allowing that maybe only 60 to 70% of your week is actually billable (the rest is quoting, travel, admin and downtime), a sustainable charge-out rate often lands around $85 to $110/hour, well above an $40/hour "wage". Work out your own sustainable number with the charge-out rate calculator, then multiply it by an honest estimate of the hours the job will take.
2. Estimate hours honestly, then add a buffer
Optimism kills margins. Estimate how long each stage will really take, then add a buffer for the things that always go wrong on site. If you consistently run over, your estimates, not your rate, are the problem.
3. Materials plus a fair markup
Price your materials, then add a markup, commonly 10 to 30%, to cover sourcing, pickup, handling, storage and the cash you front before you're paid. This isn't gouging; it's a real cost of doing business, and every supplier and retailer does it. The markup and margin calculator converts between cost, markup and margin instantly so you can see the actual profit on the materials line.
4. Travel and callout
If the job is a drive away, add a callout or travel fee. Don't absorb it silently, fuel and the hour in the ute are real costs.
5. Add a contingency for the unknowns
For renovation, repair or anything where you can't see what's behind the wall, add a contingency or clearly state that quoted scope excludes hidden issues, which will be priced as a variation. This protects you from eating the cost of surprises.
6. Add GST
If you're registered for GST, add 10%, and show it as a separate line so the customer receives a compliant tax invoice and can see exactly what they're paying.
Fixed price, time-and-materials, or cost-plus?
There are three common ways to structure a quote:
- Fixed price, one number for a defined scope. Customers love the certainty; you carry the risk if it runs over, so scope it tightly and add contingency.
- Time and materials, you bill actual hours plus materials. Fairer when the scope is genuinely unknown, but customers want a cap or estimate.
- Cost-plus, materials at cost plus an agreed margin, common on larger builds.
Choose the structure that fits the job's risk: fixed price for well-defined work, time-and-materials or cost-plus when the unknowns are real.
7. Deposits, progress payments and terms
- For materials-heavy jobs, ask for a deposit so you're not financing the client's project out of your own pocket.
- For larger jobs, set progress payments tied to milestones.
- State your payment terms clearly on the quote (e.g. "deposit on acceptance, balance due on completion, 7-day terms"). Vague terms are the number-one cause of slow payment.
What to put in a written quote
A professional written quote protects both sides and wins more work. Include:
- A clear scope of work, exactly what you will and won't do (inclusions and exclusions).
- The price, broken into labour, materials and GST.
- Deposit and payment terms.
- A validity period (e.g. "valid for 30 days") so material price rises don't catch you out.
- Your ABN and licence details.
Present it well and follow up
- Be fast. The first professional quote in often wins, speed signals you're organised and keen.
- Be clear. An itemised, tidy quote is far easier for a customer to say yes to than a number scribbled on the back of an invoice.
- Follow up. A polite check-in a few days later closes a surprising number of jobs that would otherwise go cold.
- Handle objections by reframing on value and reliability, not by dropping your price. If you must move, reduce scope rather than rate.
When to walk away
If a customer is haggling hard before the job's even started, wants everything in writing but nothing on paper from their side, or expects champagne on a beer budget, it's often a sign of trouble to come. A clear, confident quote that you're willing to walk away from is worth more than a cheap one you'll resent.
When the customer says yes, convert the quote straight to an invoice with the free invoice generator, no re-typing. See OneBookPlus for tradies for the whole quote-to-paid workflow in one app.
