What is a Quote in Business?: A Guide for Service Providers
Whether you’re looking to organize your service business, prevent customer disputes, or win more jobs, adding quotes to your sales process might just be your answer.
Professional quotes outline job costs before any work begins, giving you and your customer a clear picture of what to expect going forward. This ensures you’re on the same page from day one, and it keeps pricing accurate and consistent throughout a job.
If you’re ready to find out what a quote is in business and how to use them, read through this guide.
Everything you need to know about price quotes:
What is a quote?
In a business, a business quote is a written breakdown of costs a service provider gives to a prospective client before they agree to work together.
It includes important information about a job, such as:
- Company information
- Customer information
- A quote number
- An expiry date
- A description of each product or service
- The cost of each item
- The total cost of the work, including applicable taxes, discounts, or fees
Itemized quotes may also have photos, payment terms, disclaimers, product warranties, deposit information, or tiered pricing options.
Here’s an example of a written quote:
Why are quotes important?
Quotes in business offer many benefits to both service providers and prospective clients. By including them in your service business’s sales process, you can:
1. Win more jobs
Price quotes tell clients exactly how much a job will cost and what it includes. This makes it easier for them to plan a budget, consider project details, and approve the work.
Pro Tip: Include an expiration date on your quotes to create a sense of urgency and to prevent yourself from swallowing inconsistent costs.
If your company has a lot of material cost and it’s always fluctuating, you might say that your quote expires in three days because who knows—that material across might jump up next week and then you’re stuck with pricing at this low amount once you’ve given the quote…
2. Increase transparency
Detailed quotes offer transparent pricing, making it easy for clients to see exactly how their money will be used. This openness about costs positions you as a trustworthy and honest service provider, making you more appealing to work with.
3. Have more profitable jobs
Price quotes are informed by your pricing strategy, which you develop with a profit margin and markup in mind. Using detailed quotes keeps your pricing consistent and ensures you cover costs instead of providing a ballpark estimate that ends up being too low.
4. Prevent pricing disputes
When you set a clear price from day one that includes a breakdown of costs, it prevents future disputes from happening—even when the project scope changes.
It’s very important to explain to your customer in the quote that the quote [is] subject to change.
For example, let’s say a house cleaner quotes a potential client for a basic house cleaning that includes vacuuming, dusting, and bathrooms. But when they arrive, they find pet hair covering the carpets and furniture. Because of the extra time and effort required to clean the home, the cleaner would need to adjust the original quote.
And since they provided a detailed quote to begin with—that explained exactly what was and wasn’t covered—they can refer back to it when discussing the change in price and project scope with the client.
5. Add upsells to your sales strategy
Upsells are an easy way to increase the value of each job, and quotes are the perfect place to put them. Using quoting software like Jobber, you can create quotes that include add-ons and optional packages, giving clients the power to choose what works best for their needs and budget.
6. Look more professional
Detailed quotes with logos, business information, and pricing breakdowns look a lot better than a text or email that just says, “The work would cost about $500.”
Using quotes increases transparency and boosts professionalism, giving you a competitive edge and making your business stand out.
How to make a professional quote
Each industry has a different standard for preparing quotes for services.
For example, window cleaners quote by the number of window panes, and landscapers quote by the size of the property and materials.
But no matter which industry you work in, the quoting process typically looks like this:
- Estimate the cost of the job based on a site visit or your standard service pricing.
- Create a quote template manually in Microsoft Word or Google Docs, use a free template, or quoting software like Jobber to build a price quote that includes your logo, branding, and business information.
- Fill in the relevant information by providing a detailed breakdown of each list item and its cost, the quote number, expiration date, client information, and total price.
- Send the quote to your client via email or text and wait for them to sign off on the work. With Jobber, clients can approve quotes electronically so you can start jobs faster.
Pro Tip: If a client doesn’t get back to you within a few days, try sending a quote follow-up. Chances are, your quote slipped their mind or got lost in a messy inbox.
READ MORE: Quote follow-up email templates to help you seal the deal
Best practices for quotes
To up your chances of having a quote approved, follow these best practices:
1. Make your quotes binding
Quotes aren’t legally binding unless they include specific elements, like a signature from the client and clear terms.
Binding quotes act like contracts and hold your customer to the agreement, ensuring that a quote approval equates to a booked job. Without one, you should have a separate, signed contract before work can begin.
2. Send quotes via email or text
Paper quotes are easy to lose, damage, and throw away. Sending quotes through email or text ensures clients can:
- Review them from anywhere
- Forward them to others
- Refer back to them as needed
The more accessible a quote is, the easier it will be for a potential client to make a decision.
3. Use a professional template
Whether you use quoting software like Jobber to create your quotes or you make them yourself, they should be clear, consistent, and concise.
Ensure your pricing is correct, include a description of each cost, and add your branding so it’s easy for potential customers to see who the quote is from.
4. Be timely
Don’t wait too long to send your quotes. The best time to send them is within 24-48 hours of visiting a job site.
Once a request comes in for a quote, we try to get over to our clients within 24 hours, and we can send off a quote immediately from there. You can make a good impression that way.
The sooner you send a quote, the more relevant and top of mind it will be to the prospective customer. Using software like Jobber, you can build a quote onsite, adding services, products, and materials as you go.
Adding quotes to your service business’s sales process
Service quotes play a major role in growing your small business. Along with invoices, they work to keep you organized, track clients, and build your reputation as a trustworthy and professional service provider.
Jobber’s quoting and invoicing software can help you monitor and move clients through the sales funnel, starting from a quote request all the way through to payment.
Originally published in February 2017. Last updated on October 22, 2024.