Quote vs estimate
A quote is a fixed price for defined work that the customer can hold you to once they accept it. An estimate is a considered best guess at the likely cost, given in good faith, that can change. The difference is whether the number is binding.
In practice for trades
Use a quote where the scope is genuinely known: a consumer unit change, a boiler swap, a set number of sockets. Once accepted, that price is the contract, and extra work has to be agreed separately before it is done.
Use an estimate where something material is unknown. You cannot see under the floor, the tiles are unchosen, or the rot is a guess until the plaster comes off. Label it an estimate and say plainly what would change it.
Two things trip trades up. Calling something an estimate does not make it one if the wording reads like a fixed price; what matters is what the customer understood. And where no price is fixed, a consumer only has to pay a reasonable price (Consumer Rights Act 2015, s.51, correct as at August 2026), with "reasonable" decided after the argument starts.
The fix is to quote the known work and use a provisional sum or PC sum for the rest, so one document carries both.
Worked example
A bathroom refit: labour and first-fix materials are quoted firm at £3,400. The suite is undecided, so a £600 PC sum covers it and a £450 provisional sum covers rerouting the soil pipe. The customer sees one price of £4,450 and knows which two parts can move.
Related terms
- Provisional sum: an allowance for work that cannot be priced yet
- Prime cost sum: an allowance for an item the customer has not chosen yet
- Job costing: comparing what you quoted with what the job actually cost
Do it in FieldHive
Produce either document with the Quote & Estimate Builder. It carries a quote/estimate toggle, line items, VAT and a valid-until date.
Quote & Estimate Builder→
