Stop rebuilding the same prices every time you quote

Most trade businesses complete the same types of work again and again.

The customer changes.

The address changes.

The quantities change.

But much of the pricing stays familiar.

The same materials.

The same fittings.

The same labour activities.

The same installation steps.

Yet many quotes still begin with a blank page.

That means remembering material costs, checking old quotes, estimating labour again and trying to work out what was charged last time.

It may feel manageable when there are only a few enquiries.

As workload grows, it creates slower quotes, inconsistent prices and more opportunity for mistakes.

A pricing catalogue gives the business a reusable starting point.

What is a pricing catalogue?

A pricing catalogue is a library of items that regularly appear in your work.

Instead of rebuilding the same pricing from memory, the core information is already stored and ready to use.

A useful catalogue item might contain:

• Item name

• Customer-facing description

• Manufacturer part number

• Material cost

• Labour fit time

• Markup

• Selling price

• Supplier information

The exact information will vary by trade.

The principle stays the same:

Set the pricing up once, then reuse and improve it.

Over time, the catalogue becomes one of the most useful assets in the business.

Without a catalogue, every quote starts again

Imagine you need to quote a job containing materials and labour you have used many times before.

Without a catalogue, you may need to remember:

• Which product you normally use

• What it currently costs

• Which supplier stocks it

• How long it normally takes to install

• What markup should be applied

• What you charged on the last similar job

That knowledge may be clear while one person handles every quote.

It becomes much less reliable when workload increases or someone else starts helping with pricing.

Two similar jobs can end up with different labour allowances, different materials and different selling prices simply because they were quoted at different times.

A catalogue creates a standard starting point.

Start with the work you quote most often

Do not try to build the entire catalogue in one go.

That usually creates a large job that never gets finished.

Start with the items you use repeatedly.

Electrical

• Socket outlets

• Switches

• Consumer units

• LED battens

• Emergency lights

• Cable types

• Testing activities

Plumbing

• Radiator valves

• Basin taps

• Isolation valves

• Toilets

• Pipe fittings

• Pumps

Building

• Internal doors

• Skirting

• Stud wall sections

• Plasterboard

• Insulation

• Ironmongery

Landscaping

• Fence panels

• Concrete posts

• Gravel boards

• Patio slabs

• Edging

• Drainage components

The goal is not to create a complete catalogue immediately.

The goal is to make the next quote easier than the last one.

What each catalogue item should contain

A good catalogue item should answer three basic questions:

What is it?

Use a clear item name and description.

The person building the quote should understand exactly what the item includes.

What does it cost?

Store the current material cost and any markup or selling price used by the business.

How long does it take?

Add a productive fit time for the installation activity.

These three parts create the basic structure:

Item + material cost + labour time

That gives the quote something measurable to build from.

Use manufacturer part numbers where possible

Product references make catalogue items easier to identify and order.

Where possible, store the manufacturer part number rather than relying only on a supplier reference.

Supplier references can vary between merchants.

Manufacturer references are usually more consistent.

For example, a useful item might show:

1200mm LED batten
Manufacturer: Example Lighting
Manufacturer part number: EL-BAT-1200-40W
Material cost: £42.50
Fit time: 38 minutes

This helps with:

• Requesting supplier quotations

• Ordering the correct product

• Comparing prices between suppliers

• Reducing clarification

• Avoiding similar products being confused

• Keeping purchasing consistent

The time saved on each order may be small.

Across hundreds of items and jobs, it becomes significant.

Add labour fit times to the catalogue

A catalogue should not contain material prices alone.

Materials are only one part of the quote.

Each installation item should also include the productive time normally required to complete it.

For example:

The same principle works across different trades.

Plumbing example

Basin mixer tap
Material cost: £85
Fit time: 60 minutes

Building example

Internal door installation
Material cost: Based on selected door
Fit time: 120 minutes

Landscaping example

Standard fence panel
Material cost: Based on panel selected
Fit time: 45 minutes

The fit time should represent productive installation work.

Travel, difficult access and other site conditions should be added separately through labour allowances or uplifts.

Build quotes from saved items

Once catalogue items exist, a quote no longer needs to start from scratch.

The process becomes:

1. Select the items required.

2. Add the quantities.

3. Check the material costs.

4. Calculate the total fit time.

5. Apply any site-condition uplift.

6. Add one-off items where necessary.

7. Review the final selling price.

The quote is built from existing pricing information rather than memory.

That makes repeat work much faster to price.

It also creates a more consistent process for jobs that are similar but not identical.

Example: building a house rewire quote

A full house rewire contains many repeatable parts.

The first structured quote may take time to build.

You may need to create items for:

• Socket outlets

• Light switches

• Lighting points

• Smoke alarms

• Consumer unit

• Cable types

• Testing

• Certification

• Making good

• Waste removal

Once those items are stored, the next rewire quote becomes easier.

You are no longer rebuilding every calculation.

You are adjusting quantities, checking the scope and allowing for the conditions of that particular property.

For example:

The exact figures will vary by business.

The important part is that the calculation is visible, repeatable and easier to review.

Why this improves pricing consistency

Suppose two similar jobs are quoted six months apart.

Without a catalogue, the second quote may use:

• A different labour allowance

• A different product

• An outdated material price

• A different markup

• Different assumptions

With a catalogue, the same item starts with the same structure.

The quote can still be adjusted where the job is different.

But the starting point remains consistent.

This helps reduce the chance of similar work receiving completely different prices for no clear reason.

Do not wait for perfect information

One of the easiest ways to delay building a catalogue is trying to make every item perfect before using it.

That is not necessary.

Your first fit times may be rough.

Some material costs will change.

Some descriptions will need improving.

That is normal.

A useful catalogue improves through real jobs.

Start with a sensible figure.

Use it.

Review what happened.

Then update it.

The catalogue becomes more accurate because the business is using it, not because someone tried to predict everything perfectly at the start.

Completed jobs should improve the catalogue

After finishing a job, compare the catalogue assumptions with what actually happened.

Ask:

• Was the material cost still accurate?

• Did the selected product work well?

• Was the fit time realistic?

• Was too much or too little labour allowed?

• Did the item description cover the full scope?

• Was anything repeatedly forgotten?

If an item regularly takes longer than expected, increase its fit time.

If the product changes, update the reference.

If the supplier cost changes, update the material price.

If the same additional item keeps being added manually, consider adding it to the catalogue.

That creates a simple feedback loop:

Quote → complete the work → review → improve the catalogue

Every completed job should make future pricing slightly easier.

Keep one main source of pricing information

A catalogue loses value when the information is spread across several places.

For example:

• Material prices in one spreadsheet

• Labour times in another

• Product references in supplier emails

• Markups in an old quote

• Selling prices stored in someone’s memory

That creates confusion over which figure is current.

The catalogue should become the main pricing source.

Old quotes can still be useful for reference.

But they should not be the only place where pricing knowledge exists.

Common pricing catalogue mistakes

Trying to build everything at once

Start with frequent items and expand gradually.

Storing material prices but ignoring labour

A material list alone does not create a complete quote.

Using unclear item names

The person selecting the item should immediately understand what it includes.

Relying only on supplier descriptions

Use clear internal descriptions and manufacturer references where possible.

Creating duplicate items

Agree a naming structure before the catalogue becomes too large.

Never reviewing material costs

Prices change. The catalogue needs regular updates.

Copying old mistakes

Do not assume an old quote was correct simply because it was used before.

Making every item too detailed

The catalogue should save time, not create more admin than the quote itself.

A simple catalogue structure

A folder structure makes a growing catalogue easier to use.

For example:

Electrical

• Lighting

• Power

• Distribution

• Fire alarms

• Testing

Plumbing

• Heating

• Bathrooms

• Pipework

• Valves

• Pumps

Building

• Carpentry

• Walls

• Ceilings

• Flooring

• Finishing

Landscaping

• Fencing

• Paving

• Drainage

• Turf

• Planting

Keep the categories broad enough to navigate quickly.

Avoid creating so many folders that finding an item becomes slower than entering it manually.

How FieldHive supports catalogue-based pricing

FieldHive lets trade businesses build reusable catalogue items containing:

• Material costs

• Labour fit times

• Markup

• Selling prices

• Product references

• Clear descriptions

Those items can then be added to future quotes without rebuilding the pricing each time.

The catalogue forms part of the connected quoting process rather than sitting in a separate spreadsheet.

That helps make quoting:

• Faster

• More consistent

• Easier to review

• Easier to delegate

• More useful as the business grows

FieldHive’s catalogue is built around the principle of setting pricing up once and continuing to improve it through use.

Build it once. Improve it every time you use it.

Most trade businesses repeatedly solve the same pricing problems.

A catalogue stops that work being lost.

The first version does not need to be complete.

Start with the items you quote most often.

Add the material cost.

Add the fit time.

Use the items in real quotes.

Then improve them when better information becomes available.

The more work the business completes, the more useful the catalogue becomes.

Build your pricing once, then keep making it better.