How to write an estimate, with one filled in

The Federal Trade Commission tells homeowners to get more than one estimate, and says what a written one should include: "a description of the work to be done, materials, completion date, and the price" (How To Avoid a Home Improvement Scam).

A customer who has read that will look for those four things. Put them where they are easy to find.

The same page tells them not to choose the lowest bidder automatically, and to ask for an explanation when two estimates are far apart. A clear list of what is in yours is that explanation, written down before they have to ask.

Charge by something that grows with the job: an hour, a square foot, a cubic yard, a load. Then a bigger job is a bigger number on the same line, and nobody has to argue about a new price.

A line with no quantity cannot do that. "Yard cleanup" at one flat price costs the same whether it takes you the morning or the week.

Not sure yet what to charge for an hour? Start with what one costs you. The hour calculator adds it up from your own numbers.

When a job could go two ways, put both on one estimate as options, each with its own total, and say which one you recommend. One paper, one decision.

Things the customer may or may not want go on as extras, each with its own price, apart from the main work. They can say yes to the job and still think about the extra.

A TailGateBid quote carries up to 4 options, and add-ons your customer ticks before they approve.

In the sample, sales tax is 7.25% of $2,035.00, the two taxed lines together: $147.54. Hauling the old heater away is not taxed in this example, so it is left out of that sum.

The rate is the example's. Yours depends on your state and your city, and so does which of your lines are taxed. Ask your state's revenue department.

The deposit in the sample is 10% of the total: $225.75 when the customer approves, and $2,031.79 when the work is done.

Before you settle on a deposit, check what your state allows. "Some states actually limit the amount of money a contractor can ask for as a down payment," the FTC tells homeowners on that same page. The deposit and sales tax calculator does both sums with your own numbers.

Put a date on it. What you pay for materials will not stay where it is, and neither will your calendar.

We give no usual number of days, because we have no source for one. Pick the last day you would still be glad to do this job at this price, and write it on the estimate: "This price is good until", and the date.

In TailGateBid you set once how many days a new quote stays good, and you can change the date on any one quote. After that date the customer's link says the quote has expired and asks them to get in touch.

Your customer sees the price. You need to see one more thing: what the job leaves you.

In the sample, the three lines cost the business $1,368.00. Out of $2,110.00 before tax, that leaves $742.00: about $35 of every $100. The sales tax is not yours to keep, so it is not counted.

If you have not worked out what a job costs you, do that first. The job price calculator takes your hours and your materials and shows what each price would leave.

Write the estimate in the language your customer reads. The FTC gives the same advice to homeowners in Spanish, where the paper is called a "presupuesto": Cómo evitar una estafa de mejoras del hogar.

In TailGateBid each customer has a language, English or Spanish. The headings, the totals and the email go out in it. What you type yourself, the name of a line or a note, goes out exactly as you typed it. How the two languages work together.

TailGateBid calls this paper a quote. You build it on your phone. Your customer opens a link, picks an option and approves on their own phone, and the approved quote becomes a job, ready to schedule.

After you send it: what to write when a customer goes quiet. When the job is done: how to write the invoice.