📝 General
Send clients a clear, professional estimate: itemized scope, pricing, and a validity date they can approve.
No credit card required. Approve an estimate straight into an invoice, free.
What to include
🔢
Number every estimate and state how long the price holds (e.g. "valid 30 days"). Material and labor costs move, so an open-ended estimate exposes you to losing money on stale pricing.
📋
Break the job into labor, materials, and fees as separate lines. A clear scope is what prevents "I thought that was included" disputes once work begins.
⚠️
Say plainly that this is an estimate and that final costs may vary. It sets expectations and keeps the estimate from being mistaken for a fixed invoice.
✅
Tell the client how to accept: sign, reply, or click approve. The faster approval is, the faster the job (and the invoice) can start.
Pro tips
Always put a validity window on estimates so you can re-price if materials or scope change before approval.
Itemize labor and materials separately, clients trust a breakdown far more than a single lump sum.
State your assumptions and exclusions; what is NOT in the estimate matters as much as what is.
Follow up on sent estimates within a few days, most jobs are won or lost in the follow-up, not the estimate itself.
Use software that converts an approved estimate straight into an invoice so you never retype the numbers.
FAQs
An estimate is a document that gives a client an approximate price for work before it begins. It itemizes the expected scope, labor, and materials, and is a proposal, not a final bill, so the actual cost may vary within reason.
An estimate proposes a price for work not yet done; an invoice requests payment for work that has been completed. You typically send an estimate to win the job, then an invoice once the work is finished.
An estimate should include your business details, the client, an estimate number, a validity date, an itemized scope (labor, materials, fees), the estimated total, any assumptions or exclusions, and how the client can approve it.
An estimate is generally not a binding contract, it is a good-faith projection. A quote, by contrast, is often treated as a fixed price. To avoid confusion, label the document clearly and state whether the price is fixed or approximate.
Use this template free
Approve straight into an invoice.
Prepared For
Rebecca Hale
rebecca.hale@email.com
Notes
This is an estimate, not a final invoice. Actual costs may vary with material prices and scope changes. Valid for 30 days from the date above.
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