Free estimate template: what should go on a contractor’s estimate?

What’s the difference between an estimate and a quote?

People use the words loosely, so say which one you mean on the page. An estimate is your best guess, and the final bill can move if the job turns out different. A quote is a set price for the work described. A bid is usually a quote sent in competition with others, often for a bigger project. If your price can change, write down why it could and by how much, so nobody is surprised.

What should every estimate include?

• Your business: name, logo, phone, email, and your license number if your trade and state ask for one.
• The customer: name, phone, email, and the job address if it’s different from their billing address.
• An estimate number and date, so you can find it again when they call back.
• The work, in plain words: what you’ll do and what you’ll use, the way the customer would describe it.
• Line items: each part of the job with its own price, so they can see where the money goes.
• Sales tax, where it applies in your state, shown on its own line so it never comes out of your pocket.
• The total, big and clear.
• How long the price holds, for example 30 days, because materials go up.
• The deposit and payment terms: how much to book the job, when the rest is due, and how they can pay.
• What isn’t included, and a line to sign and date it.

What does a simple estimate template look like?

Copy this into a Word or Google document, swap in your details, and save it as your blank. The business here is an example.

The optional line is worth copying. Showing a good and a better choice lets the customer pick the bigger job themselves, without you having to sell it.

How do I make my estimates win more jobs?

• Send it the same day. The customer is often asking two or three businesses, and the first clear price gets a head start.
• Write the job the way they said it. “Fix the drip under the kitchen sink” reads better than a part number.
• Add photos of the problem, if you took any. It shows you looked closely.
• Make it easy to say yes: one way to accept, and the deposit taken at the same time.
• Follow up once or twice. A short text a couple of days later, then a week later, answers most “I forgot” silences. Stop the moment they reply.

When should I stop using a template?

A document template is fine when you send a few estimates a month. It starts costing you when:

• You retype the same prices every time, and sometimes get them wrong.
• You write estimates at night because you can’t do them from the truck.
• You can’t tell which estimates are still open, won or lost.
• Customers say yes by text, and then you chase the deposit separately.
• An accepted estimate has to be typed again as a job, then again as an invoice.
• You run repeat visits, like weekly cleans or mowing, and retype the same job every time. See which app a cleaning or landscaping business should use.

That’s the point to move to an app that keeps your price list, sends the estimate from your phone, takes the signature and deposit online, and turns a yes into a job on the schedule.

What do estimate apps cost?

Jobber, one of the best-known, includes quotes on every plan, starting at $49 a month with no commitment for one person on Core. Optional line items, the good and better choices above, start on its Grow plan, $199 a month with no commitment for one person (Jobber’s pricing page, October 24, 2026). Its prices go up with the size of your team.

ohelloo Work is free to start for you and one helper, with 5% + 25¢ added to each payment made online. Get booked, $79 a month, covers your whole team with no ohelloo fee, plus your website and Google listing. Work sends estimates from your price list with up to three options, approved online with the deposit paid by card, and the job on your schedule once they say yes. We set it up for you and bring your customers over, and your first 14 days of a paid plan are free.