Quote Guide
Find the gaps. Fix the quotes. Protect your margin on every job.
Most trade businesses don't lose money on the original quote. They lose it in the things that were never included in the first place. This free guide covers the ten most commonly missed items across trade and service quotes — each one with a quick fix you can apply straight away.
What You’ll Learn
Inside the guide, you'll find the ten items most commonly left out of trade and service quotes, including:
Consumables and sundries — why they add up to 2–4% of job cost and how to quote them properly
Travel time — paid for but rarely recovered, and how to fix that
Setup and pack-down time — often 30–45 minutes per job, almost never charged
Minimum callout fees — and why small jobs erode recovery without one
Subcontractor margin — the cost of coordination that most businesses quote at zero
Overhead recovery — what it is, why it matters, and how to build it into your rate
Variation clauses — and how to stop extra work being done for free
Price escalation on longer jobs — and how to protect yourself when costs shift
Each item includes a quick fix you can apply to your next quote. The guide also includes a simple checklist to run before every quote goes out.
Why Quoting Gaps Matter
Missing items don't show up on one job. They show up across dozens — a little at a time, until the pattern quietly erodes margin you can't explain.
The most common gaps aren't pricing mistakes. They're habits:
Consumables treated as overhead rather than a recoverable cost
Travel time paid for but not included in the quote
Subcontractors quoted at cost with no margin for coordination
Callout jobs priced at hourly rate with no minimum to cover base costs
Extras done on-site with no variation clause to capture them
None of these require a pricing overhaul. They require visibility — and a simple process to make sure each item is accounted for before the quote goes out.
Who This Guide Is For
This resource is ideal for:
Trade & service business owners
Operations managers and admin teams
Businesses managing multiple crews or growing fast
Anyone doing extra work mid-job and struggling to charge for it
Teams using Simpro or other job management systems
Request Your Free Quote Guide
Get Your Free Quote Guide
Stop absorbing the items your quotes are missing. Find the gaps, apply the fixes, and protect your margin on every job.