What to put on a quote in Australia

A quote is an offer. If the customer says yes, it is the deal, and everything that is not written on it becomes an argument later. That is the whole reason to be thorough: not to look professional, though it does, but so the job you get paid for is the job you priced.

Who you are

• Your business name, as registered, and your ABN.
• Your licence number where your state requires one for the work. Electrical, plumbing and gas work need a licensed tradesperson everywhere in Australia, and building work above a value threshold needs one in most states.
• A phone number and email the customer can reply to.
• A quote number and the date. Numbering is what lets you say "quote 42, not the earlier one" without digging.

Who it is for, and where

The customer's name and the site address, even when it is their home. A quote addressed to nobody at no address is hard to enforce, and a quote for a job at the wrong address is a day lost.

What you will do

This is the part that decides whether the job makes money. Write the scope as a list of outcomes a non-tradie can check: "Supply and install six LED downlights in the living room ceiling, remove the existing fittings, make good the plaster." Then say what is not included, because the customer will assume it is:

• Materials the customer is supplying, if any.
• Work you can't see yet. Say it plainly: "Does not include repairs to wiring found damaged once the ceiling is opened. If found, we'll stop and quote the extra before going on."
• Permits, certificates, disposal and skip hire, if you are not covering them.
• Anything a trade other than yours needs to do first.

The price, shown the way the law expects

List the lines so the customer can see what they are paying for, then the subtotal, GST on its own line, and the total. Under the Australian Consumer Law, a price shown to a consumer must be a single total figure that includes GST and any other charges they will pay (the ACCC's guidance on displaying prices sets it out). A quote that shows a price and then "+ GST" at the bottom is the kind of thing that gets argued about at invoice time, and it is not how the ACL wants consumer prices presented.

If a line is GST-free, mark it. If the job will be charged by time rather than fixed, say the rate, what it covers, and how you will record the hours, and give an estimate with a stated range rather than a number that looks fixed and isn't.

When it is valid until

Material prices move. Give the quote an expiry, commonly 14 or 30 days, so a customer who comes back in spring to a price you gave in autumn knows it needs a second look.

Money: deposit, progress and final

• Whether a deposit is required, how much, and what it secures (materials ordered, the booking).
• Progress payments on a longer job, tied to stages that can be seen.
• Final payment terms: on completion, or within a set number of days of the invoice.
• How to pay. The more ways, the faster it happens.

Some states cap the deposit a builder may take on residential work, and some require a written contract above a value. In New South Wales, residential building work over $5,000 needs a written contract. If your work is building work, check your state's rules before you write "50% up front".

What happens when the job changes

Every job that lasts more than a day changes. Put one sentence on the quote about how: "Extra work found on site will be quoted as a variation and started only once you've approved it in writing." Then do that. A variation the customer approved from their phone before you did the work is paid without a conversation. One they heard about on the invoice is not.

Acceptance

Give the customer a way to say yes that leaves a record: a signature on the page, a reply to the email, or an approval link. "They said it was fine on the phone" is a sentence nobody wants to be saying to a tribunal.

A quick check before you send

• ✓ Business name, ABN, licence number where required, contact details
• ✓ Customer name and site address
• ✓ Scope as outcomes; exclusions and assumptions spelled out
• ✓ Lines, subtotal, GST on its own line, total including GST
• ✓ Valid until
• ✓ Deposit, progress and final payment terms, and how to pay
• ✓ One sentence on variations
• ✓ A way to accept that leaves a record

BizzMate's quotes carry all of this by default: your business details and licence line, line items with GST worked out and shown separately, an expiry, your terms, and an approval link the customer taps, with the time of their decision recorded. Extra work becomes a variation quote with its own approval, so the trail runs from the first price to the final invoice.

General information This article is general information for Australian trades businesses, not legal or financial advice. Licence, contract and deposit rules differ by state; check your state's regulator for your trade.