Example quote. Swap every line for your own.
Your Business Name
License #000000 · (555) 000-0000 · you@yourbusiness.com
Quote #0001
Date: September 11, 2026
Valid until: October 11, 2026
Quote for
Jane Homeowner
(555) 000-0001
Job address
123 Example Street, Anytown, CO
Scope of work
Prep, prime where needed, and paint the living room walls and ceiling in the customer's chosen color. Includes moving light furniture, masking trim and floors, two coats on walls and one on the ceiling, and full cleanup. Does not include trim, doors or repairs to drywall beyond nail holes.
| Description | Qty | Unit price | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prep and paint living room walls, two coats, 420 sq ft | 1 job | $1,120 | $1,120 |
| Ceiling, one coat, 210 sq ft | 1 job | $380 | $380 |
| Paint and supplies (customer-selected color, eggshell) | 4 gal | $62 | $248 |
| Drop cloths, masking, haul-away and cleanup | 1 job | $140 | $140 |
Terms
- Valid for 30 days from the date above.
- A 25% deposit books the start date; the balance is due on completion.
- Price covers the scope listed. Anything not listed is quoted separately before it is done.
- Includes cleanup and removal of all job materials.
Accepted by (signature)
Date
What goes on a contractor quote, and why each line is there
Your business name, license number, phone and email
The customer is about to hand money to whoever is at the top of this page. Make it easy to check that you exist.
A quote number and the date
Two quotes for the same house a month apart need telling apart, and the date is what the valid-until line counts from.
The customer and the job address
Not always the same place. A landlord, a property manager and a homeowner all send quotes somewhere other than the work.
Scope of work, in plain sentences
This is the line that settles the argument later. Say what is included in words a customer would use, and say what is not.
Line items with a quantity, a unit and a price
A single number invites haggling. Lines show where the money goes and make the next change order a line, not a fight.
Subtotal, tax if you charge it, total
Whether tax applies to labor, materials or both depends on your state. Say which, so the total is the number they pay.
Terms: validity, deposit, payment due
Short. Three or four sentences. The terms are for the day something goes sideways, and long terms get skipped on the good days.
A place to sign and date
A signed quote is an agreement. An unsigned one is a conversation you both remember differently.
Quote, estimate, bid, quotation
A quote is a fixed price for a defined scope. An estimate is your best number, and it can move once you open the wall. A bid is a quote you are handing in next to somebody else's. Quotation is the same thing as a quote, just the word people outside the trades reach for, which is why a construction quotation template and a contractor quote template are the same document. Whichever word you use, put it on the page, and put the scope under it.
How to price each line so the total is one you keep
Start from what the line costs you: materials, the hours, the waste. Then add the margin you want to keep, not a markup you heard somewhere. The two are not the same number. A 30% margin needs a 42.9% markup, and a contractor who adds 30% to cost is keeping 23%. The markup vs margin calculator shows the gap on your own numbers.
This is the part the template cannot do for you, and it is the part that decides whether the job was worth taking. It is also the whole reason HomeServicesIT exists: set up what a square or a unit costs once, type a quantity, and the quote builds itself with the margin shown before you send it. Written for general contractors, electricians, painters, handymen and every other trade that writes a quote before it starts a job.
Common questions
Is this contractor quote template free?
Yes, with no account and no watermark. Print it, copy the text version into whatever you write quotes in, or use the free quote builder to fill one in and text it. The paid product starts where the template stops: pricing the lines from your costs.
What is the difference between a quote and an estimate?
A quote is a fixed price for a defined scope. An estimate is your best number and can move once you open the wall. Customers use the words interchangeably, so say which one you mean on the document itself, and put the scope in writing either way.
How long should a contractor quote be valid for?
Thirty days is the common answer and a fair one. Material prices move, and a quote with no expiry is a price you are still holding six months later. Put the date on it, put the valid-until date next to it, and the customer knows the clock is running without you saying so.
Should I ask for a deposit on the quote?
For anything with materials to buy up front, yes, and say so on the quote. A deposit line covers what you have to spend before the job starts and separates the people who are ready from the people who are shopping. Keep the terms short and put them above the signature.
Can I use this template in Word or Google Docs?
Copy as text and paste it into either. The layout is the least important part of a quote; the lines are, and those come across. There is no download button because a file to keep somewhere is one more thing to lose.
The template is the easy part.
The app prices the lines from your costs, sends the quote for approval from the customer's own portal, and turns the approved quote into the invoice. From $29 a month, nobody billed per head.