Quote vs estimate vs receipt: what to send, and when

The quote: the price is the price

A quote is a fixed price for a defined scope. If you quote £400 to clear a garden and the job takes longer than you expected, you still get £400 — unless the customer changes the scope. That is exactly why quotes need scope in writing.

Use a quote when the work is well understood and you have priced it deliberately: a deep clean of a known house, a repaint of named rooms, a shoot with a stated number of edited images. Add a validity window (14 days is common) and a line saying what is not included.

The estimate: your best guess, clearly labelled

An estimate is an informed approximation for scope you cannot see completely: an older house, a repair behind a wall, a shoot that may run long. The number can move, but only if you say so on the document — an estimate with no wording about variation is treated like a quote by almost every customer.

Say what drives the range: “assumes existing wiring is sound; if it is not, I will confirm the extra before doing it.” That one sentence prevents most disputes. Where you can, give the range or the rate rather than a single number.

The job receipt: proof, after the work

A receipt records what was actually done and that it was paid. It is not a tax invoice, and it is not a request for money — it closes the loop. Hand it over the same visit, while the customer is still standing next to the work.

Receipts are also quietly good marketing: they carry your business name, your number, and a professional look. They are the document a customer keeps and shows someone else.

What belongs in all three

• Who — your business name and contact details, the customer’s name and site address.
• What — each item as its own line, with a quantity and a unit price.
• What it costs — a subtotal, any discount, tax at the rate you decide, and the total.
• What is not included — the exclusions line nobody writes and everybody needs.
• When it applies — issued date, and a valid-until date on quotes and estimates.

A practical order of events

1. Walk the job. Send an estimate if anything is uncertain, a quote if not.
2. When the customer says yes, do the work — the quoted scope is now the agreement.
3. On completion, send a job receipt listing what was done and any agreed extras.

If the scope changes mid-job, send an updated quote before doing the extra work. It takes thirty seconds and it is the difference between a paid extra and an argument.