How to send a professional quote from your phone
Most tradies are still quoting from memory, a notes app, or a Word doc they email as a PDF. There is a much faster way. Here is how to send a professional, ATO-ready quote from your phone in under two minutes.
Why quoting fast matters
The tradie who quotes first usually gets the job. Most clients contact two or three tradies and go with whoever responds first with a clear, professional price. If you are waiting until you get home to write up a quote, you are losing work to the person who sent theirs from the car park.
A quote sent from your phone within an hour of looking at a job also signals professionalism. It tells the client you are organised, on top of things, and not going to be difficult to deal with once the work starts.
What a quote needs to include
A quote does not have the same legal requirements as a tax invoice, but it should still look professional and give the client everything they need to make a decision.
Item
Required
Your business name
Yes
Your ABN
Yes
"Quote" or "Estimate" clearly shown
Yes
Quote number or reference
Yes
Date of the quote
Yes
Client name and address
Yes
Description of the work
Yes
Subtotal and GST breakdown (if GST registered)
Yes
Total amount
Yes
Quote validity period
Recommended
Payment terms
Recommended
Contractor licence number
Recommended
Note: if you hold a contractor licence, including the licence number on quotes is a legal requirement in most Australian states.
How to do it in five steps
Add the client
Before you can send a quote, you need the client in your system. Add their name, phone number, email address and job address. A good app pre-fills the address on future jobs so you never have to type it twice.
Add your line items
Break the job down into what you are charging for - labour, materials, call-out fee, whatever applies. Save your most common services so you can add them with a tap rather than typing from scratch every time.
Set the GST
If you are registered for GST, make sure it is being applied correctly. A good app handles this automatically based on your settings and shows the GST amount as a separate line on the quote - which is what the ATO requires.
Review and send
Check the total, add any notes the client needs to know about, and hit send. The client receives an email with a link to view the quote on their phone or computer. No PDFs, no printing, no scanning.
Convert to a job when accepted
When the client accepts, book it straight into the calendar. A good app carries all the quote details across automatically so you are not re-entering the client name, address and line items into a separate job form.
A few things that make a difference
Set a validity period
Put "Valid for 30 days" on every quote. It creates a reason for the client to decide and protects you from being locked into a price if material costs change.
Be specific about what is and is not included
Vague quotes lead to disputes. If the quote is for labour only and excludes materials, say so clearly. If there is a possibility of additional work once you open up a wall, mention it.
Follow up within 48 hours
If you have not heard back in two days, a quick text goes a long way. Something like "Just checking you received my quote - happy to answer any questions" is enough.
Save your common services
Most tradies do the same handful of jobs repeatedly. Save your standard line items - call-out fee, hourly rate, common materials - so you can build a quote in seconds rather than starting from scratch.
What app should you use?
There are a handful of options for Australian tradies. The main ones are Tradify, ServiceM8, AroFlo and Simpro. All of them work, but they are built for businesses with staff and come with a setup process and a price tag to match.
If you are a solo operator, Avistr is built for exactly this use case. You can add a client, build a quote with saved line items, apply GST automatically, and send it to the client by email in under two minutes - all from your phone.
It is $19 a month and takes five minutes to set up. There is a 14-day free trial with no card required.
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