Request for Quote Letter

What is a Request for a Quote?

A request for a quote asks a tradesperson or supplier to price a defined job in writing, on terms you can set beside another firm's price. It matters because a verbal number is neither comparable nor enforceable. When three builders quote against the same written scope, you are comparing prices; when they quote against a conversation, you are comparing three different jobs and usually choosing the one that left the most out.

Householders use it for building work, rewiring, boiler replacement, roofing, removals, driveways, catering and vehicle repairs. Landlords and managing agents use it for maintenance contracts, and small businesses and committees for printing, cleaning, IT support, insurance renewals and event suppliers. Residents' associations and clubs send it to several firms at once so a committee can compare like with like. The same letter works whether the reply comes back as a formal quotation on letterhead or as a priced email.

A quote and an estimate are treated differently, and how strongly a quote binds a trader depends on local consumer law. The Consumer Rights Act and the consumer contracts regulations apply in the United Kingdom, including cancellation rights for contracts agreed in your home; the EU consumer rights directive gives an equivalent withdrawal right; Australian Consumer Law adds consumer guarantees; Canadian provinces and many US states regulate home improvement contracts and trade licensing directly; India applies the Consumer Protection Act. Check the cancellation period and any licensing requirement that applies where the work will be done.

Asking for a quote commits you to nothing, and receiving one does not create a contract — that happens when you accept it, in the manner the quote says it may be accepted. A quote does not fix the price against changes you later ask for, which is why the variations clause matters more than the headline figure. And the letter verifies nothing about the firm: licences, registration, public liability insurance and references are separate checks to make before you accept, not after.

What to put in a Request for a Quote

These are the details this template asks for. Anything left blank is marked in red on the preview so you can see what is still missing.

How to write a Request for a Quote

1. Describe the job in measurable terms

   Give dimensions, quantities, materials and locations. Replace the fence along the rear boundary, twenty-two metres, closeboard, concrete posts, existing fence removed and taken away prices very differently from replace the back fence. Attach photographs, a sketch with measurements, a floor plan or a model number. Where you do not know the specification, say so and ask the supplier to state the assumption they have priced.

2. State what the supplier must include

   Ask for a breakdown rather than a single figure: labour, materials, plant hire, waste removal, permits, delivery and tax. Say whether the price should include or exclude tax, and state the currency. Ask what is excluded — that line reveals more than the total does. Ask for the start date, working days needed, payment stages, and the guarantee period on labour and materials.

3. Set the deadline and validity period

   Give a date by which you need the quote and say how long you need the price held: returned by the twentieth, held open for thirty days. Without a validity period, a price you compare in March gets renegotiated in May. Say how you want it returned, and confirm you are comparing several quotes so nobody assumes the job is already theirs.

4. Ask for licences, insurance and references

   Ask for the trading name and registered address, the registration or licence number where the trade is regulated, proof of public liability insurance with its expiry date, and two recent references for similar work. Ask whether the firm subcontracts any part of the job and to whom. Check all of this before you accept, since a low quote from an uninsured firm is not a saving.

5. Send identical wording to every firm

   Send the same scope, the same inclusions and the same deadline to each firm, and keep a copy of what you sent. Changing the description between suppliers destroys the comparison and produces a spread of prices you cannot explain. When the quotes return, compare the exclusions and the payment terms first and the totals second — the cheapest quote is often the one with the most left out.

Common mistakes

• Describing the job in words rather than measurements, which gets you three prices for three different jobs and no real basis for choosing.
• Accepting a single lump sum with no breakdown, so a later argument about what was included has nothing to be settled against.
• Omitting a validity period, which lets a firm reprice after you have already turned down the alternatives.
• Failing to ask what is excluded, then discovering waste removal, making good and permits are extras once the work has started.
• Paying a large deposit against a quote that names no payment stages, leaving you with no leverage if the work stalls halfway.

Frequently asked questions

This page explains general practice and is not legal advice. Requirements differ between countries and, in some cases, between states — check what applies where the document will be used.

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