What is the best way to put together an estimate?

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Hi

I am just about to start working for myself as a painter and decorator. What is the best way to work out the labour charge for jobs? Per room? Size of room??? Any tips?

Cheers
 
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It depends how the customer wants you to break it down.

I personally give them the bottom line along with some text describing the works.

Itemising can lead to problems, in that the customer can select which items he wants doing. This is fine so long as you have budgeted for a fractured job and not allowed for a wholesale purchase of materials, coupled with a lot of tooing and froing.

If you haven't got a spec' or a drawing from the customer, make sure you describe exactly what it is you are pricing for.

Keep the text descriptive but the bottom line simple, i.e. "TOTAL COST MAT & LAB INC.VAT..........£3600.00
 
I created an excel spreadsheet as a quote builder, I input the material costs and either number of points or number of hours allocated and the excel sheet give me a final price to customer.

It means my quotes are consistent, I dont break it down for customer just a final price and description of what we're going to do
 
i build my quotes up on a fixed price. break it down into any plant we use, the materials, disposables eg fuel for machinery etc and the labour. Thats how i work the price out. The customer then gets a written quote that fully describes the various elements of the work if its a large garden job, or if its a smaller simpler job such as a run of fence, they get a description of the fence construction and the length. They then get a total price inc vat.

Some jobs i will break down into various sections if they want to do the work in stages, but they just get a total price for each element and they are then priced on the assumption they will be carried out individually a seperate skip for each element, rather than a larger (and cheaper one) if they do it all together.
 
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Thermo has highlighted my point exactly.

Fragmenting a job or scope of works needs to be established at the quoting stage, so that the contractor can price it as such. Therm's summed it up with the requirement of skips for each stage, should the job be done at different times.

It is the same with wholesale purchases of materials.

So long as the customer is aware that doing a job in stages is vastly more expensive then, ho hum, fill ya boots.
 
If its a large job you might want to consider "stage payments"

This will reduce any loss you may have due to non payment & it will help your cash flow.
 
Hi

I am just about to start working for myself as a painter and decorator. What is the best way to work out the labour charge for jobs? Per room? Size of room??? Any tips?

Cheers

Don't price to low. It's time rates rose across the board. Good luck
 
Hi

I am just about to start working for myself as a painter and decorator. What is the best way to work out the labour charge for jobs? Per room? Size of room??? Any tips?
Cheers

This is an Excel sheet I put together for another site. Have not had any feedback on it and have not QAd it very much. Let me know what you think. Feel free to download, use and modify.

Clicky Thingamybob
 
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