Quoting on site - what do you actually use?

[winterseye]

So I run a pretty tiny phone / electronics repair business as a side hustle along my full time job. Currently doing quotes on paper / emails and then enter them in a spreadsheet which is a bit annoying.

Also takes me ages since lets say someone has a iphone 11 that they want fixed , I get there and need to quote them (i normally offer to do the work on site at theirs / in my van or offer them to drop it off to me). I end up standing there checking how much a screen cost me (have these on spreadsheets when I order stock). Then basically use the phones calculator to get a accurate quote (parts + labour).

So I end up being there for a good 5 min or so before can tell them the exact price , rather than it being instant.

Iv'e looked at a few options and some are too expensive at £34 a month and iv'e seen some built for companies but won't actually sell to you if your a sole trader.

Wondering what people are using? to keep track of stock but also give quotes / invoices etc.

 

[Wayners]

Tried AI.
Great for makeing quotes.

Upload template and any information. It will remember if you use AI machines like copilot. Some don't remember though although you can get it to.

 

[cypusiek8]

honest heads up mate, i'm biased because i'm actually building a jobs app aimed at exactly this problem (tradestash), so take it with a pinch of salt.
but on your specific pain, the thing that fixed it for me was keeping a parts list inside the same app i quote from. so when you're stood on the drive doing the iphone 11, you tap screen → tap labour → total pops out at the bottom. no calculator, no spreadsheet switch.
there's a bunch of options doing this. jobber and servicem8 are the big ones (overkill if you're a side hustle). tradify, powered now, invoice ninja a bit lighter. tradestash is my own effort at keeping it dead simple for 1-2 person outfits.
the AI copilot suggestion above works for the quote itself but still leaves you looking up parts cost separately each time. the real time win is parts + labour + markup living in one place so you aren't repricing from scratch every job.

 

[Wayners]

Late 80s through the 90s quotes were often verbal or written on paper. I often wrote price on the back of a business card.
Only sub contracting or insurance needed a written quote then.
The digital age has complicated things to the point it costs money but many struggle find the time .
I remember getting a mates mum to type up quotes when I started aged 19.
I couldn't type.
Now it's all packages and apps with T&C's for everything!
Hours of unpaid work for some.

 

[denso13]

Costwise UK is a useful site for finding out the average prices of quotes per area. It helps you price for where you are.

I used it once, terrible experience, prices are completely wrong

 

[JohnD]

The bit that usually kills five minutes on the drive is looking up parts in one place and adding labour in another. Whatever you pick, the test is whether your common parts and labour lines live in the same list, so a screen change or similar job is two taps and a total, not a spreadsheet plus a calculator. Run a free trial on a real week of jobs before you pay. If you're a side hustle, skip the heavy job-management suites aimed at bigger firms until the volume needs them. A simple quote-to-invoice tool with saved line items beats a fancy dashboard you never open. Paper or a card is fine for a verbal price, but keep a copy of what you quoted somewhere so you can invoice from it later without rebuilding it.

Are you about to recommend the app that you're paid to spam us with?

 

[steve332]

Interesting discussion. I've been developing a free website called MyProjectCosts.co.uk, which compares DIY and professional costs for home improvement projects.

One of the biggest challenges has been estimating professional labour accurately, particularly when you factor in preparation, waste removal, access issues and minimum job charges.

I'd be interested to hear how those in the trade approach it.

Do you generally calculate smaller domestic jobs using a day rate plus materials, or price the whole job based on the work involved?

I'm keen to make the estimates as realistic as possible, so feedback from people actually doing the work is really useful.

 

[JohnD]

Are you about to recommend the app that you're paid to spam us with?

 

[steve332]

No, I'm not being paid to promote anything. It's actually a free website I've been developing myself to help people estimate DIY and professional home improvement costs.


I'm genuinely interested in understanding what people are paying for different jobs so I can make the estimates more accurate.


I appreciate how it might have come across as promotion though, and that wasn't my intention. Happy to keep the discussion focused on the actual costs.