How to present a quote builders can say yes to

A builder’s estimator opens three quotes for the same package and has to work out which one is cheapest, and which one is cheapest because it left something out. A single lump sum makes that impossible, so it gets questioned, haggled or binned. A quote that’s broken down the way the building goes up gets checked quickly and trusted.

Here’s the layout that does that, step by step.

1. Break it down by floor level

Builders think in levels and stages. Split the quote the same way: ground floor, first floor, roof, and within each level the stages you price (frame, lock-up and cladding, fix, fit-off). Give each level its own subtotal.

It means the estimator can check one level against the plans in a few minutes, compare your first floor with someone else’s, and see straight away if a level is missing. It also makes progress claims easy later, because each level and stage is already its own number.

2. Itemise every line

Each line is one item with its quantity, unit, rate and total. “External wall frame 90×45, 62.4 lm at $48.50” can be checked against the plans. “Frame: $6,156” can’t. Put the allowances on their own lines too, like fixings and site clean, rather than hiding them in the rates.

Notice the floor joists sit on the first floor, where they’re built, and the first-floor wall rates are higher than the ground floor’s, because working off a slab is quicker than working off a floor. A breakdown like this lets you show that instead of arguing it.

3. Attach the take-off sheets

Send the marked-up plans with the quote: each sheet coloured up with what you’ve measured, and a legend that shows each item’s colour and quantity. Keep each scope on its own set of sheets (frame on one, external lock-up and cladding on another) so they’re easy to read.

The sheets do two jobs. They prove the quantities, so nobody has to re-measure to trust you. And they show exactly what’s in: if a wall isn’t coloured, it isn’t in the price. That one picture heads off most variation arguments before they start.

4. Spell out inclusions, exclusions and assumptions

Three short lists, in plain words, under the summary:

1. 1
   Included

   What you'll do and supply. For example: install wall frames, floor joists and bracing to the drawings listed; fixings and nails; site clean of our offcuts to the builder's bin.
2. 2
   Excluded

   What you won't. For example: supply of timber and trusses (by builder); scaffold and edge protection; crane hire; steel beams and posts; waste bins; anything not shown on the drawings listed; work outside normal hours.
3. 3
   Assumptions

   What the price depends on. The drawing numbers and revision you priced from, clear access, materials on site in time, and the work done in one continuous run.

5. Finish with the terms

• How long the price holds. 30 days is common; say what happens after that.
• The total ex GST, the GST and the total inc GST, so there's no question which one you meant.
• How you'll claim: progress claims by level and stage, and when they're due.
• How variations work: in writing before the work is done, at your rates.

If the price comes from properly built unit rates, all of this is quick to put together. The prebuild guide covers building those rates, and the markup versus margin guide makes sure the margin on top is the one you meant.