help with pricing

[o0dunk0o]

Hi pricing ehh!!

Much of the advice above is sound but occasionally unstructured. Also a lot of words used are confusing eg estimate and not a price.

Sorry I thought it was fairly clear, an estimate gives a price for what the work will probably cost but it is not a fixed price so if something unforseen comes up the tradesman isn't committed to complete a bigger job for the same money.

A quote is a fixed price for the job and the customer is expected to pay the amount asked for the work.

You have to be quite careful about this especially if you supply your quote/ estimate in written form (although a verbal agreement also constitutes a contract in the eyes of the law)

Like I said before when I price a job on a boat I make it very clear that I'm giving an estimate (big bold 'ESTIMATE' written across the top of the form) if the job gets bigger when I've started to strip back I consult with the customer and agree a new course of action, before I go any further with the work I detail the extra work on a separate form that I call a change order and both me and the customer sign it.

I've come up with system after a slightly bitter experience with a particularly awkward and tight customer and from what I've been told by friends in the legal profession and by trading standards its a sensible approach.

 

[beech1948]

Hi pricing ehh!!

Much of the advice above is sound but occasionally unstructured. Also a lot of words used are confusing eg estimate and not a price.

>>>>Sorry I thought it was fairly clear, an estimate gives a price for what the work will probably cost but it is not a fixed price so if something unforseen comes up the tradesman isn't committed to complete a bigger job for the same money.
A quote is a fixed price for the job and the customer is expected to pay the amount asked for the work.
You have to be quite careful about this especially if you supply your quote/ estimate in written form (although a verbal agreement also constitutes a contract in the eyes of the law)<<<<

I agree with what you have written with the proviso that the public/customers don't think like that. They think, and I also think, that a price is a price is a price. The actual differences between estimate/quote/fixed price are difficult to get through to people and ultimately confusing.

I always give a price and a description of the work and its boundaries. The only change to this, as you describe below, is a written change order which adds to the work to be done and sets a new price. Signed by myself and the customer. I never use "estimates" except as a verbal indication of likely costs and promptly forget it. I only use design drawings, a price and a work description with boundaries stated eg excepting rotten frames, damp etc etc.

After a long time doing these types of work I have managed to create a set of pre-written templates in MS Office so writing the quotation/price is about 15 minutes...getting to determine a price is quite a bit longer.


Al