How to Write a Quote for a Job: New Zealand Trade Quote Guide (2026)

A quote is the first piece of your work a client sees. It does two jobs: it gives them enough to say yes, and it protects you when the job turns out harder than it looked. Plenty of tradies manage one and miss the other. This guide covers both, with a worked example in New Zealand dollars.

How to write a quote for a job, step by step

1. Confirm the scope. Walk the site or get clear photos and measurements. You cannot price what you have not seen.
2. Break the job into lines. Each task gets its own line, with labour and materials kept apart.
3. Price materials at cost plus 15 to 25%. The markup pays for sourcing, delivery, offcuts and price movement before you buy.
4. Price labour at your all-in hourly rate times a realistic number of hours, based on what similar jobs actually took.
5. Show GST at 15% as a separate line if you are registered, with your GST number, so a client who is also registered can see exactly what they can claim.
6. State payment terms, how long the price holds and what is excluded. What is left out matters as much as what is in.
7. Send it the same day as a clean, itemised PDF.

What a quote is, and how it differs from an estimate

A quote is a fixed price for a described piece of work. An estimate is a best guess that can move. Once a client accepts your quote you are held to it for the scope you wrote down, so a vague line such as "bathroom renovation, $9,000" leaves you carrying every surprise. Itemised lines do the opposite. They define the job, so when the client asks for a better tap or an extra coat, you have a clear base to price the change from.

What the law expects of a quote in New Zealand

There is no single required template, but two Acts shape how a quote should read. The Fair Trading Act bans misleading or deceiving consumers, and the Consumer Protection website notes that it does not matter whether the trader meant to mislead. It also warns that a quote or estimate can count as misleading conduct if the final cost ends up bigger than the client was led to expect. The practical lesson is to write the scope and the exclusions plainly, and to put any change to the price in writing before you do the extra work.

The Consumer Guarantees Act sets the standard for the work itself when a consumer buys a service from a business for personal, domestic or household use. The service has to be carried out with reasonable care and skill, be fit for the purpose the client asked for, and be finished within a reasonable time if no date was agreed. A quote that says what you will do, to what standard and by when, lines up with all three.

What every trade quote should include

• Your business details: business name, phone, email, and your GST number if you are registered. Restricted building work also needs your Licensed Building Practitioner details.
• Quote number and date: keeps records tidy and makes follow-ups easy.
• Client name and site address: the job address is often not the billing address.
• How long the price holds: usually 30 days. Material prices move, and you do not want to honour a price from six months ago.
• Itemised lines: clients who can see what they are paying for accept more readily.
• GST at 15%: shown as its own line, for example $3,200 plus GST $480 gives $3,680.
• Payment terms: deposit, progress payments, final payment, and how you can be paid.
• Scope notes: what is not included, such as removal of old tiles or making good after work.

How to price a job before you write it up

Price materials at cost plus a markup, and price labour at your all-in hourly rate, which is the true cost of an hour once overheads are counted. Add a contingency of 5 to 10% on anything but the simplest job, and show GST separately instead of folding it into the total. The pricing side has its own guide: how to price a job in New Zealand.

The hardest number is hours. Keep a record of how long past jobs really took, not how long you thought they would. That record is worth real money over a year.

Worked example: quoting a real job

Here is how the numbers come together on a common job: repainting two bedrooms, walls and ceilings, with prep and two coats.

Every figure can be explained. The hours come from what similar rooms took, the markup covers the trip to the trade counter and the paint left in the tray, and the contingency is stated rather than hidden. If the client asks why it is not a flat $1,800, you can walk them through the lines. If they want it cheaper, you take out scope, not margin.

If you would rather not build this table by hand each time, start from one of our trade quote templates, or let Insta Quotes write the itemised lines from a description of the job.

Presentation matters

Picture two quotes for the same job at the same price. One is a handwritten note. The other is a clean PDF with your logo, the client's name and itemised lines. Clients cannot judge your workmanship before you start, so they judge how organised you look, and they assume the job will be run the way the paperwork is.

Send it fast, then follow up

When a client rings three tradies, the one who replies first is already ahead. If you can send the quote the same day as the site visit, do it. Our guide on why NZ tradies who quote fast win more work covers how.

If you hear nothing, send a short follow-up after three days: "Just checking you received my quote for the job. Happy to answer any questions." After a second nudge a week later, let it rest but keep the quote on file. Clients do come back months later, and being able to say the price still stands, or to re-issue it at current rates, wins work your competitors have forgotten.

Related guides

• How to Price a Job as a Tradie in NZ
• Why NZ Tradies Who Quote Fast Win More Work
• Builder's Quote Template (NZ)
• Trade Quote Templates: PDF and Word Export