Quoting and invoicing on site: a checklist for trades

Before you go: a price list you trust

Everything on site is faster with a price list: labour per hour, your call-out charge, fixed-price jobs such as a boiler service or a landlord gas safety check, and the parts you fit most, with cost and price. Review it twice a year, and work your rates out from what the business costs to run rather than what the next firm charges.

On site: the quote

1. Build the quote from the price list, line by line, so the customer sees what they're paying for.
2. Add VAT if you're registered, and say how long the quote is valid.
3. Get acceptance in writing before you start: a name and a date is enough for most domestic work.
4. For bigger jobs, send the quote the same day and let the customer accept it from a link.

When it's done: the invoice

1. Turn the accepted quote into the invoice, adding anything extra you agreed on site.
2. Take payment there and then if that's your arrangement, and record how it was paid.
3. For account customers, issue the invoice the same day on their terms, and diarise a reminder for the due date.
4. Attach the job report: what was done, time on site, photos and the customer's signature. Disputes drop when the evidence arrives with the bill.

Keep payment separate from the paperwork: a card machine or payment link you already use is fine. What matters is that the invoice is marked paid the moment the money is taken.