When you're trying to get business for your contracting company, it's important that your interactions with customers are professional. Writing a clear and detailed estimate for a home improvement project is part of being professional. It can also help protect you if you and the client have a misunderstanding after the work is done and the dispute goes to court.
Instructions
1. Take some detailed notes about the current condition of the home to be improved. If you're going to fix a roof, to make a sketch that notes the pitch of the roof, the current state of the shingles and so on. This way, if there's a problem after your repairs, you have a way to remind the homeowner what everything looked like before you picked up your hammer.
2. Discuss the desired repairs with the homeowner extensively. While some homeowners have a really good idea of what you will have to do, some will have unrealistic expectations. As you talk with the customer, offer them lots of options with educated guesses of the relative costs of each option. Keep running notes about this discussion so you have a record of it.
3. Format your estimate in as professional a manner as you can. If you don't have printed estimate forms, get some. These should have the name of your business, contact information, insurance information, disclaimers and so on. Software programs, such as The Contract Add-Vantage, can make this step easy. Having printed forms also leaves a professional impression.
4. List all of the agreed-upon repairs on separate lines, including a price for each. If possible, inform your customer of the costs of each major component of the job to demonstrate that you're not trying to charge too much for parts.
5. Use as much specific language as you can. Instead of writing, "replace shingles," you should go into detail: "Remove old shingles and haul them away. Prepare roof for new shingles, then install them." This specificity also helps your client realize what is involved in the job.
6. Have the customer sign the final estimate. After that, any changes, whether you make them or the client makes them, should be initialed to reflect the change. If you are forced to make a change to the estimate, particularly if it increases the cost of the repair, be sure to make a note of it after you call the customer.
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