If you are still pricing work in spreadsheets or scribbling figures on a notepad, you know how slow and error prone quoting can be. One missing line item, one mis-typed labour rate, and your margin vanishes. Good quoting software changes that. It makes estimates faster, clearer, and easier to win. In this guide, you will learn how contractors estimate labour accurately, what to include in a quote, how to build a simple repeatable estimating process, and how tools like TeamPoint help you send professional, accurate quotes in minutes.
Why quoting software beats spreadsheets
Quoting software speeds up estimating by putting your data in one place. Materials, labour rates, markups, photos, site notes, and terms sit together so you are not copying and pasting across files. Templates keep your pricing consistent. Approvals and customer signatures are captured online. When a quote is accepted, the job, schedule, and invoice follow without retyping.
Contractors using TeamPoint tell us the biggest win is time. They move from an hour building a quote to a few minutes with a template. They also reduce mistakes since labour, product prices, and VAT are calculated automatically. And because accepted quotes create linked jobs automatically, nothing gets lost between sales and delivery.
How to do an estimate for a job
A good estimate follows a consistent checklist. Here is a simple process you can reuse:
Scope the work, confirm what is included and excluded. Use photos and site survey notes.
Break the job into tasks. For each task, list materials, plant, labour hours, and any subcontractors.
Estimate labour hours by task, then add a contingency. More on labour below.
Price materials from current supplier costs, not last month’s memory.
Add overhead and profit. Keep these as separate lines so you can flex margin without touching costs.
Include travel, waste handling, permits, and delivery.
Set clear assumptions, terms, and validity period.
Review the numbers. Check that totals match your scope and that VAT is correct.
Send the quote professionally and track follow up.
In TeamPoint, site surveys feed straight into the quote with photos, custom questions, and notes. Quotes include products and labour as line items, with editable pricing and a quote performed date for expiry and sales analysis. Customers can accept online, upload a PO, and sign digitally.
How to estimate labour cost
Labour is where profit is made or lost. Use this method:
Time per task: Estimate hours for each task based on past jobs, not guesswork. If you do PAT testing or pump replacements often, build a library of typical durations.
Labour rate: Use a fully loaded rate, including wages, NI, pensions, van, fuel, training, holidays, and supervision. Many contractors under-price by using wage only.
Productivity factors: Adjust time for site constraints, access, working at height, or out of hours.
Contingency: Add 5 to 15 percent for unknowns depending on job complexity.
Skills mix: If a junior can complete prep work, use blended rates to protect margin.
With TeamPoint, actual working and travel time captured in the mobile app flows back into your data. You can compare planned hours against real hours and tune future labour estimates. Over time, your quotes get sharper and your overruns drop.
What to include in a contractor quote
Keep it clear and complete:
Client and site details, with contact info
Detailed scope with inclusions, exclusions, and assumptions
Line items for labour and materials with quantities and rates
Travel and plant, permits, waste removal, and any access equipment
Risk assessment or method statement notes if relevant, plus how you will handle variations
Schedule or lead time and service window
Payment terms, VAT, and quote validity date
Acceptance section with signature and PO
Professional presentation matters. TeamPoint emails a smart PDF and portal link, and customers can accept in a click. That small change increases acceptance rates.
How do you quote a job, step by step
Capture site details and photos.
Select or build a template that matches the work.
Add labour items with hours and correct loaded rates.
Add materials with live pricing.
Add overhead and profit.
Check totals, VAT, and terms.
Send, then follow up within two business days.
If the client accepts, the job is created automatically in TeamPoint and lands in your scheduler. The handover includes survey photos, risk assessments, and notes so your operatives know exactly what to do.
What is the best quoting software
The best tool is the one that connects quoting to your whole workflow. Look for:
Templates and a price book for speed
Integrated site surveys with photos and custom questions
Digital customer acceptance with signatures and POs
Automatic job creation and scheduling
Conversion from quote to invoice, with progress billing if needed
Mobile app for on site updates and accurate time capture
CRM and follow ups so no opportunity is missed
TeamPoint was built for UK contractors with field teams, combining quoting, scheduling, mobile job capture, and invoicing. Clients value the setup support and training as much as the software itself, because it gets everyone working the same way quickly.
If you are exploring tools, start with an all in one platform. It removes duplicate data entry and gives you reliable job tracking from first site visit to final invoice.
Real examples from TeamPoint users
Faster turnaround: Contractors move from manual quotes to templates and cut estimating time by half or more.
Higher win rates: Clear scopes, photos, and professional PDFs reduce client questions and push decisions forward.
Fewer errors: Consistent labour rates and material costs prevent under-pricing.
Smoother delivery: Accepted quotes create jobs and schedules automatically, so work starts sooner and invoices go out faster.
We have seen teams reclaim evenings by ditching paperwork, and managers gain a clearer view of pipeline value and upcoming workloads.
What is the best app for finding a job
If you mean finding customer jobs for your business, focus on software that helps you respond fast to enquiries and follow up reliably. A joined up system with CRM, quoting, and scheduling will beat generic job boards for repeat work. If you mean hiring staff, general job boards can work, but you will still need solid onboarding, scheduling, and time capture once they join you.
Make your quoting process repeatable
Use a standard template for each service type.
Keep a price book with current rates, reviewed monthly.
Track planned versus actual hours on every job.
Review lost quotes and learn why.
Follow up every quote within 48 hours, then weekly until a decision.
These habits compound. Your quotes become faster, your pricing more accurate, and your margins more predictable.
Where software fits in your day to day
A modern platform ties quoting to scheduling, mobile job capture, risk assessments, and invoicing. That means less admin and better cash flow. If you are ready to tidy up your process and win work with confidence, take a look at TeamPoint’s all in one setup. It connects the dots from quote to job to invoice, with real time updates from the field so you always know where you stand.
To explore how this works in practice, start with TeamPoint’s quote to invoice software and see how a single workflow can speed up estimates and get invoices out sooner. You can also read customer stories to see how other uk contractors built a consistent quoting process and improved job tracking.
Summary
Accurate, professional quotes win work and protect margin. The formula is simple, scope clearly, estimate labour with a loaded rate, price materials from current costs, and present it cleanly with terms and a validity date. Software helps you do this quickly and with fewer mistakes. With TeamPoint, site surveys feed your quote, customers accept online, jobs are created automatically, and invoicing follows without extra admin. You get faster turnaround, higher win rates, and better control of your time.
Copyright © 2024. TeamPoint Software Ltd