Quotation Format Examples by Trade: Building, Electrical, Plumbing, Transport and More

Every trade uses the same quotation format: your details, the client's details, a quote number and date, a short description of the job, itemized line items, then the subtotal, tax and total. What changes from trade to trade is how you split the work into line items and what unit you quote in. Below are worked examples for transport, kitchen, building, civil, electrical, plumbing and painting jobs.

The quotation format every trade shares

Before you get to the trade-specific parts, the frame of the quote stays fixed. A client comparing three quotes reads them top to bottom in this order, so yours should follow it too:

1. Your business details: name, logo, contact details, and your registration or tax number.
2. Client details: name, site address, and a contact person for company clients.
3. Quote number and date: sequential numbers make it easy to match a quote to a purchase order later.
4. Job description: one or two sentences on scope, what is excluded, and how long the price is valid.
5. Line items: a description, quantity and unit price for each part of the work.
6. Totals: subtotal, tax and the final price.

Our free quotation generator lays out that frame for you, so the only part you need to think about is the line items. The examples below use plain numbers without a currency symbol. Swap in your own rates.

Electrical and plumbing quotation formats

Electrical quotation

List the distribution board work, the number of points installed, materials, and labour separately. Clients understand "12 plug points" far better than a single figure for "electrical work". If the job needs a certificate of compliance, add it as its own line so the client can see it is included.

Plumbing quotation

List the call-out, the fittings and materials, and the labour hours. For a bathroom or kitchen job, quote each fixture as its own line: toilet, basin, shower mixer, geyser connection. When the client wants to cut costs, they can drop a line instead of asking you to redo the whole quote.

Building and civil work quotation formats

Building quotation

Quote a building job by stage: site establishment, foundations, brickwork, roofing, and finishes. Stages match how the client will pay you if you agree on progress payments, so the quote doubles as the payment schedule. State what is included, what is excluded, and the expected timeline in the job description.

Civil work quotation

Civil work is usually quoted by measured quantity: cubic metres of excavation or concrete, square metres of paving, and metres of drainage pipe. Enter the measured quantity and the rate per unit, and the quotation generator works out each line total. If the quantities come from the client's drawings, say so in the job description, so a remeasure on site is clearly a change to the quote.

Kitchen and painting quotation formats

Kitchen quotation

Break a kitchen quotation into design and measuring, supply and installation of cabinets, countertops, appliance fitting, and plumbing and electrical connections. Separate lines let the client compare your price against another supplier line by line, and they make it obvious when a cheaper quote has quietly left out the connections.

Painting quotation

Quote by room or by area: preparation, paint and materials, and labour. State the number of coats and whether furniture moving and clean-up are included. "Two coats" on the quote heads off the most common painting dispute before it starts.

Transport quotation format

Quote each route or load as a line item, such as "Delivery, Johannesburg to Durban, 1 x 4,500.00", then add extra stops, waiting time, and fuel surcharge as separate lines. For a rate-based transport quotation, use the distance, weight, or hours as the quantity and your rate as the unit price. Put the loading date and the vehicle type in the job description.

Using these formats in your own quotes

Pick the example closest to your trade and copy its line items into our quotation generator as a starting point. Your business details are saved in your browser, so the next quote only needs the client, the line items and the quantities. Set your tax rate once and the totals update as you type.

• One unit per line: do not mix hours and fixed prices on the same line.
• Name the extras: waste removal, certificates, and travel go on their own lines.
• Date the price: add a validity period, such as 30 days, so an old quote cannot be accepted after your material costs rise.