What a construction estimate shows
- your business name, address, phone and license number
- the customer’s name and the job address
- an estimate number, the date and how long the price holds
- one line per phase or trade: site prep, framing, drywall, finish
- allowances for finishes the owner will choose
- what is not included, such as permits, haul-away or rot found once walls are open
- the payment schedule your invoices will follow
One line per phase means a later change order can point to the exact line it changes.
License numbers and Florida notices
In California your license number goes on all contracts, subcontracts and calls for bid, and the CSLB treats a contract proposal as advertising, which needs it too. Florida wants it on every offer of services, business proposal, bid and contract. Arizona wants it on all written bids and estimates, preceded by “ROC”.
In Florida, a residential contract over $2,500 also needs the Homeowners' Construction Recovery Fund notice, and any direct contract over $2,500 needs the Construction Lien Law disclosure in capitalized bold type of at least 12 points, signed and dated by the owner.
Add your license number as a line under your business address and it prints on every estimate.
Sources: CSLB advertising guidelines, Florida s.489.119, A.R.S. 32-1124, Florida s.489.1425, Florida s.713.015
When a California estimate becomes the contract
For a home improvement job over $500, an accepted estimate has to meet the contract rules. It shows your name, business address and license number; “Home Improvement” as the type of contract in at least 10-point bold; the down payment heading and statement; a schedule of progress payments; a change order notice; and a Three-Day Right to Cancel notice, unless it is a service and repair contract.
The down payment can be no more than $1,000 or 10% of the contract price, whichever is less, and later payments cannot run ahead of the work done and materials delivered. A service and repair contract has to meet all four limits: $750 or less, the customer called you, nothing sold beyond what fixes the problem, and no payment until the work is done.
Sources: CSLB: Contracting for Success, CSLB: home improvement contracts, CSLB Industry Bulletin 22-14
Estimates signed at the customer’s home
Under the FTC Cooling-Off Rule, a sale of $25 or more made at the buyer’s home can be canceled until midnight of the third business day after the sale. Saturdays count; Sundays and federal holidays do not. Sales needed to meet an emergency are not covered.
Source: FTC: the Cooling-Off Rule
From estimate to invoices
When the customer signs, switch the document to Invoice at the top. The customer, the lines and your details carry over. Bill each payment on the schedule against the estimate number, and put each change order on its own line with its reference, so the customer can match every invoice to what they signed.
Rules checked against the official sources linked above on October 19, 2026. Example prices are illustrative. This is general guidance, not legal or tax advice.