Free contractor estimate template

What a contractor 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
• the scope, line by line, with labor and materials apart
• allowances for fixtures the customer will choose, marked “allowance”
• exclusions and assumptions in plain words
• a payment schedule tied to milestones, and a line to sign

Write it so it can serve as the contract the customer signs. In California, an accepted home improvement estimate has to meet the contract rules below.

Allowances and exclusions

An allowance is a budget for something the customer has not picked yet, such as tile or a vanity. Put each one on its own line with “allowance” in the description, and say in the terms that the final bill follows the actual cost.

List what is excluded and what you have assumed, such as no rot behind the tub surround, so a surprise becomes a priced change order rather than an argument.

California: contracts and change orders

A home improvement job over $500 needs a written contract that shows your name, business address and license number. The down payment can be no more than $1,000 or 10% of the price, whichever is less, and later payments cannot run ahead of the work done and materials delivered.

Extra or changed work needs a change order, in writing and signed before the work changes. Once signed it becomes part of the contract, and it must state the scope, the cost added or taken off, and the effect on the payment schedule.

Sources: CSLB: home improvement contracts, CSLB: Contracting for Success, CSLB Industry Bulletin 22-14

License numbers and Florida notices

California and Florida want your license number on bids, proposals and contracts, and Arizona on written bids and estimates, preceded by “ROC”. Add it as a line under your business address and it prints on every estimate.

In Florida, a residential contract over $2,500 also needs the Homeowners' Construction Recovery Fund notice and the Construction Lien Law disclosure.

Sources: CSLB advertising guidelines, Florida s.489.119, A.R.S. 32-1124, Florida s.489.1425, Florida s.713.015

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. In California, the contract also carries a Three-Day Right to Cancel notice unless it is a service and repair contract.

Sources: FTC: the Cooling-Off Rule, CSLB: Contracting for Success