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Getting a free estimate from an insurance agent, contractor or mechanic can save you time and money. Here are some templates to help you get started.
An estimate template is a reusable form that can be delivered to clients to offer a cost breakdown for a project or product purchase. These templates are meant to be simple to use for a range of enterprises, and they should cover both supplies and labor.
Pipedrive is a customer relationship management (CRM) application that may assist you in creating and managing estimates as well as keeping in touch with clients throughout the sales process. Contact and deal management, as well as email sync and tracking, are all available in Pipedrive. Monthly plans start at $12.50 per user.
How Does a Quote Work?
An estimate is often issued to give a client an estimate of the cost of a project and to include the items and/or services that you know will be included. Templates for Estimates provide you with a standard form that you can use over and over again by just altering the information for each new client.
The most significant advantage of adopting a template is that you can spend more time connecting with your consumers rather than figuring out the best format or style or worrying about whether you’ve included everything that is important to them. Templates already have the structure in place; all you have to do now is fill in the blanks.
Templates for Estimates
Each of the Templates for Estimates below is created in Google Docs and can be downloaded and adjusted to fit your specific business needs. Be sure to add in your own business information and feel free to make changes. These templates are meant to be a place to start, instead of having to create your own templates from scratch.
7 Free Templates for Estimates
1. Estimation Template for Freelancers
When submitting an estimate to a client or customer for whom you are providing freelancing services such as graphic design or content writing, you may utilize a freelance estimate template. This sort of estimate focuses on the time it takes to provide various services and does not usually include specific items. Instead, the finished project is referred to as the delivery.
In other circumstances, an estimate may provide you with a single price for a deliverable, such as a finished website or a completed design. However, an estimate is usually calculated by multiplying the number of hours you expect to spend on the job by your hourly rate. In such instances, it’s critical to offer your best estimate of how long it will take to not only finish the job but also to accommodate any client-requested adjustments.
2. Estimation Template for Professional Services
This estimate is for companies who offer professional services and wish to give an estimate of how much effort and money will be involved in delivering such services in advance. This template is similar to the freelance estimate template in that it focuses on the hours spent working for the customer, but it doesn’t always contain a particular deliverable other than professional services.
This template is typically used by bookkeeping and accounting companies, solicitors, and auditing firms, but it may also be used by marketing or architectural design organizations. The template enables you to break down the costs of numerous services as well as hourly rates, so the consumer knows precisely what services you’ll be offering.
3. Estimate of Repairs Template
A repair estimate template often comprises a mix of components or goods, as well as labor expenses, and is intended to provide a client a clear picture of what needs to be corrected as well as the cost of doing so. These estimates include an overview of the work that needs to be done, as well as the particular components and labor necessary to complete the repairs.
This sort of template is often used by auto repair shops, HVAC repair contractors, and other specialist service experts that assess a customer’s situation and provide an estimate for work that needs to be done or components that need to be replaced. In addition to outlining the actual prices, the estimate should provide the client with some insight into what needs to be fixed and why.
4. Estimate Template for Contractors
A contractor estimate is used in the construction and other building industries to provide a client an estimate of the cost of a project, such as a house makeover or plumbing installation. These estimates are similar to repair estimates in that they include both the materials and labor required to accomplish a work.
This estimate form is used by general contractors, plumbers, electricians, carpenters, and HVAC installers because it enables them to account for both their labor and any equipment, parts, or items used in delivering their contracting service.
5. Template for estimating the cost
When you’re attempting to provide a client with an estimate of how much they may anticipate spending on a big purchase, you’ll want to utilize the product cost estimate template. These are often capital costs for huge pieces of equipment that also entail installation or other labor, or are highly technical and sophisticated product that needs setup or maintenance. The goal is to set out the expenses of the product, as well as any supporting components and labor.
This sort of estimate is often used in the sales of information technology hardware, manufacturing equipment, and manufacturing devices, as well as other highly technical items such as diagnostic testing equipment and medical devices. The estimate form provided here may be customized to give the client a fair approximation of the extra expenses connected with the goods they are buying.
6. Estimation Template for Consulting Services
Consulting services, like professional services, are primarily predicated on the amount of time spent offering knowledge to a customer. The main distinction is that most professional services, such as accounting, auditing, or legal help, have an indirect deliverable. Consulting services, on the other hand, are often used to provide strategic support in analyzing a company’s practice and implementing particular improvements.
Marketing consultants, human resources consultants, project management specialists, and general company management consultants are just a few examples of firms that may utilize this estimate form. Each of these offers services, generally on an hourly basis, and a consulting services estimate enables you to give the customer an idea of how much they will pay monthly for your expertise.
7. Template for a General Estimate
This basic estimate template may be readily customized for practically any case in which you need to offer a client a cost estimate for a project or product. While there are more particular templates for a number of applications stated below, there are frequent situations when you need to offer a client an estimate that doesn’t fall into one of the other six categories. In such a scenario, this template will prove to be a versatile and user-friendly tool.
If you were to produce a proposal for your company to take on a new endeavor, for example, you may not need a customer-facing estimate since your estimate would be used internally. You may use this general estimate template in conjunction with your proposal to offer information about the expenses connected with your proposal by separating out the numerous physical things as well as the labor or services necessary.
Job Estimate Tips & Best Practices
In addition to the Templates for Estimates included here, there are several best practices and tips you should consider when sending an estimate to a customer or potential customer. These principles can help you turn more estimates into closed deals and help you generate more sales for your business. The good news is that none of these are complicated, but they make a huge difference in your sales process.
Here are a few principles and tips you can use with these free Templates for Estimates.
Keep track of your estimates.
Using a CRM that enables you to either make estimates or upload and save them with your customer data is one of the most efficient methods to keep track of the estimates you provide to a client. Many CRM platforms also allow you to issue estimates and monitor whether or not they were received by the client.
A CRM like Pipedrive is a useful tool for both creating estimates, as well as communicating with your prospects about their specific needs and opportunities.
Cost Overruns Should Be Expected
While it’s not unusual for a project or product to cost more than expected, it’s never a pleasant experience for the consumer. As a result, your estimate should contain a fair level of overage so that a client is not surprised or dissatisfied when they learn they will be paying more than they anticipated. This also prevents you from seeming unprofessional since you were unable to reach your expense estimate.
In many circumstances, a ten percent to fifteen percent cost overrun is considered common. That doesn’t imply you should charge that extra fee, but it does allow you to account for any unforeseen expenses, modifications, or difficulties that emerge over the course of the project in your estimate. It also regulates your customers’ expectations by informing them that unexpected events may cause the price to rise. This way, they’ve at least planned for it and budgeted for it.
Include a personal note.
Always add a personal message with every estimate you provide to a client. It’s not just impersonal, but it’s also unprofessional to generate an estimate and send it. If you want to transform an estimate into a sale, be sure to tell the client how much you value the chance to work with them and to reiterate any next actions needed in pushing the project forward.
You could, for example, send an email that looks like this:
Dear [First Name of Client],
Thank you for giving me the chance to offer you a project estimate. I appreciate you considering us for your requirements, and I eagerly await the chance to offer you [project brief].
You’ll find a summary of the work we discussed, as well as the deliverables and services, attached to this email. I’d be pleased to take you through this estimate if you have any particular questions. Please let me know if there are any things we didn’t address, and I’ll be delighted to send an updated estimate.
Please let me know whether you’d like to go ahead with your project by replying to this email, and we’ll find a time on the calendar that works for you.
Thank you once again, [Your name here]
This straightforward email establishes a personal connection, explains the objective of the estimate, and informs the client of any particular next actions necessary to complete the project or transaction. These are essential elements of effective customer communication, which leads to more clarity and more closed sales.
Determine the Next Steps
Ascertain that the client understands what you want them to do with the estimate and how they may proceed. I suggest that you put your contact information on both the estimate and the email that you send with it. Make it very clear what you want the consumer to do and how they may accept the estimate and begin working on their project or purchase.
Furthermore, a client may check an estimate and discover that it falls short of their expectations or that there was a misunderstanding. In such a case, the next step is to make improvements rather than start again. A client will often reject an estimate that falls short of expectations unless you are proactive in informing him or her that you are delighted to examine it with them and make any required revisions.
Clarifying this intermediate stage encourages customers to say yes since it allows them to get their worries resolved rather than having to determine whether or not to proceed with something that doesn’t exactly match their requirements. This is crucial since an estimate is supposed to be a working document that sets out a project’s expenses and should be able to be changed if the project’s scope changes.
Make a strategy for following up.
Just like the customer should understand what his or her next steps are, you should Make a strategy for following up. as your next step. Be upfront with your customer about when you’ll follow up so that you’re not having to chase him or her down later. Let them know that you’ll plan to give them a call or follow up by email in a few days to see if there are any questions, or to get their project started.
Establishing a habit of following up within the first two business days is a smart idea. It may seem that asking a client whether they’ve had time to review the estimate is intrusive, but it isn’t. Frequently, the consumer is pressed for time. They’re preoccupied with work, home, and everything else on their plate, so your follow-up email or phone contact might be just the push they need to consider what you’re proposing to do for them.
Most Commonly Asked Questions (FAQs)
How are estimates & proposals different?
An estimate is often less formal than a proposal, which is commonly seen as an offer to deliver goods or services at a certain price. An estimate, on the other hand, is intended to express the estimated expenses for a certain project, product, or service, and is often presented prior to the signing of a written agreement to begin work.
When should I think about submitting an estimate?
An estimate is a helpful tool for managing client expectations and estimating the expenses associated with a project or transaction. It should be used when you already have an engagement with a client and want to present them with information on the price of a planned project since it is less formal than a proposal.
Conclusion
Using these free Templates for Estimates can help you win more deals by laying out exactly what a customer can expect to spend on their project or product purchase. It manages his or her expectations and details exactly what they need to do to get started.
