Quick answer
A quote is a promise to do the work at an agreed price, and an estimate is your best guess at what it will cost. That is how Citizens Advice puts it, and it matters: once a customer accepts a quote, you generally cannot charge more unless they agreed to extra work or there was an obvious pricing mistake. A good quote names the customer and the site, describes exactly what is and is not included, breaks the price into materials, labour and other costs, shows VAT if you are registered, and says how long the price stands and how to accept it.
Quote or estimate: what is the difference?
The two words get used as if they mean the same thing, but they do not, and the difference decides whether you can change the price later. Citizens Advice, whose guidance covers England, defines them like this: a quote (sometimes called a quotation or a fixed estimate) is a promise to do the work at an agreed price, while an estimate is the trader's best guess at how much the work will cost.
| Quote | Estimate | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A promise to do the work at an agreed price | Your best guess at what the work will cost |
| Can the final bill go up? | Not without a good reason, such as extra work the customer agreed to pay for or an obvious pricing mistake. Citizens Advice says rising costs since you quoted are not a reason to charge more. | It can, but if the final bill is a lot more than expected the customer can dispute it, and the final price should be reasonable |
| Best used when | You can see the whole job and price every part of it | Part of the job is hidden or unknown until you start |
Two more points from the Consumer Rights Act 2015 are worth knowing when you work for householders. Under section 50, what you say or write to a customer about the job can become part of the contract if they rely on it, so the wording of your quote matters. Under section 51, if no price was fixed at all, the customer has to pay a reasonable price, and what counts as reasonable is a question of fact. A written quote avoids that argument entirely.
What to include in an electrical quote
A good quote answers every question the customer would otherwise ring you about, and it protects you if the job changes halfway through. Work through this list and the price becomes hard to dispute.
- Your details. Business name, address, phone and email, plus your VAT registration number if you are registered.
- A quote number, the date and how long the price stands. Material prices move, so a "valid until" date protects you.
- The customer's name and the site address.
- A plain-English scope of work. Say what you will do, where, and to what point, circuit by circuit or room by room.
- What is not included. Making good, decorating and faults in existing wiring are the usual sources of a row, so name them.
- A price breakdown. Materials, labour and other costs such as certification, waste or access equipment. If the work is notifiable under Part P of the Building Regulations in England, include the cost of notifying it. Approved Document P explains when notification is required.
- VAT, shown clearly. If you are VAT registered, show the rate and the amount. The standard rate is 20% but some work carries a different rate, so check GOV.UK's VAT rates. If you are not registered, say that no VAT is charged.
- Payment terms. Any deposit, any stage payments, and when the balance is due.
- How changes are handled. State that extra work is priced and agreed before you do it.
- How to accept. A signature and date, or a written reply.
Quoting in the customer's home: cancellation rights
If the contract is agreed with the customer at their home rather than at your business premises, it is usually an off-premises contract under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013. Business Companion, the Chartered Trading Standards Institute's guidance for businesses, explains that the customer then has 14 days to cancel a contract for services, starting the day after the contract was made. If you do not give them the required cancellation information, that period can be extended by up to 12 months, and the customer may not have to pay for work done during it. To start work inside the 14 days, the customer must expressly ask you to, in a durable medium such as an email or a signed form. Contracts of £42 or less are exempt. Read Business Companion's guide to off-premises sales before you quote in people's homes.
The free electrician quote template
Type over the grey fields, delete any lines you do not need, then print it, save it as a PDF or copy it into your own document.
Click any grey field to type over it, then print it, save it as a PDF from the print window, or copy it into Word or Google Docs. Nothing you type is saved or sent anywhere.
[Your business name] [Your own name, if you trade under a business name] [Business address] [Phone] | [Email] VAT registration no: [only if you are VAT registered] | QUOTATION Quote no: [Q-0001] Date: [dd/mm/yyyy] Price valid until: [dd/mm/yyyy] |
Prepared for [Customer name] [Customer address] [Phone or email] | Site address [Where the work will be done, if different] |
| Item | Qty | Unit price (£) | Amount (£) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Materials | |||
| [e.g. Consumer unit and protective devices] | [1] | [0.00] | [0.00] |
| [e.g. Cable, accessories, fixings and sundries] | [qty] | [0.00] | [0.00] |
| Labour | |||
| [e.g. Installation, first and second fix] | [hrs or days] | [0.00] | [0.00] |
| [e.g. Testing, inspection and certification] | [hrs] | [0.00] | [0.00] |
| Other | |||
| [e.g. Building regulations notification, waste disposal, access equipment] | [1] | [0.00] | [0.00] |
| Total excluding VAT | £[0.00] |
| VAT at [rate] (only if VAT registered) | £[0.00] |
| Total price | £[0.00] |
Quote before you leave the drive with Graft'd
Graft'd lets you speak the job into your phone on site and builds the line items for you to check. For pricing, you can upload your trade account price list as a CSV and save fixed prices for jobs you do often, and there is a set of rough guide prices read from merchant websites to fall back on, which is not a live price feed. The quote your customer receives has its own reference, the materials and labour totals, VAT if you are registered, how long the price is valid, and a button to accept it there and then.
Not sure how to arrive at the numbers in the first place? Our guide on how to quote an electrical job covers materials, labour, call-outs, markup and VAT step by step.
Built for the trade, by a tradesman
Build the quote on site, not at the kitchen table
Speak the job, check the line items, send it. Your customer can accept it from the email before you have started the van.
Graft'd is in beta. Sign up with your name, email and trade and start using it straight away. No card is needed and nothing is charged until launch on Monday 7 December, and founding members keep 35% off for life.
Made for electricians, plumbers, builders, decorators and every other UK trade.
Quote questions, straight answers
Is this electrician quote template free?
Yes. You can fill it in on screen, print it, save it as a PDF or copy it into Word or Google Docs without signing up for anything.
What is the difference between a quote and an estimate?
Citizens Advice describes a quote as a promise to do the work at an agreed price, and an estimate as the trader's best guess at how much the work will cost. A quote fixes the price; an estimate can move, but the final bill should be reasonable. Read the Citizens Advice guidance.
Can I charge more than my quote?
Only with a good reason. Citizens Advice gives examples such as extra work the customer agreed to pay for, or an obvious pricing mistake. It also says a trader cannot charge more just because their own costs have gone up since the quote.
How long should a quote be valid for?
There is no fixed rule, so choose a period and write it on the quote. Material prices change, and a clear valid-until date stops an old price being held against you months later.
Do I have to give cancellation rights on a quote?
If the contract is agreed in the customer's home, it is usually an off-premises contract and the customer normally has 14 days to cancel. You must give them the cancellation information, or the period can be extended by up to 12 months. Business Companion explains the rules.
Can other trades use this quote template?
Yes. Plumbers, builders, decorators, roofers and every other trade can use it. Just type over the example lines with your own materials and labour.
Sources
Sources: every rule on this page comes from the official pages below, opened and checked on 28 October 2026.
- Citizens Advice (England), Problem with building work, decorating or home improvements
- legislation.gov.uk, Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 50 and section 51
- Business Companion (Chartered Trading Standards Institute), Consumer contracts: off-premises sales
- legislation.gov.uk, The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013
- GOV.UK, VAT rates
- GOV.UK, Electrical safety: Approved Document P
This page is general information for UK tradespeople, not legal, tax or accounting advice. Rules change, so check the linked pages or speak to an accountant or solicitor about your own situation.