What a locksmith quote is for
A quote is a firm price. Once your customer accepts it, that is the number — so it needs an expiration date, a defined scope, and clear terms on what falls outside it.
For locksmiths selling to homeowners, landlords, businesses, and vehicle owners, the quote is usually the only thing the customer compares side by side against two competitors. It is doing sales work whether you designed it to or not.
The unit that trips this trade up: Locksmith pricing is a service call plus per-lock work, and quoting a range over the phone then charging more is the industry's reputational wound.
What every locksmith quote must have
- An expiration date, so the price does not follow you around forever
- A scope specific enough that both of you can tell what is excluded
- Deposit and payment terms stated before the work is scheduled
- A named change-order process for anything discovered after approval
- Your license or registration number where the trade requires it
What locksmiths bill for
These are the lines that show up on most locksmith quotes, with the unit each is normally priced in. Ranges are illustrative planning figures, not market data — your own costs, region, and margin decide the real number.
| Line item | Unit | Typical range |
|---|---|---|
| Service call | each | $50–$150 |
| Lockout — residential or auto | each | $75–$250 |
| Rekey per cylinder | each | $20–$60 |
| Deadbolt supplied and installed | each | $90–$300 |
| Smart lock installation | each | $150–$450 |
| Commercial panic hardware | each | $400–$1,800 |
| Master key system setup | each | $250–$2,500 |
| Car key programming | each | $120–$500 |
Typical deposit convention: Collected on completion; deposit for commercial hardware orders.
Locksmith quote example
A realistic job, priced line by line, with the arithmetic shown the way a customer sees it:
| Description | Qty | Unit price | Line total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Service call | 1 | $95.00 | $95.00 |
| Rekey cylinders — 9 locks | 9 | $35.00 | $315.00 |
| New deadbolt — front entries | 3 | $145.00 | $435.00 |
| Keys cut — 12 copies | 12 | $6.00 | $72.00 |
| Subtotal | $917.00 | ||
| Tax (7.75%) | $71.07 | ||
| Total | $988.07 | ||
Notice that every assumption is a line rather than a conversation. That is the whole difference between a quote that holds up and one that gets renegotiated in a driveway.
Three mistakes that cost locksmiths money
Phone quotes that move on arrival
This is the single behavior that damaged the trade's reputation. Quote a firm service call and firm per-unit prices, and honor them.
Not confirming authority
Rekeying a property for someone who does not own it is a serious problem. Note the identification and authorization requirement on the document.
Hardware grade not specified
Grade 1, 2 and 3 hardware differ substantially in price and durability. Name the grade on every lock line.
How to send a locksmith quote in about a minute
A template is only half the job — the quote still has to reach the customer in a form they can act on. With SendQuoteNow you add the customer, add your line items, and hit send. Your customer gets a branded PDF plus a link where they approve or decline with one click, and you get an email the moment they do.
- Your branding, not ours — your logo, business name, contact details, and terms on every document.
- From your phone — build and send the quote before you leave the customer's property.
- One-click approval — no login or account needed on your customer's side.
- Automatic math — subtotal, tax, and discounts calculated as you type.
- Quote → invoice — convert accepted work into an invoice without retyping it.