What a remodeling 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 general contractors selling to homeowners planning renovations, 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: Remodels live or die on allowances — every finish the customer has not picked yet needs a number attached to it.
What every remodeling 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 general contractors bill for
These are the lines that show up on most remodeling 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Design and permit drawings | each | $1,500–$12,000 |
| Demolition and haul-away | each | $1,200–$8,000 |
| Framing and structural | sq ft | $25–$95 |
| Cabinetry allowance | each | $6,000–$35,000 |
| Countertop allowance | sq ft | $45–$180 |
| Tile and flooring allowance | sq ft | $6–$32 |
| Plumbing and electrical rough-in | each | $3,500–$18,000 |
| Project management and supervision | % | $10–$20 |
Typical deposit convention: Deposit at contract with milestone draws through the project.
Remodeling 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Design, drawings and permits | 1 | $3,800.00 | $3,800.00 |
| Demolition and disposal | 1 | $2,650.00 | $2,650.00 |
| Cabinetry allowance — semi-custom | 1 | $14,500.00 | $14,500.00 |
| Countertop allowance — 42 sq ft quartz | 42 | $88.00 | $3,696.00 |
| Plumbing and electrical rough-in and trim | 1 | $7,400.00 | $7,400.00 |
| Tile, paint and finish carpentry | 1 | $6,200.00 | $6,200.00 |
| Project management — 15% | 1 | $5,300.00 | $5,300.00 |
| Subtotal | $43,546.00 | ||
| Tax (7.75%) | $3,374.82 | ||
| Total | $46,920.82 | ||
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 general contractors money
Allowances with no number
'Customer to select tile' with no dollar figure means the customer selects the tile they like and you eat the difference. Every allowance needs a per-unit number and a statement that overages are change orders.
No change-order process on the document
Remodels always change. State the process — written, priced, approved before work proceeds — on the original quote, so the first change is a procedure instead of a confrontation.
Treating the schedule as a promise
Inspections, backordered cabinets, and customer decisions all move the date. Name the dependencies rather than committing to a completion date you do not control.
How to send a remodeling 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.