Ask about their timeline before you book a site visit. A customer who says ‘no rush, just getting a few prices’ is rarely your best customer. Someone who says ‘I need this done before Christmas’ is ready to commit, which makes your time on site worth spending.

Find out if they have planning permission or a building spec already in place. Extensions, attic conversions, and structural work can stall for months if they haven’t got sign-off. Knowing this upfront saves you sending a quote into a black hole.

Ask directly whether they are getting other quotes. There’s no shame in knowing you’re in a three-way race. It helps you decide how much time to invest in the quote and whether to price to win or price to your margin.

Price your materials from a live supplier quote, not last year’s memory. Timber, copper pipe, Kingspan insulation, and cable prices have moved sharply in recent years. Ring your merchant, whether that’s Chadwicks, Heitons, or your local builders’ providers, and get a current figure before you commit.

Build in a materials contingency of at least 10 to 15 percent on any job with unknown quantities. Opening up a wall, lifting floorboards, or stripping a roof always reveals something. That extra allowance is not padding, it’s professional judgement.

Calculate your labour cost per day honestly, including your own wage. Many self-employed tradespeople underprice because they forget to pay themselves properly. Work out your daily rate, including van costs, insurance, tool wear, and the time you spend quoting and chasing, then build that into every job.

Factor in skip hire, parking permits, and waste disposal separately. These costs are easy to swallow silently and quietly eat your margin. List them as a line item so the customer sees the full picture and you don’t end up absorbing them.

Itemise the work in plain language the customer actually understands. Instead of writing ‘first fix and second fix carpentry’, write ‘fit all door frames, hang and trim 8 internal doors, fit skirting and architrave throughout’. Clear detail builds trust and reduces the ‘but I thought that included…’ conversation later.

State clearly what is NOT included in your price. Groundwork, plastering after your electrics, painting over your plumbing, SEAI grant admin, or Bord Gais notification fees are common extras. List them explicitly so there is no ambiguity after you start.

Put your payment terms on every quote, not just the invoice. If you want a deposit upfront and staged payments on a bigger job, say so in the quote. A customer who agrees to your terms before you start is far less likely to delay payment once the job is done.

Give the quote a validity period, typically 30 days. Material prices shift, your schedule fills up, and a customer who comes back six months later expecting your original price is a problem you can avoid with one line of text.

Include the cost of any compliance cert or registration in your price. RGII certs for gas work, Safe Electric certificates for electrical installation, and SEAI registration fees are real costs to your business. They belong in the quote, not absorbed silently into your margin.

If the job is grant-eligible under SEAI, tell the customer before anyone else does. Heat pumps, attic insulation, external wall insulation, and boiler upgrades can attract significant SEAI grants in 2024. Being the person who explains this to the customer, rather than having them find out from a competitor, is a genuine sales advantage.

Send the quote in writing, even for small jobs. A WhatsApp message or a verbal price on the phone leaves you exposed. A simple PDF with your name, logo, and a clear scope means both sides know what was agreed. A free tool like Invoice Ninja or even a Word template does the job.

Follow up with a phone call three to five days after sending, not another email. Quotes die in inboxes. A quick, friendly call asking if they have any questions converts more jobs than any follow-up email ever will. Most tradespeople skip this step and wonder why customers go quiet.

When you don’t get the job, ask why. If a customer chose someone else, a polite question about whether it was price, timing, or something else gives you real market information. You will learn more from lost quotes than from the ones you win without trying.

After every job is complete, check whether the final cost matched your quote. Run a quick comparison between what you priced and what you actually spent in time and materials. If you’re consistently underpricing a particular type of job, a bathroom tiling job that always runs a day longer, or a rewire where you always use more cable than expected, you need to know that before you price the next one.