A customer asks what 120 feet of cedar fence will cost. You can answer with three different documents, and each one promises something different. An estimate is a rough range and promises nothing. A quote is a fixed price for a defined job. A proposal is the plan, the proof and the price together.
The words get used loosely, and that is where disputes start: the customer heard a quote, you meant an estimate. This page puts the three side by side, shows when to send each one, and gives a sentence you can paste into each. It is general information, not legal advice.
The three documents in one table
| Estimate | Quote | Proposal | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Promises | A ballpark. The final price may differ. | A fixed price for the scope written down | An approach, a schedule and a price |
| Send it when | Before you have seen the job | After a visit or a clear brief | The job is big, has several decision makers, or is competitive |
| Length | Two or three lines | One page | Two to six pages |
| Paste this sentence | "This is an estimate based on what you have told me, not a fixed price." | "This price covers only the work listed below and is good until the date shown." | "Here is how we would do it, in what order, and what each phase costs." |
An estimate is a range you give before you have seen the job
Hartley Fence is a crew of four in Fort Collins. Jo gets a call: 120 feet of cedar, six-foot, one gate. Jo knows that jobs like this run $55 to $75 a foot installed. So the estimate is 120 x $55 = $6,600 to 120 x $75 = $9,000. That wide range is honest. It depends on soil, slope, whether the old fence has to come out, and where the gate goes.
Say so in the message: "Jobs like yours usually run $6,600 to $9,000 installed. That is an estimate from what you have told me, not a fixed price. I can give you a fixed price after a 20-minute visit." The estimate does its work when the customer replies "that's more than I thought" or "okay, come out." Either answer saves you a drive.
A quote is a fixed price for a defined scope
After the visit Jo measures 120 feet, finds the ground is easy, and writes the quote: 120 feet at $62 is $7,440, plus a 4-foot gate at $540, for $7,980. The old fence is not part of it. Removal is listed as an add-on at $6 a foot, or $720 if the customer wants it. The quote is good for 30 days, and anything not on the page is priced in writing before work starts.
The scope is what the price promises. Everything you wrote is covered by it, and everything you left off is not. That is why a short list of inclusions and exclusions matters more than the number. For how to lay that out, how to write a quote for a service has a full sample with numbers that add up.
A proposal explains the approach, then the price
A homeowners association asks Jo for a fence along three streets. One price on one page will not do it, because the board needs to know the schedule, how traffic will be handled, who else Jo has done work for, and what is optional. That is a proposal: a short letter with a plan in three phases, dates for each, references, the price per phase, and the quote terms at the end. A proposal usually contains a quote, so it can be accepted the same way. It also invites questions and changes, where a quote invites a yes or a no.
Which one to send first
Send an estimate when the customer asks for a number you cannot yet stand behind. Send a quote once you have seen the job. Send a proposal when more than one person decides, the amount is large for the customer, or you are one of several bidders and your approach is part of what they are buying. A formal bid is a quote or proposal that follows a buyer's rules, and public work often needs one. The same job can move through all three in order, which is what Jo's fence does.
Wording that keeps you from being held to a guess
Put the type at the top of the page. A document titled "Estimate" and one titled "Quote" read differently to the person holding them. Add an expiry date to a quote, state what is excluded, and say that changes in scope are priced and agreed in writing before the work. Do not write a single number on an estimate with no range, because customers remember the number and forget the word. Rules about how much a final bill may exceed a written estimate exist in some trades, such as car repair and household moves. Check the rules for your trade and state, and ask a lawyer for anything beyond this overview.
Once the document is out, follow up on it. Estimate follow-up for contractors gives a day-by-day rhythm, how to follow up on a quote without sounding pushy gives wording, and a phone script for following up on a quote covers the call. Saying the number plainly is its own skill; say the number and stop talking is about that. After you win the job, the next document is the invoice, and quote vs invoice shows how they connect. If you visited the site first, a follow-up email after a customer visit gives the recap to send with it.
Terms people use as stand-ins
A bid is a priced offer submitted in competition. A ballpark is a verbal estimate. A not-to-exceed price is a cap above which the work stops until the customer agrees. A change order is a written change to the price or scope after acceptance. A work order is an internal instruction to do the job.
Whichever document you send, the quote only becomes a job if someone replies to it. Rocketship finds the buyers, emails them from your own Gmail, follows up, and books the meeting on its own. Plans that get you customers start at $24.99 a month (Launch), and both Launch and Frontier start with a 7-day free trial, card required.