Guides
Quoting & business tips for tradespeople
Practical, no-nonsense guides on quoting faster, pricing right and winning more of the work you go out to price.
RAMS and Risk Assessments: A Plain-English Guide
The paperwork that unlocks commercial and managed work — and how to produce it without turning a day's job into a forty-page document.
BusinessWhen to Take On Your First Employee or Subbie
Turning work away and working every Saturday? Here's how to bring in help without losing money on them — or your name on a job you didn't check.
PricingWhat to Do When You've Underpriced a Job
Halfway through and the money's gone. The honest way to handle a job you've priced too low — and how to make sure the next one doesn't go the same way.
BusinessHow to Survive a Quiet Winter as a Tradesperson
The quiet months aren't bad luck — they're a pattern. How to build a buffer, line up indoor work and reach spring without having wrecked your pricing.
BusinessWhat Insurance Does a Tradesperson Actually Need?
The main trade covers explained in plain English, so you know what you're paying for and what to say when a customer asks if you're insured.
PricingHow to Price Emergency and Out-of-Hours Callouts
A callout charge isn't a penalty — it's the price of your evening. How to set it, say it on the phone, and turn the fix into properly quoted work.
Winning workHow to Get Your First Customers On Your Own
Nobody's first customer comes from a website. How to break the no-reviews, no-reputation deadlock in your first few months on your own.
BusinessCIS Explained for Subcontractors (Plain English)
Someone's told you you'll be "under CIS" and money will come off your invoices. Here's what that actually means — and how to get it back.
PricingShould You Ever Discount? When It's Smart, When It's a Trap
Discounting isn't always wrong — but doing the same job cheaper always is. When a discount is smart, when it's a trap, and how to frame one properly.
QuotingHow to Quote an Exterior Repaint
On an exterior repaint, the prep is the price. How to survey the substrate, cost the washing and scraping honestly, and put access on its own line.
Winning workHow to Handle a Bad Review (Without Making It Worse)
The customer who left it has moved on. The hundred people reading your reply haven't. Here's how to answer a bad review so it costs you nothing.
BusinessSole Trader or Limited Company? A Guide for Trades
Should you go limited? The honest version of the trade-offs — liability, paperwork and how clients see you — without pretending to be your accountant.
QuotingHow to Quote a Loft Conversion
Loft conversions are priced off a tape measure in a dusty roof space. Here's how to read the structure, isolate the unknowns and quote it without carrying all the risk.
PricingPricing a Job When the Customer Supplies the Materials
"We've already bought the suite — it's just fitting, isn't it?" Fit-only work pays less and goes wrong more. How to price it and what to put in the quote.
Winning workHow to Spot (and Handle) Time-Wasters
Ten minutes on the phone beats three hours in the van. How to tell a tyre-kicker from a cautious-but-genuine customer — and what to say to each.
QuotingHow to Quote a Patio or Landscaping Job
The money on a patio is made or lost below the slabs. Here's how to work out the dig, the spoil and the sub-base before you price the paving.
BusinessThe Cancellation Rule That Catches Trades Out
Sign a job up at the kitchen table and the customer usually gets a statutory right to cancel. Miss it and you can end up unpaid for work you've done.
PricingDay Rate vs Fixed Price: Which Should You Quote?
Fixed price rewards you for being fast; a day rate makes the customer watch the clock. Here's which to quote on a given job, and how to word it.
QuotingHow to Quote a House Extension (Step by Step)
An extension is a three-month job priced off a drawing and a trial hole. Here's how to stage it, isolate the unknowns and present it as a proper proposal.
Winning workGet Found on Google: Your Business Profile, Done Right
The free listing that decides whether you appear for 'plumber near me'. Categories, service areas, photos, Q&A — and the monthly routine that keeps it live.
BusinessHandling Extras and Variations Without Losing Money
The favour you never charged for is next month's shortfall. How to handle changes that arise mid-job — priced, agreed in writing, before you pick up a tool.
QuotingHow to Quote a Rewire (Step by Step)
Rewires are priced per circuit and lost on making good. Here's how to survey, stage and itemise a full house rewire so the plaster doesn't cost you the job.
Winning workHow to Get Work Without Paying for Leads
Tired of paying to be the fourth call on a job that's already been priced? The free channels that win better customers, and how to work them properly.
PricingHow to Raise Your Prices Without Losing Customers
Haven't moved your rate in years? Here's how to put your prices up — quietly on new quotes, honestly with regulars — without the fear of losing everyone.
QuotingHow to Quote a Kitchen Fit (Step by Step)
A kitchen isn't one job, it's five trades in a queue. Here's how to survey, stage and itemise a kitchen fit so the coordination doesn't eat your margin.
Winning workTurning One Job Into Three: Repeat and Referral Work
You already know dozens of people who've paid you and were happy. Here's how to turn finished jobs into repeat work and referrals instead of dead ends.
PricingHow to Price a Job When You Can't See Everything
You can't price what you can't see — but you can price around it. Provisional sums, contingencies and caveats that protect you without scaring the customer off.
Winning workHow to Compete When You're Not the Cheapest
There's always someone cheaper — and they're usually the one going bust. How to make customers choose you for reasons other than price.
QuotingHow to Write a Scope of Work That Prevents Disputes
Arguments on site are rarely about money. They're about what the price was supposed to cover. Here's how to write that down properly.
BusinessVAT for Tradespeople: A Plain-English Guide
VAT sounds like an accountant's problem until it lands on your quotes. Here's what it actually is, when you have to register, and what changes.
Winning workHow to Get More Customer Reviews (and Win More Work)
A stranger choosing between three trades reads your reviews first. How to earn them, ask at the right moment, and handle the odd bad one.
QuotingWhat to Put in Your Quote's Terms & Conditions
You don't need a solicitor's contract. You need one short block of plain terms on every quote — here's exactly what belongs in it.
PricingHow to Price Materials: Markup, Waste and Margins
Markup isn't a fiddle — it pays for sourcing, delivery, risk and returns. Here's how to price materials properly, including the markup-versus-margin trap.
Winning workShould You Charge for Quotes and Callouts?
Quoting isn't free — you're just not billing for it. Here's when a survey or callout fee is fair, and how to raise it without scaring off good customers.
BusinessHow to Get Paid on Time (Invoicing for Tradespeople)
Chasing money is the worst job on site. Here's the invoicing system that stops most late payments before they start — and how to chase the rest.
Winning work"That's Too Expensive": How to Handle Price Objections
Caving on price is the worst thing you can do when a customer pushes back. Here's how to find the real objection and hold your number.
QuotingHow to Quote a Bathroom Renovation (Step by Step)
Bathrooms are where margins quietly disappear. Here's a stage-by-stage method for surveying, pricing and presenting a bathroom refit properly.
Winning work7 Reasons You're Losing Quotes (and How to Win More Work)
Quoting loads but winning too little? The problem usually isn't your price. Seven real reasons trades lose work — and the fix for each.
Winning workHow to Follow Up on a Quote Without Being Pushy
A quiet quote usually isn't a no — it's a customer who got busy. Here's the timing, the tone, and three follow-up messages you can copy.
PricingHow to Work Out Your Day Rate as a Tradesperson
Copying the going rate is how you end up busy and broke. Here's the real method for setting a day rate that covers your costs and pays you properly.
QuotingQuote vs Estimate: What's the Difference for Tradespeople?
One is a fixed price you're bound to, the other is a best guess. Getting the difference wrong can cost you — here's how to use each properly.
QuotingHow to Write a Quote for Trade Work (Template & Examples)
What every professional quote needs, the difference between a quote and an estimate, and a template you can copy for your next job.
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