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Quote writing cost calculator
Every quote costs the same to write. Only some of them get paid for.
Writing a quote takes about sixteen minutes: reading what the customer asked for, finding the right prices, filling the template, checking the total and sending it. At 40 quotes a month that is nearly eleven hours — and you write the losing ones at exactly the same cost as the winning ones.
How this is calculated
Quotes per month × minutes per quote ÷ 60 × hourly cost. Every quote counts, whether it converts or not — that is the point. Task definition and sources: the Cost of Work Index.
Put this calculator on your own site
Copy and paste. Works on WordPress, Shopify, Wix or plain HTML — it resizes itself to fit.
Who does this work
TomIn training
Reads every “how much would it cost?” email, prices it by your rules and sends the quote.
$0.80 per sent quote — Planned price — not charged yet.
Questions
Should I count quotes that never convert?
Yes, and they are usually the reason the total surprises people. A quote costs the same to write whether it wins or loses, so if you convert one in four, three quarters of this figure is the price of finding out which one was the good one.
How long should a quote take to produce?
From an existing price list and template, about sixteen minutes for a straightforward job. Quotes that need site measurements, supplier callbacks or custom pricing take far longer, and those are worth timing separately rather than averaging in.
What happens to jobs that need custom pricing?
They go to the owner. Deciding to price a particular job differently is a commercial judgement, and the calculator here only covers quotes built from prices you have already decided on.