Break the job into stages, then price the stages
Work through the job in the order you will actually do it. Each stage becomes one or more lines with a quantity, a unit and a rate, so the customer can see the shape of the project rather than a lump sum.
- Strip out and protection — days, plus skip hire per skip
- Groundwork or structural — per m² or per m, plus plant hire per day
- First fix trades — day rate per trade, or a supplied sub-contract price
- Materials — per unit at supplier price, with the allowance stated
- Second fix and making good — days
- Snagging and clean — a named allowance, not an afterthought
A worked example
Strip out and dispose, 2 days at £280 = £560. Two 6-yard skips at £260 = £520. Plastering 46 m² at £22 = £1,012. First fix electrics, 3 days at £320 = £960. Kitchen units supplied and fitted, allowance £3,400. Tiling 18 m² at £48 = £864. Making good and decoration, 2 days at £260 = £520.
Net £7,836, VAT at 20% £1,567.20, total £9,403.20. Deposit at 25% on acceptance: £2,350.80.
Say what is not included
Exclusions are worth as much as the priced lines. They are the sentence you point at when the customer asks why the extra socket is chargeable.
- Building control fees, party wall awards and planning applications
- Structural engineer's calculations and drawings
- Asbestos survey and removal
- Unforeseen works behind finishes — priced as a variation once exposed
- Customer-supplied items: delivery, storage and any breakage
Provisional sums and variations
Where you genuinely cannot price something yet, label it a provisional sum with the basis stated — "allowance of £900 for floor screed, remeasured on exposure" — rather than guessing high and losing the job.
Give a variation rate up front: a day rate and a materials mark-up percentage. Agreeing that at quote stage is far easier than negotiating it mid-job.
Deposits, stages and validity
For anything over a few days, stage the money: deposit on acceptance, an interim payment at an agreed milestone, and the balance on completion. State how long the price is held — 30 days is normal — because material prices move.