Update · Estimating
The four questions that make an estimate defensible
Estimates lose money in what they leave out. Four questions, asked before the estimate goes out, close most of that gap.
In short
Before sending an estimate, answer four questions in writing: what is explicitly excluded, what access you need from the customer, what conditions would change the scope, and what happens if the customer declines a change order. Most estimate disputes trace back to one of these being left unstated.
The argument over “that wasn’t in the quote” happens at collection time, which is the worst possible moment. It is almost always traceable to something that was never written down.
1. What is explicitly excluded?
Not “standard exclusions apply”. The actual list, in plain language a homeowner understands. Permit fees. Correction of pre-existing non-compliant work. Concealed conditions not visible at estimate. Drywall repair, patching and painting. Work on equipment not named in the scope.
An exclusion that obviously does not apply to this job makes the whole list read as boilerplate, which trains customers to skip it. Edit the list per job.
2. What access do you need?
Clear access to the equipment. Someone on site. Pets secured. Parking. Whether a service will be interrupted and for roughly how long. This is the cheapest line item you will ever write and it prevents the most expensive thing that happens to a schedule — a wasted trip.
3. What conditions would change this scope?
Name the realistic possibilities behind whatever you are opening up. Undersized existing wiring. Non-compliant prior work. Corroded pipe. No accessible shut-off. Insulation of unknown type.
Naming them specifically is more honest than “unforeseen conditions” and considerably more useful when one of them turns up.
4. What happens if the customer declines?
State it before they need to ask: what state you would leave the site in, and what would remain unresolved. A customer who understands the decline path trusts the change order more.
None of this requires new software. It requires the four answers to exist in writing before the estimate goes out.