What a plumbing quote includes
A customer comparing plumbers reads the total first and the small print second. These are the lines that stop an argument later.
| Line | What to write | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Call-out or visit fee | The amount, and whether it comes off the price if the customer accepts | Customers expect it to be deducted; say so or say it is not |
| Labour | A fixed price for the job, or hours multiplied by your rate. Show out-of-hours and emergency rates separately | A fixed price is easy to compare; hours leave the total open |
| Parts and fittings | Valves, pipe runs, fixtures and appliances as separate lines, and who supplies the sanitaryware | Customer-supplied items are the usual source of warranty disputes |
| Making good | Whether you repair tiles, plaster and flooring you disturb, or leave that to other trades | Most complaints about plumbers are about the mess left behind |
| Hidden faults | What happens when the old pipework is worse than it looked | Without a clause you either absorb the cost or argue about it on site |
| Certification and guarantee | Gas Safe number for gas work, the guarantee period for workmanship, and the manufacturer's guarantee for parts | This is what a careful customer asks about before saying yes |
| Payment and validity | Deposit for materials, balance on completion, and a valid-until date | Pipe and fitting prices change; a date protects your margin |
Example: replace a bath with a walk-in shower
A fixed-price quote for a bathroom job, written the way the template lays it out. Prices are examples only.
| Description | Qty | Rate | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strip out bath, taps and waste; remove rubble | 1 | £180 | £180 |
| Labour: first fix, shower valve, waste and supply pipework (2 days) | 2 | £290 | £580 |
| Walk-in shower tray, 1200 x 800 mm, with waste | 1 | £185 | £185 |
| Thermostatic shower valve and 200 mm rain head | 1 | £210 | £210 |
| Pipe, fittings, isolation valves and sundries | 1 | £95 | £95 |
| Labour: second fix, connect, test and commission (1 day) | 1 | £290 | £290 |
| Subtotal, excluding VAT | £1,540 | ||
| VAT at 20% (only if you are VAT registered) | £308 | ||
| Total including VAT | £1,848 | ||
Tiling, a glass screen, plastering and decoration are listed as not included. The deposit in this example is 30% of the total (£554.40), paid when materials are ordered.
How to price plumbing work
Pick one method per job and show it on the quote. The line items should still list the work, so the customer can see what each part of the price covers.
| Method | How it works | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed price | One price for the work described, with parts listed or included | Tap, toilet and radiator swaps, bathroom fits, boiler installs |
| Hourly rate plus parts | Hours at your rate, parts at cost or with a stated handling margin | Fault finding and repairs where the cause is not yet known |
| Day rate | A set price per day on site, with a day count estimate | Larger refits where the work runs over several days |
If the customer buys the fittings and you only fit them, the quote is labour only: see the labour quotation format.
To build a fixed price, estimate the hours, multiply by your rate and add the parts. A repair of 3.5 hours at £55 is £192.50 of labour. Add £120 of parts at cost and a 15% handling margin on them (£18) and the price is £330.50 before VAT. For emergency repairs where the cause is unknown, quote the call-out and the first hour firmly and say you will price the repair once you have seen the fault.
Gas work, VAT and late payment
- Gas work: in Great Britain, gas work must be done by an engineer on the Gas Safe Register. Put your registration number on any quote that includes gas work.
- VAT: most building work on houses and flats, including work by plumbers, is standard-rated at 20%. A few jobs, such as renovating an empty home, can qualify for the 5% reduced rate. See GOV.UK: VAT for builders. You charge VAT only once you are registered; see the guide to VAT on quotes for how to show it.
- Late payment: for business customers, the statutory rate is 8% plus the Bank of England base rate, plus a fixed sum of £40, £70 or £100 depending on the size of the debt. Write your payment terms on the quote. See GOV.UK: charging interest on late commercial payments.
Plumbing quote wording to copy
Replace everything in square brackets. This is general wording, not legal advice.
Scope, parts and making good
Scope: [remove the existing bath, taps and waste and fit a walk-in shower tray, thermostatic shower valve and waste] at [address].
Parts: all fittings and fixtures are listed in the price above. Items you supply yourself are fitted but not covered by our guarantee.
Making good: we [repair] / [do not repair] tiles, plaster and flooring disturbed by the work. [Tiling and decoration can be quoted separately.]
Hidden faults and extra work
Call-out fee, guarantee, payment and validity
Call-out: a call-out fee of [GBP 45] applies. It is deducted from the price if you accept this quote within [14] days.
Guarantee: [12] months on workmanship from the completion date. Manufacturer guarantees apply to parts.
Payment: [30]% to order materials and the balance on completion, by bank transfer or card. This quotation is valid until [date]. To accept, reply to the email it came with or sign and return it.
When the quote is ready, send it with one of our quote email templates. Give the client clear quote acceptance wording, and use the steps in confirm a quotation once they say yes. If quotes are not turning into jobs, improve your quote acceptance rate with the nine changes in that guide.
Other trades work the same way: see the electrician quote template and the contractor and tradesman quote template, or the builder quote template if the plumbing is part of a larger job.