A price is not simply people plus stock or materials. It is a commercial decision based on the work actually included, the costs and capacity needed to deliver it, the share of overhead the job must support, and the uncertainty the business is prepared to carry.
Build the estimate before the quote
Start with a written scope and a measurement/quantity basis. Separate direct labour or delivery people, stock or materials, equipment, external suppliers and project-specific costs. Then state the assumptions: access, programme, waste, customer-supplied items, exclusions and any information still needed. A quote looks more confident when its boundaries are visible.
Make overhead and risk visible
Direct costs alone do not run the business. Decide how the job contributes to insurance, office, vehicles, management and other overhead without recovering the same cost twice. The Overhead Recovery Calculator helps make one chosen hourly basis visible; it does not set a selling price.
Add a deliberate risk/contingency decision for uncertainty you have identified. Do not hide it inside an unexplained people rate, and do not call it profit. The distinction helps when a project condition changes and the team needs to decide whether it was included.
Test the proposal before it leaves
- Does the customer-facing quote describe the included work and exclusions clearly?
- Is the programme realistic for the people and external supplier capacity assumed?
- Are material prices/delivery assumptions current enough for the quotation period?
- Have scope changes and approvals got a visible process after the job starts?
- Does the expected contribution make sense after direct costs and overhead recovery?
Review against actual work
The pricing process improves only when the business compares the estimate with the live job. Capture why a material or people assumption moved, whether scope changes were recovered and what a later quote should do differently. That turns job costing into better future pricing rather than a post-mortem.
Who this is for
This resource is most useful if your business quotes and delivers individual jobs, projects or client assignments. Use the same approach for the work that is most material to your business.
Related FoxSums resources
- Job Costing: Track Project Profit
- Job Margin Calculator
- Overhead Recovery Calculator
- Scope Change and Additional Work Tracker
Next step
Use the quote and cost breakdown to check the full cost of delivery before committing to a price.
Important
General information only. Check the facts and current official guidance for the business’s circumstances.
Sources and review
- Evidence check date: 2 November 2026.
- FoxSums operational guidance. This resource does not make a tax, legal or regulatory determination.