Plumbing Estimate Templates: Quotes, Proposals‌ and Bids for Business of All Sizes

The Significance of Plumbing Estimate Templates

No matter how long you've been in business or what services you provide, estimates are one of the most important practices you can have to ensure job profitability. While they certainly serve other purposes, the biggest benefit to providing estimates is the work they make you do upfront.

Here's what we mean: if you don't estimate jobs, you may not notice your PVC supplier's prices went up by 10%. Or, the fixture you always use isn't available anymore. And a myriad of other parts of running a business that are easy to forget when, well, running your business.

Estimates are an easy and consistent way for you to always be sure you're making a profit and know how much to charge for plumbing work. Plus, they offer a lot of other benefits: leaving behind a physical reminder of you and your business at a customer's location, giving customers the peace of mind of knowing approximately how much a job will cost them, and encouraging customers to choose you again when the time comes.

Finally, estimates make the process of plumbing invoicing far easier, especially when you have software to help streamline things.

Elements of a Comprehensive Plumbing Estimate Template

The key to any good plumbing estimate template will be how quickly your customer can see and understand the proposed work and how much it'll cost. Of course, you also need a few things on your estimate to ensure smooth paperwork processes in the office. Here are the minimum components of a good plumbing estimate template:

• Your business info: First things first, your estimate must have your business information. Not just your logo or company name, either. Make sure to include your address and contact info so your customers always know who the estimate was made by, and how to get a hold of you.
• Estimate number: This is more for recordkeeping, but your estimates each need a unique ID number. This makes it easy to locate a specific estimate whenever you need it.
• Date given: Each estimate should have the date it was provided to the customer. Estimates should only be valid for a certain amount of time (a couple of weeks to a month, depending on what types of jobs you do) so you don't have people coming to you much later, and suddenly your job isn't profitable anymore.
• Site location: Where is the work going to be performed? This doesn't always match customer info (which is next), so make sure you have a spot for the location where you'll do the job.
• Customer details: Who is the work for? For billing and contact purposes, ensure you have all the appropriate info to both invoice and get in touch with who you're doing the work for. This is especially important for commercial jobs where the info between the site and the customer may not match.
• Job overview: What work will you be doing? Your estimate should have a space where you can lay out what needs to be done in a couple of sentences.
• Proposed work and cost: Now it's time for the line-by-line tasks, materials and costs. Your estimate needs a place where you can list out everything you'll do and use on the job. Having this on the estimate makes it far easier to create itemized invoices later than just giving a ballpark number for the whole job and having to figure it out once the work's done.
• Next steps: How should the customer accept this estimate and get the job scheduled? Make sure you give them clear directions on what to do next so you can close the deal.

Of course, depending on your business and what plumbing services you offer, your invoice template could need more. If you provide on-the-spot maintenance or repairs, you may want an "I accept" checkbox with a customer signature spot.

Get a head start: Download Simpro's Free Plumbing Estimate Template

Plumbing Estimate Template - Google Doc
Plumbing Estimate Template - Microsoft Word DOTX
Plumbing Estimate Template - PDF

Being Persuasive With Your Plumbing Quote Template

Winning the job takes more than a good plumbing quote template, however. While your quote itself should be focused on clarity and conciseness, how you deliver that quote will be the factor for why a customer would choose you over your competitors.

Here are a few tips to set yourself apart from the rest:

• Deliver your estimates on-site. Whether you print out blank templates for techs to fill out or give them an app to create quotes from your plumbing software, being able to give estimates on-site shows you're on top of your game.
• Provide ‌a digital copy afterward. Not only are paper copies really easy to lose, but an email is another way to stay top-of-mind and display your professionalism.
• Follow-up. If you don't hear back within a week, give them a call. Nothing says "we care about you" more than following up promptly and personally.

Get Your Free Plumbing Quote Template Today

Plumbing Quote Template - Google Doc
Plumbing Quote Template - Microsoft Word DOTX
Plumbing Quote Template - PDF

Making Your Mark with a Plumbing Proposal Template

For larger projects that may take up weeks or months of your techs' time and are comprised of smaller jobs, a plumbing proposal template may fit the bill far better than a plumbing estimate template. Proposal templates are very similar but include a few more components and may require negotiation with the customer once you submit them to win the job.

Here are some additional features usually found on a plumbing proposal template:

• Phase descriptions: In addition to describing the project as a whole, you'll want to break out the proposal into chunks with a certain theme. Whether that's material delivery vs. labor or dividing the job by location, building or room, this helps you and your customers know what will happen at each project stage.
• Project timelines: Because these are larger projects, your proposal should also have how long each phase will take, as well as when you expect them to be done.
• Legal disclaimer: While you should always have some sort of disclaimer on your paperwork that protects your business, it's especially important for larger — and more costly — projects.

Start on the right foot: Try Out Our Free Plumbing Proposal Template

Plumbing Proposal Template - Google Doc
Plumbing Proposal Template - Microsoft Word DOTX

Use a Plumbing Bid Template to Seal the Deal

When you submit a proposal, you're often bidding against others in the field. For maximum impact, your plumbing proposal should have all the things that are important for a plumbing estimate template: clear branding, easy-to-understand scopes and costs and, of course, instructions for how to move forward with the project.

To help seal the deal and win the bid, you may consider putting testimonials in your submission or offering references. Additionally, tailor your bid to meet the specific requirements of the project and tout any specific qualifications your company may have over the others vying for the project.

Get Started Quickly With Our Free Plumbing Bid Template

Plumbing Bid Template - Google Doc
Plumbing Bid Template - Microsoft Word DOTX

Conclusion: The Competitive Edge of Professional Plumbing Templates

Presenting your business as the best plumbing company option starts with quickly and accurately estimating and proposing your company for the job. And our free plumbing estimate templates will have you submitting professional quotes in no time.

If you want an even easier way to provide customers with estimates and proposals and streamline the work for invoicing, a field service automation platform like Simpro is your best option. It can help you keep track of inventory and material costs, customers and projects. Plus, your techs can quickly provide estimates on-site and your customers get easy ways to accept and pay.

See for yourself how your business could function by requesting a demo today.