Quote vs estimate: what's legally binding in the UK

A quote becomes legally binding once the customer accepts it: it is a promise to do the work for that price, and you can't charge more because your costs went up. An estimate is your best guess, and the final bill only has to be reasonable. Both are binding contracts once accepted; the difference is how firmly the price is fixed.

Is a quote legally binding once the customer accepts it?

Yes. Your quote is an offer, and the customer's acceptance turns it into a contract. Citizens Advice tells homeowners that once they accept a quote it is binding even if it isn't written down.

Before acceptance, you're free to withdraw or change it. An offer can be withdrawn as long as it hasn't already been accepted. That is why a validity period ("this quote is valid for 30 days") matters: it stops a customer accepting a six-month-old price after the merchant has put everything up.

Watch for acceptances that aren't acceptances. If the customer replies "Yes, go ahead, but knock off £200 and use the cheaper tiles", that is a counter-offer. No contract exists until you agree to the new terms, so confirm in writing what was agreed before you start.

When can you charge more than your quote?

Only in two situations: the customer agrees to extra work, or the quote contained a mistake so obvious the customer should have spotted it. Citizens Advice states that a trader can't charge more because their costs went up after they quoted.

A mistake the customer couldn't reasonably have noticed is yours to carry. If you priced a bathroom at £4,800 and forgot the tiling labour, the customer is entitled to have the work done for £4,800.

The legal basis for consumer work is the Consumer Rights Act 2015. Section 50 makes anything you say or write about the service a term of the contract if the customer took it into account when deciding to go ahead. Section 49 adds that you must do the work with reasonable care and skill, and section 57 stops you contracting out of either.

The towel rail line is the lesson. Price every variation before you do it and get a yes in writing. The guide to pricing variations and getting them paid covers how to do that on site.

Is an estimate legally binding?

An accepted estimate still creates a contract, but the price isn't fixed. The customer has to pay a reasonable amount, and if the final bill is much higher than the estimate they can dispute it.

What counts as reasonable is a question of fact: the law sets no figure, and there is no rule that you can go 10% over. Citizens Advice tells customers to weigh the original estimate, any changes they asked for, and causes outside your control such as bad weather or rising material prices. They suggest getting another trader's estimate or an expert opinion to test your bill.

Where no price was agreed at all, the law fills the gap. For consumers, section 51 of the Consumer Rights Act says the customer must pay a reasonable price and no more. For business customers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, section 15 of the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 says the same, a reasonable charge. That part of the 1982 Act doesn't extend to Scotland.

Does the 14-day cancellation right apply to your quotes?

Usually, if you agree the job with a homeowner in their home. A contract concluded while you're both present somewhere other than your business premises is an off-premises contract under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013. The customer can cancel within 14 days of the contract being made, without giving a reason.

Three rules follow, and they cost tradespeople real money:

1. Give the cancellation information in writing.

   If you don't, the cancellation period runs on for up to 12 months. Trading Standards guidance says failing to give notice of the right to cancel is a criminal offence.

2. Only start inside the 14 days if the customer asks.

   They must ask in a durable form, such as an email or a message. If they then cancel, they pay a proportionate amount for the work done so far.

3. Without that request or the right information, they pay nothing.

   If you started without a written request, or didn't give the cancellation and payment information, the customer owes nothing for work done during the cancellation period.

Using the bathroom above: the customer accepted at their kitchen table, emailed asking you to start on day 3, and cancelled on day 10 with two of the five working days done. If you gave the right information, a proportionate payment is roughly 2 ÷ 5 × £4,800 = £1,920. If you didn't, it's £0, and you've lost two days.

A customer who takes your written quote away and accepts by email a week later isn't in an off-premises contract, because nobody was physically present when the contract was made. If you never met, though, and the job was priced and agreed only by phone, email or online as your normal way of taking work, it is likely a distance contract, with the same 14-day right. Citizens Advice also notes that urgent repairs the customer called you in for, and made-to-measure items, don't automatically get a cooling-off period.

What should a quote say so it holds up?

Enough that a stranger could tell what was included, for how much and for how long. Citizens Advice tells homeowners to look for a fixed total, a breakdown of labour and materials, how long the price is valid, whether VAT is included, and when the price could change. Give them all of that and you're ahead of most quotes they'll see.

This is a fixed-price quotation for the work described above, based on site visit date / drawings reference.

Price: £amount including / excluding VAT at rate%.
This quotation is valid for 30 days from date. After that we may need to re-price.

Not included: exclusions, e.g. making good of decoration, skip permit, asbestos removal.
Assumptions: e.g. existing joists sound; clear access to the loft. If any assumption proves wrong, we will tell you before doing extra work and agree the price with you in writing first.

Any extra work you ask for will be priced and agreed in writing before we carry it out.

Payment: deposit and stage terms.

If you accept this quotation at your home or away from our premises, you have the right to cancel within 14 days. Our cancellation notice and form are attached. If you want us to start within those 14 days, please ask us in writing; if you then cancel, you will pay for the work done up to that point.

For wording on what you leave out, see exclusions and assumptions on a quote. For the full quote layout with VAT and CIS lines, use the free quote template for UK trades. If you're working out whether the price itself is right, how to price a job lists the costs small firms forget.

Should you send a quote or an estimate?

Send a quote when you've seen the job and can price it with confidence: a boiler swap, a re-roof you've been up on, a rewire you've surveyed. Customers prefer a fixed price and it wins more work. See what's normal for quote win rates.

Send an estimate, or a quote with clear provisional sums, when you can't see what you're pricing: a leak behind tiles, a damp wall, an extension where the drawings are still changing. Say in plain words which items might change and why.

A fixed price plus named provisional sums often works best: "£6,200 fixed, plus a provisional £400 for any rotten joists found when the floor is up, charged at cost if needed." The customer sees the risk up front and you aren't carrying it alone. Once they say yes, make acceptance and the deposit easy: see one-click acceptance and deposits.

Common questions