Should I call it a proposal, an estimate, or a quote?

Call it a proposal when it describes the work and asks for a signature. An estimate is a guess at cost with no commitment on either side, and a quote is a fixed price with little scope attached. A proposal carries the scope, the price, the terms, and the signature in one document, so clients treat it as a decision rather than a number.

How do I write one proposal when I do many kinds of work?

Keep the structure and change the specifics. The scope paragraph, the highlights, the team, the timeline, the pricing lines, and the terms stay; the items inside them change with each job. Save the version you like as your own template, and the next proposal in any line of work takes minutes instead of an evening.

Should I charge by the hour or by the day?

By the day or by the project, almost always. Hourly billing makes the client watch the clock and turns every slow task into a negotiation. A crew day at a fixed price lets you quote with confidence and absorb small overruns. Keep hours for diagnostic work where the scope cannot be known in advance.

How do I handle materials I have not bought yet?

Put them in as an allowance billed at cost with receipts, and say in the terms that the difference is credited or added on the final invoice. The client sees an honest number instead of a padded one, you are not stuck with a price increase, and special-order items can be marked non-refundable once ordered.

What should the terms cover on a small job?

Ten things, each in a sentence or two: what is in scope, when money is due, how materials are billed, what access you need, how changes and discoveries are handled, what the warranty covers, that you are insured, that you clean up, what happens on cancellation, and that signing means acceptance. Plain language beats legal language.

Can I use this template if I am not a contractor?

Yes. Consultants, designers, cleaners, movers, event vendors, IT shops, and anyone else who quotes a defined piece of work use the same shape: scope, people, timeline, price, terms, signature. Swap the crew day for a project fee or a retainer, keep the optional lines, and the rest reads the same to the client.

Service proposal template

Most service businesses do not fit one template. A handyman, a consultant, a cleaner quoting a one-off deep clean, and an IT shop setting up an office all need the same thing: a proposal that says what will be done, by whom, by when, for how much, and on what terms. This one does that in ten sections and reads like a company that has done it before.

Use this templateFree, unlimited, no card.

The template, as your client sees it

Northfield Services

Service proposal

Two-day repair and refresh at the Hartwell residence · Prepared for Dana Whitfield

Prepared for
Dana Whitfield

By
Mike Reilly

About the work

Everything on your list, done in two visits, with one number

Thank you for walking us through the house on Tuesday. This proposal covers every item on your list, from the sticking back door and the loose deck boards to the bathroom fan and the hallway patch and paint. We handle the materials, the cleanup, and the small surprises that come with an older home, and you get one price, one crew lead, and one number to call.

At a glance

What is included

✓Every item from the walkthrough, in writing
✓Licensed and insured, certificate on request
✓One crew lead from the first day to the walkthrough
✓Materials picked up, delivered, and billed at cost
✓Floors and furnishings protected, cleanup every day
✓One-year workmanship warranty

Not included: electrical panel work, plumbing behind walls, or structural repairs, which we quote separately if we find them

Who will be at your home

Marcus Hale

Owner and crew lead

Dana Okafor

Project coordinator, your point of contact

Luis Ferreira

Carpenter

Your investment

Pricing

Project planning and materials pickup Written scope, materials list, and one supply run	$150.00
Crew labor, two-person crew Per crew day, 8 am to 4 pm, crew lead and carpenter 2 × $780.00	$1,560.00
Materials allowance Billed at cost with receipts; the difference is credited or added on the final invoice	$650.00
Debris removal and daily cleanup Floors and furnishings protected, debris hauled away	$180.00
Patch and paint repaired areas, matched to existingOptional, included Up to 60 square feet of wall, two coats, your paint or ours	$240.00
Priority start within 5 business daysOptional, not included Jumps the schedule; otherwise the next opening is two to three weeks out	$200.00
30-day follow-up visitOptional, not included Up to two hours for anything that settles or needs a second look	$150.00

Total: $2,780.00
Deposit on signing: $834.00
Balance on completion: $1,946.00

Labor is priced by the crew day. Materials are an allowance billed at cost with receipts; the difference is credited or added on the final invoice.

Timeline

1
Deposit and scheduling At signing
Your two days are held the moment the deposit clears.
2
Materials confirmed and ordered Within 3 business days
We confirm finishes and colors with you before anything is ordered.
3
On-site work 2 crew days
Door and deck first, then the bathroom and fixtures, then patch and paint.
4
Walkthrough and punch list End of day 2
We walk every item with you and put right anything that is not.
5
Follow-up visit 30 days later
Optional, for anything that settles or needs a second look.

What clients say

“They did everything on the list in two days and left the house cleaner than they found it. The written proposal made it easy to say yes.”
★★★★★ Priya N.

★★★★★
Honest about what they could do and what needed a specialist. We have used them three times since.
Tom and Erica R.

★★★★★
Showed up when they said, finished when they said, and the price was the price.
Daniel K.

Good to know

Questions people ask before saying yes

What if the job takes longer than two days?+

The price is for the scope, not the hours. If the listed work runs long, that is on us. The only thing that changes the price is work you add or a condition we find and show you first.

What if you find something else wrong?+

We stop, show you, and put a number on it before touching it. Rot behind a deck board or a fixture box that is not to code gets its own line on a change order, and nothing happens until you approve it.

Do I need to be home?+

Only for the first hour of day one and the walkthrough at the end. We need a key or a code, working power and water, and a clear path to the work areas.

How does payment work?+

The deposit holds your dates. The balance is due after the walkthrough, by card on this page, check, or bank transfer. Materials are billed at cost with receipts attached.

What happens when you sign

Step 1

Sign below

Typed or drawn, takes a minute

Step 2

Pay the deposit

Card on this page, or a check

Step 3

We schedule your two days

You hear from us within two business days

Terms

Scope. The work is the items listed in this proposal and its pricing table. Anything not listed is outside the scope and is added only by a written change order you approve before that work starts.
Price and payment. A 30% deposit is due at signing and holds your dates. The balance is due within 5 days of the final invoice, which follows the walkthrough. Pay by card on this page, by check, or by bank transfer.
Materials. Materials are an allowance billed at cost with receipts. Any difference from the allowance is credited or added on the final invoice. Special-order items are non-refundable once ordered.
Scheduling and access. We arrive between 8 and 9 am on scheduled days and need access, working power and water, and a clear path to the work areas. A day lost to no access is rescheduled at the next opening and may be billed at half a crew day.
Changes and discoveries. If we find a condition that changes the work, such as rot, an active leak, or wiring not to code, we stop, show you, and price it before continuing. Nothing proceeds without your written approval.
Workmanship warranty. Our labor is warranted for one year from completion against defects in workmanship. Materials carry the manufacturer's warranty. The warranty does not cover misuse, settling, water from sources outside our work, or work later altered by others.
Insurance and permits. We carry general liability insurance and provide a certificate on request. Where a permit is required, we obtain it and bill the fee at cost.
Cleanup and property. We protect floors and furnishings in the work areas, clean up daily, and remove our debris. Damage we cause, we repair or make right.
Cancellation. Either of us may cancel before work begins with written notice. The deposit is refunded less special-order materials and any work already performed. After work begins, cancellation is billed for work completed to date.
Acceptance. Signing this proposal accepts the scope, the price, and these terms. The proposal expires on the date shown if it is not signed.

Sample content and prices. Optional items are marked; on a real proposal the client toggles them and the total updates.

What a service proposal should include

Open with the job in the client's own words. The first paragraph of this template repeats what the client asked for at the walkthrough, item by item. That proves you listened, and it becomes the scope. A client who reads their own list back signs faster than one reading a general description of your services.

Then say what is included and what is not. The highlights section lists the things that make you worth the price: licensed and insured, one crew lead, daily cleanup, a warranty. The not-included line names the work you will quote separately if you find it, and that one line prevents the argument at the end of the job about what the price covered.

Add the people and the dates. A team section with names and roles tells the client who will be in their home or their office, and a timeline turns a promise into a plan. Finish with terms a client can read in two minutes, a signature block, and an expiry date so the proposal does not drift.

How to price a general service job

Price labor by the crew day or by the project, not the hour. An hourly rate makes the client watch the clock. A crew day at a fixed price lets you quote with confidence and absorb the small overruns that come with real work. The sample uses $780 per crew day for a two-person crew, which is about $45 to $55 an hour per person once travel, tools, and the supply run are inside it. Build your day rate from your real hourly cost, then stop talking about hours.

Put materials in as an allowance billed at cost. You rarely know the exact material cost when you quote, and padding it makes you look expensive. An allowance with receipts, and the difference credited or added on the final invoice, is honest and easy to explain. Keep it as its own line so the client can see that labor and materials are different numbers.

Give planning and cleanup their own lines. A planning line covers the walkthrough write-up and the supply run that every job needs and nobody thinks to pay for. A cleanup line covers the debris and the floor protection that separate a professional from a guy with a truck. Both are small, both are real, and separating them is what makes the labor number look fair.

How to price the optional items

Three optional lines is the right number for most jobs. One on by default that most clients want anyway, such as patching and painting the repaired areas. One that trades money for speed, such as a priority start. One that extends the relationship, such as a follow-up visit. The client switches them on their own page and the total updates as they do.

Price optional work at a small premium over what it would cost inside the main scope, because it is a choice rather than a requirement. Keep the on-by-default line modest; it exists to raise the average job a little without anyone feeling sold to. The speed line can be bolder, since the people who need it will pay for it and the people who do not will leave it off.

Mistakes that lose service bids

A lump sum with no breakdown. If the client cannot see labor, materials, and cleanup as separate numbers, they compare your total to a figure on the back of a business card and you lose. Vague scope. "Repairs as discussed" means a different thing to each of you by the end of the job, so list the items.

No terms at all, or terms copied from a lawyer that nobody reads. The ten clauses in this template cover scope, payment, materials, access, changes, warranty, insurance, cleanup, cancellation, and acceptance in plain language. A client who understands the terms trusts the price. A PDF attachment cannot be signed and cannot collect a deposit.

Deposit and payment

Thirty percent at signing is standard for small projects and covers materials and the first day. Collecting it by card the moment the client signs turns a yes into a scheduled job without a second conversation. The balance is due within a few days of the final invoice; request it from the proposal and the client pays from the same page, or record the check when it arrives so the signed scope and the money stay together.

Sending it and following up

Send the proposal the same day as the walkthrough, while the details are fresh for both of you. A reminder goes out on day three and again on day seven if it has not been signed, and you can see when it was opened and which sections held attention. If the scope changes after signing, a change order adds the new work with its own signature, so the paperwork always matches the job.

Questions

Should I call it a proposal, an estimate, or a quote?: Call it a proposal when it describes the work and asks for a signature. An estimate is a guess at cost with no commitment on either side, and a quote is a fixed price with little scope attached. A proposal carries the scope, the price, the terms, and the signature in one document, so clients treat it as a decision rather than a number.
How do I write one proposal when I do many kinds of work?: Keep the structure and change the specifics. The scope paragraph, the highlights, the team, the timeline, the pricing lines, and the terms stay; the items inside them change with each job. Save the version you like as your own template, and the next proposal in any line of work takes minutes instead of an evening.
Should I charge by the hour or by the day?: By the day or by the project, almost always. Hourly billing makes the client watch the clock and turns every slow task into a negotiation. A crew day at a fixed price lets you quote with confidence and absorb small overruns. Keep hours for diagnostic work where the scope cannot be known in advance.
How do I handle materials I have not bought yet?: Put them in as an allowance billed at cost with receipts, and say in the terms that the difference is credited or added on the final invoice. The client sees an honest number instead of a padded one, you are not stuck with a price increase, and special-order items can be marked non-refundable once ordered.
What should the terms cover on a small job?: Ten things, each in a sentence or two: what is in scope, when money is due, how materials are billed, what access you need, how changes and discoveries are handled, what the warranty covers, that you are insured, that you clean up, what happens on cancellation, and that signing means acceptance. Plain language beats legal language.
Can I use this template if I am not a contractor?: Yes. Consultants, designers, cleaners, movers, event vendors, IT shops, and anyone else who quotes a defined piece of work use the same shape: scope, people, timeline, price, terms, signature. Swap the crew day for a project fee or a retainer, keep the optional lines, and the rest reads the same to the client.

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