The quote that took three weeks
A small office wants air conditioning in three rooms. The survey was done promptly. Then the survey notes sit in the estimator's inbox while he works on a larger tender. When he gets to it, he looks up current equipment prices, estimates pipe runs from photos, adds condensate pumps where he thinks they are needed, works out the electrical supply, adds access equipment for the external unit and writes a quote in a document. Three weeks after the survey, the client has already accepted someone else's quote.
Every quote built from scratch
Install quoting relies on the estimator's knowledge because nothing captures it in a reusable form. The survey is free text and photos. Equipment prices change and sit in supplier spreadsheets. Labour allowances for different install types live in someone's head. Each quote is a small project.
- Survey notes are free text, so the estimator re-reads everything.
- Equipment prices are looked up each time from supplier lists.
- Pipe runs, condensate and electrics are estimated from photos.
- Access equipment and out-of-hours working are sometimes forgotten.
- Only one or two people can quote reliably.
What slow quotes cost
Lost jobs, especially in spring and early summer, when clients are comparing several quotes and buy from whoever responds first with a clear offer. Pricing errors that eat margin, such as a forgotten condensate pump or scaffold tower. Estimators who never get time for the larger work that needs their judgement.
It also limits growth. If quoting depends on one person, the business can only win as much work as that person can price.
The quote builder we set up
- The surveyor records structured answers on a tablet: rooms and sizes, preferred indoor unit type, external unit location, approximate pipe run, condensate route, electrical supply notes, access requirements, with photos attached to each answer.
- Your supplier price lists are imported and kept current, so equipment options are priced from the list, not from memory.
- Your labour allowances and materials rates are held in a price book. The builder maps survey answers to lines: pipework per metre, condensate options, electrical works, access equipment, making good.
- Equipment selection and sizing remain the estimator's decision. The builder offers the options your team has set up for that type of room and records what they chose.
- The draft quote shows every line and assumption. The estimator adjusts and approves, and a clear proposal goes to the client with an accept link.
- Accepted and lost quotes are recorded, so you see win rates by job type and price level.
| Quote element | Rebuilt each time | From the builder |
|---|---|---|
| Equipment price | Looked up per quote | From imported supplier lists |
| Pipework and condensate | Estimated from photos | Survey answer times rate |
| Electrics | Sometimes missed | Line prompted by survey answer |
| Access equipment | Often forgotten | Line added from access answer |
| Win and loss | Not recorded | Tracked by job type |
Quotes out while the client is still interested
Standard installs can be quoted by more people, quickly, with the estimator reviewing rather than rebuilding. Clients get a clear proposal soon after the survey. Forgotten items become rare because the survey prompts for them. Estimators spend their time on the larger jobs that genuinely need their judgement.
Clients also get quotes they can compare fairly, with the equipment, pipework, electrics and access listed separately. A clear, itemised proposal often beats a cheaper one that leaves the customer guessing what is included.
Over a season, the win and loss data tells you whether your prices are sensible for each type of job, which is hard to see when every quote is a one-off document.
Signs your quoting is the bottleneck
- Surveys wait days or weeks to become quotes.
- Only one person can price installs reliably.
- Access equipment or condensate pumps have been missed on quotes.
- Supplier price changes take a while to reach quotes.
- You do not track why quotes are lost.