5 quoting mistakes that quietly cost trades thousands

Most money isn't lost in one big dramatic mistake. It leaks — a bit here, a bit there, on job after job — until a busy year somehow ends with not much in the bank. Here are the five quoting habits that quietly do the damage.

1. Guessing the hours

Under-estimating labour is the biggest one. You quote for the job going smoothly, then real life happens — access, weather, a client who changes their mind — and the hours blow past what you charged for. Break the job into sections and price realistic hours for each, not best-case.

2. Forgetting the small materials

Fixings, consumables, sundries, the extra bag of this and box of that. Individually it's nothing. Across a full job it's real money, and it comes straight off your profit because it never made it onto the quote.

3. Not charging for your own time

If you're the owner and you're on the tools, your hours have to be in the price at a proper rate — same as anyone else's. Trades who "don't count" their own labour are quietly working for free and calling it profit.

4. Quoting a wage, not a margin

Covering your costs and paying yourself a wage is break-even, not profit. Without a margin on top, the business itself makes nothing — so there's no cushion for quiet spells, no money to grow, and no reward for the risk you carry.

5. Quoting on scraps with no record

A number texted to a client with nothing written down behind it means you can never check whether you priced it right. You can't learn from a job you didn't measure. Every quote you keep — line by line — makes the next one sharper.

Notice the theme: none of these are about working harder. They're about pricing off real numbers and keeping a record you can check the finished job against. Do that consistently and the leaks close.