Challenges Getting Accurate & Competitive Quotes — Anyone Else?
Hey everyone. Wanted to start a conversation around something I think a lot of us deal with daily. Getting quotes right is hard. Too high and you lose the job. Too low and you regret winning it. A few challenges I keep running into: Translating plans and site conditions into accurate material and labor costs Material prices changing between quote and job start Knowing what the market will bear in your area Finding customers who care about quality, not just the cheapest bid I've been using Jobber to streamline the quoting side. Building out templates, tracking job history to compare estimated vs. actual costs, and following up on open quotes automatically. It's helped, but the estimating accuracy piece still takes real discipline. Would love to hear from the community: What's your quoting process start to finish? How do you handle rising material costs in your pricing? Where are you finding your best customers? Any Jobber features that have helped you quote faster or more accurately? Drop your experience below — whether you've got it figured out or you're still grinding through it like the rest of us. 👇Remodelers - Do you have a price book?
One issue I keep having with my sales system is spending so much time on quotes because all my jobs are so different. I'd love to be able to produce a quote within 10 minutes, while I'm still onsite. Then I could meet objections on the spot and try and get the sale then and there. For those of you that have varying projects, do you have price books? What strategies do you have to price things out when you technically repair so many things? Or Should I not worry about it? haha
Quotes can be the wrong tool. Estimates avoid disputes, protect margins, and elevate professionalism
Quotes and Estimates are fundamentally different, and not having both options is genuinely problematic for us. Fudging it by adding exception language to a document labeled as a Quote communicates that we aren’t committed to the quote, that we can’t accurately assess or execute our own services, and that we don't have the basic ability to simply send the correct type of sales form. Every workaround risks the sale and our professional image. How do you protect yourselves when a job clearly requires an Estimate instead of a Quote? Would having the option to create either a Quote or an Estimate, so you can send the correct sales document for each job, help you run your business more effectively? I believe some people are employing entirely different software for quotes and estimates. Considering that the ability to send an Estimate is a critical and basic business requirement, would it make sense for Jobber to add the simple option of changing the word "Quote" to "Estimate" when needed? They could still fall under the heading of "Quotes" in the UI, because only the word on the form being sent to the client, and the word used in the related message, needs to change. That's simply front-end work to implement and not a major feature update. The beauty of web-based applications is that it is programmatically easy to add simple functionality to expand the capabilities of basic features that affect nearly all users, requiring only a willingness to spend a little time improving the product's core functionality: helping us grow and manage our businesses.
Suggestion: Quotes / Invoices Sub Items for Main Line Item
Hello Jobber Team, 🛠️ Why We Use Sub-Items in Our Quotes & Invoices When it comes to handyman and construction work, no two jobs are exactly alike — and we believe your quote should reflect that. That’s why we organize our quotes and invoices with main line items and sub-items, and here’s why that matters: ✅ Customizable Work Scopes Sometimes a project includes optional jobs based on your preferences or budget. For example, your quote might include: • Job 1: Deck Repair - Materials - Labor • Job 2 (Optional): Flooring Install - Materials - Debris Disposal Fee - Labor You can easily see what's included and choose what fits your needs. ✅ Transparency You Can Trust No vague charges or confusing totals. Every part of the job is broken down so you can see exactly what you're getting — from screws and wood planks to disposal and labor. ✅ Smoother Approvals & Communication Want to move forward with just one section of the job for now? No problem. Sub-items make it easy to discuss, approve, or remove parts without reworking the entire quote. ✅ Budget-Friendly Flexibility This system lets us work with you on cost — you can prioritize essential work and schedule optional items for later, all while keeping track of the big picture. At the end of the day, we want your estimate to be as clear, flexible, and tailored as the work we provide. 🧰📋
