Free Estimate
A free estimate is a quote visit you give at no charge, because winning the job pays you back. Charge for the visit if it is a long drive, a diagnosis, or a caller who will never hire.
What it means
Quoting for free is normal. Suppose you win a fair share of your quotes. The jobs you win pay for the visits that do not convert. A shop works the same way when it lets you browse for free. That math only holds while the visit is a real sales call.
It breaks down in three cases. The drive is long enough that a lost job costs you real money. The client wants a diagnosis and not a quote. Or the caller collects several free visits and plans to hire no one. None of those is "asking for a quote". Charge a call-out fee for the first and third. Price the second as its own paid visit.
You quote a fence repair for free. It is a five-minute look that costs you fifteen minutes of driving. You win most jobs like it, so the free visits pay for themselves. A caller forty minutes away asking for the same free look is a different trade-off. A call-out fee protects the trip either way.
Treating every request to "come take a look" as the same free visit. Ask whether the caller wants a price or a diagnosis. Otherwise you may spend an hour finding a fault nobody agreed to pay for.
See also
Where this shows up
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- guide How to price a job so the number holds up The quote works only if its number works. Start with the price, then write it up.
- tool Free Quote & Estimate Generator Fill in your business and client details. Add line items, mark any as optional, and set a deposit. A clean quote builds as you type. Turn it into an invoice with one click.
- tool Quote & invoice terms builder Tick the clauses that fit the job and fill in your numbers once. You get a plain-English terms block. Copy it, print it, or send it into the quote generator.