Lead Time
Lead time is how long a material takes to arrive after you order it. Put a long one into the quote’s start date. Then you learn about it before the job is booked.
What it means
Some materials sit on a shelf. Others are made or shipped to order. The gap between ordering and delivery is the lead time. Ignore it and you book a start date you cannot keep. Or you sit on a job waiting for a part while the client wonders what is taking so long.
Name it early. Check the lead time before you quote a start date. Tell the client if it is more than a few days. Order as soon as the job is confirmed, not the week you meant to start.
A custom-sized window is quoted with a four-week lead time. You tell the client the start date depends on the window arriving. You order it the day the deposit clears. The job starts on schedule and does not stall on a part nobody ordered.
Quoting a start date before checking the material is in stock. You then push the date back when you find it is weeks away, after the client has planned around it.
See also
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