Free Handyman Estimate Template (Fill In and Download a PDF)
This free handyman estimate template fills in right on this page. Add your business and customer details, the job's labor and materials, and how long the price is good for, then download a finished PDF — no signup, and nothing you type is saved.
Fill in your handyman estimate
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What a handyman estimate needs to show
A handyman estimate should separate labor from materials, the same way a finished invoice does, so the customer knows what they're approving before any work starts.
Name the job address and the date you're quoting it, since even a small job can grow once boards or trim turn out more worn than expected.
Sales tax on handyman work varies by province and state. Check your local rule before you decide what to tax and at what rate.
- Business name, address and contact details
- Customer name and the job address
- Estimate number and the date
- Labor and materials on separate lines
- Trip or minimum charge, if you use one
- Tax, shown as its own line
- How long the price is good for
Scope: what's included, and what you'd charge extra for
Write down what the price covers and what it doesn't, like replacing every board versus just the damaged ones. A scope line is what keeps a fair price from turning into an argument once the job is underway.
If you offer more than one way to do the job, like board replacement alone versus replacement with new railing, Good, Better and Best options let the customer compare them on one estimate instead of three separate quotes.
Deposits and how long the price holds
For anything beyond a quick repair, ask for a deposit before you buy materials. State the deposit percentage and the balance due date right on the estimate, not in a side conversation.
Give the price a validity window, often two weeks for a smaller job, since lumber and hardware prices move. Once the customer approves, their estimate becomes the job, approved estimates become ready to schedule, and nothing needs retyping.
Put the same terms on every estimate, even for a regular customer, so nothing is left to memory.
Common handyman estimate mistakes
A few habits turn a fair estimate into a dispute later, and none of them look serious when you're writing it.
Most get fixed just by writing down the scope and the price before the work starts, not after.
- One lump price with no labor or materials breakdown
- No scope line, so extra work gets argued about later
- No tax line, even where handyman work is taxable
- No deposit on a job that needs materials bought up front
- No validity window, so an old price gets honored at old costs
- Quoting a price verbally and writing something different on the estimate