11 · Heating and plumbing firms
The quote out in two minutes. Every unsold one chased.
The engineer describes the job from the van. An itemised quote goes to the customer before he has driven away, and anyone who has not answered hears from you again.
For the office
Today, without it
Quotes are written up in the evening, days after the visit.
The customer has already said yes to whoever quoted first.
Nobody rings back the quotes that went quiet.
Try it
From the van to the customer
Pick a job, check the itemised quote, send it, and let the customer go quiet.
Made-up jobs, customers and prices. Nothing here is sent to anyone.
1. The engineer describes the job
Said from the van: “Swap the old combi for a new thirty kilowatt one, like for like, same position. New flue, a filter on the return and a wireless stat. About seven hours.”
These four sentences are stored examples. Every price, quantity and total on the quote is worked out from the price list as you change it.
Price list: example prices, yours go here
- Engineer labour, per hour£65.00
- Combi boiler, 30kW£1,100.00
- Horizontal flue kit£95.00
- Magnetic system filter, 22mm£120.00
- Wireless programmable thermostat£135.00
- Inhibitor, 1 litre£18.00
- Removal and disposal of old boiler£60.00
- Double panel radiator, 600 x 1000mm£98.00
- Thermostatic valve and lockshield, pair, per pair£24.00
- 15mm copper pipe and fittings, per metre£9.00
- 15mm brass stopcock£14.00
- Power flush, per radiator, per radiator£30.00
- Power flush chemical, per treatment£32.00
All excluding VAT.
2. Quote Q-0042: replace a combi boiler
Example Heating and Plumbing, for Example customer F. Made-up data.
Engineer labour
Unit price £65.00£455.00Combi boiler, 30kW
Unit price £1,100.00£1,100.00Horizontal flue kit
Unit price £95.00£95.00Magnetic system filter, 22mm
Unit price £120.00£120.00Wireless programmable thermostat
Unit price £135.00£135.00Inhibitor, 1 litre
Unit price £18.00£18.00Removal and disposal of old boiler
Unit price £60.00£60.00
- Subtotal
- £1,983.00
- VAT at 20%
- £396.60
- Total
- £2,379.60
Change a quantity or the hours, then send it.
3. Let the customer go quiet
Nothing is chased until a quote has gone. Press “Send to the customer” and the days start counting.
4. The office board
Open value £3,600.00, 1 to ring
Open2
Q-0041£1,140.00
Three bathroom radiators
First follow-up sent
Q-0038£2,460.00
Hot water cylinder swap
Both follow-ups sent
Ring them
Won2
Q-0036£288.00
Boiler repair
Accepted
Q-0033£216.00
Kitchen tap and waste
Accepted
Lost1
Q-0029£6,840.00
Full central heating
Said no
Five made-up quotes are already here. Yours joins them when it is sent.
How it runs
Four steps, nobody chasing.
STEP 1
The engineer speaks or types the job in a sentence.
STEP 2
An itemised quote is built from your own prices and sent with your logo.
STEP 3
No answer in two days: a friendly follow-up goes out, and another after a week.
STEP 4
The office sees which quotes are open, won and lost, without a spreadsheet.
Your numbers
What unchased quotes are worth
Example figures, change them
Count last month's from your quote book or accounts software.
A rough middle figure is fine.
Quoted work that went quiet, each month
£10,200
- Quotes with no answer, a month
- 12
- Everything you quoted, a month
- £34,000
- Gone quiet over twelve months
- £122,400
The sum
40 quotes a month × 30% with no answer = 12 quotes. 12 × £850 = £10,200 of quoted work a month that never got an answer. This is the value of the quotes, not a forecast of what chasing them would win.
This is arithmetic on your own figures. It is not a promise of results.
Works with what you have
Sits beside your price list, your engineers' phones and your accounts software.
Every demo on this site runs on made-up data. The real one is built around your phone line, your diary and the software you already use.
Get in touch
See it run on your own numbers.
Two quick answers. Adrians replies by email and shows you the system working with your figures, not ours.
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