Guides
Roofing contractor quote template: price and payment wording
Roofing contractor quote template for the price, payment and warranty blocks: fill-in wording, a stage-payment table, validity and what to leave off.
What to take away
- Price and payment are blocks thirteen and fourteen of a quote. They fail when the buildup is hidden or the payment dates float.
- Fill-in wording for blocks thirteen to fifteen follows, with brackets where your own figures go.
- Show quantities, rates and any access adjustment, so a customer can discuss scope instead of haggling over a total.
- Tie stage payments to events the customer can see, and say in writing how a change order is invoiced.
- Leave off any claim you cannot support, and keep the signed quote with its evidence as one file.
Template guidance, not legal advice. Contract terms and consumer protections vary by state, so have your document reviewed by a lawyer where you work.
Where price and payment sit on the quote
Price is block thirteen and payment terms are block fourteen, which puts them after the scope, the exclusions and the change mechanism. That order matters, because customers compare totals when they cannot compare scopes, and a total read first gets judged alone.
Blocks one to twelve cover the firm and date, the property, the customer, what you observed, the scope, the system, the decking allowance, site protection, disposal, permits and inspections, exclusions and the change mechanism.
Block fifteen closes the quote with your workmanship terms in your own words and the manufacturer's terms identified as theirs. Your workmanship warranty and a product warranty are different promises made by different parties, and blurring them is a claim you cannot support.
Fifteen blocks of a roofing quote
- Firm, license number, date
- Property and elevations
- Customer and authorized approver
- Observed roof condition
- Scope of work in order
- System components by type
- Decking allowance and rate
- Workmanship and manufacturer warranties
Fill-in wording for blocks thirteen to fifteen
Copy the wording below and replace each bracket with your own figure. The template supplies the shape of the clauses and none of the amounts.
13. Price. [Contractor] will complete the work described in the scope for [total], with the buildup shown in the line items: [quantity] of [item] at [rate]. [Access adjustment] applies to [area] because [reason]. Tax is stated as [tax treatment in your state]. The decking allowance is [quantity]; anything beyond it is charged at [rate].
14. Payment. [Deposit, if one applies, and what it secures.] Stage payments fall due when [materials are delivered], when [tear off is complete], when [installation is complete] and when [cleanup and inspection are complete]. If [customer] delays access, [stated consequence]. A change order is invoiced from its written authorization.
15. Warranty. Workmanship terms: [your terms in your own words]. Product terms: [manufacturer's terms, identified as the manufacturer's].
Showing the price buildup
Show enough of the buildup for the customer to discuss it. In the customer-facing quote that means priced line items, any access adjustment with its reason, and a total.
- Line items: each one priced from a stated quantity and rate.
Worked example in letters
- Q1 at r1Tear off and disposal
- A at r2, waste factor fNew system
- P priced individuallyFlashing and penetrations
- Q2 included, r3 beyondDecking allowance
- At cost or includedPermit and inspection
Set each line-item rate from your own reconciled jobs, using the derivation in how to price roofing contractor services for a fair margin. The quote presents the result and supplies no sample rates or total, so copy the shape and substitute your own figures.
Read the total beside what it leaves out
A total only means something next to the work it excludes. Put the exclusions on the same page as the price, in short sentences, and state any decking allowance separately so the customer sees the number and its boundary together.
The package menu is where those boundaries are first drafted, and the quote only repeats them. The exclusion about repairs required because of conditions discovered after tear-off prevents a specific and common argument on partial replacements, and it costs nothing to say in advance.
Exclusions to state plainly
- Structural repair beyond decking allowance
- Siding, gutters, chimneys beyond flashing
- Anything hidden beneath the covering
- Unknown permit condition work
- Removal beyond stated existing layers
- Matching weathered or changed materials
Payment terms that follow events
Tie each stage payment to something the customer can see on the roof or in the driveway. Tying payments to events rather than to dates is what keeps the schedule and the invoice in the same conversation.
| Stage payment | What the customer can check | What the quote states |
|---|---|---|
| Material delivered | Materials on site | Which items count as delivered |
| Tear off complete | Old covering removed, deck exposed | Who confirms, and the measured photo for any damage |
| Installation complete | New roof system in place | Which components belong to this stage |
| Cleanup and inspection complete | Site cleared, inspection done | Who inspects, and when |
- State whether a deposit applies, and check first whether your state regulates deposits for home improvement work.
- State what happens if the customer delays access, because a crew turned away is a real cost.
- State how a change order is invoiced, so it is not remembered at the end.
Money taken before the work it pays for is a cash question as much as a quoting one. The bookkeeping routine for job costing, deposits and cash timing keeps the two views consistent.
Invoicing a change order
A change order is invoiced from its own evidence, not remembered at the end. Say on the quote how it will be billed, and attach the photograph and measurement to the written authorization rather than to the invoice.
Change mechanism in three sentences
- Who inspects and records condition
- Who authorizes the change and in what form
- Within what time authorization must come
- What rate applies to the change
- How evidence is supplied
- Photograph with measurement attached to authorization
A photograph of the exposed area with a measurement in frame settles nearly every one of these before it becomes a disagreement. The invoice then repeats a number the customer has already approved in writing, which is the only kind of extra charge that does not start a fight.
How long the quote stays valid
Short enough that a material price change does not fall on you. State the period on the document and honor it without exception, because a withdrawn quote costs more goodwill than it saves money.
The date in block one starts the clock. A quote with no date is a quote that gets accepted a year later, so put the date and the period near the total, where a customer weighing bids will read them.
Add one line near the total: "This quote is dated [date] and valid for [period]." Handling price shoppers is a separate skill.
What to leave off the quote
Leave off an advertised total for work of unknown extent, a comparative claim about another firm, and a performance promise that belongs to the manufacturer. Each of the three is a claim with nothing behind it.
The FTC's advertising guidance for small business says a money-back guarantee is not a substitute for substantiation, and that advertisers still must have proof to support their claims. Support has to exist before the claim is made, not after a customer queries it.
The quote as a record
Keep the issued quote, the signed acceptance, every change order with its evidence, and the final invoice as one file. That file is what answers a dispute, a warranty question, or a tax query years later.
The IRS page on how long to keep records sets the baseline at three years unless one of its listed situations applies. Check your own situation against that list before you clear out an old job file.
Reconcile the file after the job. Comparing quoted crew days against actual crew days is what turns a quote template into a pricing system, and the equations behind it are in roofing contractor profit margins and break-even points.
Common questions
Should the buildup be visible to the customer?
Enough of it to be discussed. Customers compare totals when they cannot compare scopes, and a visible buildup converts a price argument into a scope conversation.
Where do the date and the validity period go?
Next to the total, where a customer weighing bids will read them. The date in block one starts the clock, so repeat it beside the price.
Can I put a firm total on work I cannot see yet?
Not as an advertised total for work of unknown extent. State the decking allowance as a quantity, with the rate for anything beyond it, and let the change mechanism handle the rest.
Do I need a signature?
Get written acceptance in whatever form your lawyer says is sufficient where you work, and get the change mechanism agreed at the same moment rather than on the day it is needed.
