A Quote-Limits Card: What Your Phone Cover May Say and What Waits for a Site Visit

Whoever answers your phone will be asked "how much?" almost immediately. That might be a part-time helper, a bureau operator, software, or you with a ladder in one hand. Without a decision made in advance, the answer is either a dodge that loses the caller or a guess that you end up defending later.

A one-page card fixes this. You fill it in once, keep it by the phone or in the shared notes, and hand it to anyone who covers your calls. This article gives you the layout and shows how to complete each part.

How the card is organised

The card has three boxes. Each price you offer goes into exactly one of them. The idea is borrowed from a wider guide on what your receptionist should be allowed to quote and what should wait for a site visit, which sorts prices into fixed charges, ranges and jobs that need a look first.

Box one: say it plainly

These are figures that are the same for every caller. Anyone can state them.

Fill in:

• Call-out or attendance charge: "Our call-out is ___, plus parts if needed." Note what the charge covers.
• Standard fixed-price jobs: list only those you sell the same way every time.
• Areas covered: and any postcodes you don't serve.
• Days and time slots on offer: the ones you really have, not the ones you wish you had.

Write each as a full sentence the person can read out word for word. "Around ___" invites argument. A plain sentence doesn't.

Box two: ranges, only with conditions

Some work has a familiar shape but an unknown final bill. You have two choices, and both are legitimate.

Option A: give a range. If you tick this, write the exact wording, including what the range depends on and that you confirm the final figure after seeing the job. If you wouldn't say it that way yourself, don't put it on the card.

Option B: no ranges. The cover says the job needs assessing, books the visit and quotes only the call-out charge.

Tick one option and cross out the other so nobody has to guess which applies.

Box three: wait for the visit

This box is for anything where the price depends on what you find, or where a wrong guess could cost you. List your own trade's examples. Typical candidates include:

• Roof work, where what lies underneath decides the scope.
• Rewires and larger electrical work.
• Drainage faults with an unknown cause.
• Alterations to existing structures, or anything with hidden services.
• Landscaping or maintenance where size and access are unclear.

For these, the cover person's script is: "That needs to be seen first. Let me take some details so the visit is properly prepared." No figure, not even a hint.

The capture strip at the bottom

Box three only works if the call still produces something useful. Add a short strip of prompts to the foot of the card:

1. What is the problem, in the caller's words?
2. Postcode and address.
3. Access: parking, gates, pets, who will be there.
4. Can they send photos?
5. Best time to ring back or visit.

This turns a vague voicemail into a proper job card, and the caller feels looked after even without a price.

Filling it in without overthinking

Start with box three. List the jobs you would never price blind, because they are quickest to name. Then do box one, which is just your standard charges written as sentences. Whatever is left goes to box two, and you decide whether you are comfortable giving ranges at all.

Some practical points:

• Keep it to one side of paper. A card nobody reads mid-call is no use.
• Use your own words. The script should sound like you, so callers hear the same voice at the visit.
• Add a "not sure" line. The instruction is: take a number and say you'll call back, never improvise a figure.
• Review it when your charges or services change. An out-of-date card is worse than none, because it gets quoted confidently.

Test it before you rely on it

Read the card aloud to someone and ask them to play a caller pushing for a price on a box-three job. If the answer holds up under a second "but roughly?", it is ready. If it wobbles, tighten the wording.

The aim isn't to stop people being helpful. It is to make sure that whatever is said on the phone is something you are happy to stand behind when you arrive.