How to Send a Professional Quote From Your Phone as a Tradesperson
Sending a professional quote from your phone as a tradesperson is now completely achievable – and it is one of the highest-leverage habits you can build. The tradesperson who quotes from site, within minutes of a survey, consistently wins more jobs than the one who goes home to the laptop.
This guide covers exactly how to do it.
Why Quoting From Your Phone Wins More Jobs
The research is consistent: Which? consumer surveys show that responsiveness is one of the top factors in hiring decisions for tradespeople. Customers compare quotes. The first professional quote they receive often wins – not because it’s cheapest, but because it arrived first and built confidence.
Quoting from your phone means:
– Quote sent before you leave the customer’s property (or within the hour)
– Customer receives a professional PDF with your logo while you’re still fresh in their mind
– No gap where a competitor can get their quote in first
Step 1: Have a Quote App Set Up Before Your First Survey
The prerequisite for quoting from your phone is having the right tool. CoreQuote is a quoting app built for tradespeople that works on any smartphone – iOS or Android.
Before your first survey, set up:
– Your company name, logo, and contact details
– Your standard line items (your most common job types, rates, and descriptions)
– Your payment terms
– Your customer approval message
This setup takes 15-20 minutes once. Every quote after that takes 3-5 minutes.
Step 2: Survey and Scope the Job
At the survey, note everything that affects the quote:
– What work is needed exactly
– Materials required and any specification choices
– Any access, preparation, or contingency items
– The customer’s timeline and any constraints
Use your phone’s notes app if you need to. The survey is a conversation, not a form – but you need enough information to build an accurate, specific quote.
Step 3: Build the Quote on Site
In CoreQuote:
1. Create a new quote and select (or add) the customer
2. Pull in your saved line items for the standard elements of the job
3. Add any job-specific items, quantities, and prices
4. Review the total and check the scope description is clear
5. Preview the professional PDF
A quote built from saved line items typically takes under 5 minutes. A quote built from scratch for a non-standard job takes 10-15 minutes.
Step 4: Send and Track
Send the quote from the app – the customer receives a professional PDF by email. In CoreQuote, you are notified when the customer opens the quote and when they approve it.
If you want to follow up after 48 hours without a response: “Hi [name], just checking you received the quote I sent on [date] – happy to answer any questions.”
Frequently Asked Questions
What quote app works best on a phone for tradespeople?
CoreQuote is designed specifically for phone-based quoting on site. The interface is optimised for mobile, saved line items make quote creation fast, and the output is a professional PDF. See kwowta.com for a free trial.
What should a professional trades quote include?
A professional quote should include: your business details and trade certifications, customer details and job address, itemised scope of work, materials specification where applicable, price (labour and materials), payment terms, quote validity, and your workmanship guarantee. See our complete guide to writing a winning quote for a full template.
Is it professional to send a quote via WhatsApp?
Sending a professional PDF via WhatsApp is completely professional. Many customers prefer WhatsApp as the communication channel. What matters is that the quote itself is a professional, itemised document – not a WhatsApp text message with a number in it.
CoreQuote makes professional phone-based quoting possible for every tradesperson. Try free for 6 months at kwowta.com.
