A handyman estimate template for a small job: the job in one line, the price as one number with a note, what is included and what is not, how long it holds, and the sentence that gets the owner’s written yes before you start. Plus the text to send when the job grows. Full text on the page.
For a small repair the owner does not need a spreadsheet. They need to know what you will do, what it will cost, and that you will stop and ask if it turns into something else. This template is built for the customer who is not standing next to you.
Estimate · job name
For at · Date · From
The job
Your price
$
Includes: labor, the parts named below, cleanup, haul-away of the old part. Does not include: . Parts: .
Good until
(14 days is usual). If the work is bigger than it looks once opened up, work stops and a new price comes to you before anything continues.
Payment
On completion, by . The bill will show labor and parts as separate lines and will not exceed the price above without your written yes.
Your yes
Reply “approved” to this message, or sign below, and the job is on the calendar for .
The text to send before added work
“Hi , the is worse than it looked: . Photo attached. The added cost is $ for , so the new total would be $. Please reply approved before I continue. If you’d rather I stop here, I’ll close it up and bill only the work done so far.”
Why one number, and not a line-item estimate
The owner who is not there is approving a decision, not auditing a spreadsheet. “Dock light and GFCI outlet, $180” is a decision. Six lines of labor hours and part numbers is homework, and homework gets put off. Give the price as one number and a plain note; put the labor and the parts as lines on the bill, where they belong.
“Good until” is the line that saves the January argument. A price with no date is a price forever. Fourteen days is usual for small work; thirty for anything you had to order.
The added-work text is the habit that keeps customers. Every handyman has opened a wall and found the rot. The ones who stop, photograph it and get a written yes never argue about the invoice. The ones who push on and explain later do. Send the text every time, even when you are sure they will say yes.
In House Matters this whole sheet is the job card: the photo of the problem, your price as one number and a note, and the owner’s yes recorded with their name and a time on it. The change order is the same text, and the bill cannot go past what they approved.
Questions people ask
Should a handyman estimate list materials and labor separately?
On the estimate, no; on the invoice, yes. The owner approves one number and a note. The bill shows labor and parts as lines so they can see what the number was made of.
How long should an estimate be valid?
Fourteen days for small work, thirty for anything with ordered parts. Say the date on the estimate.
What if the customer says yes by phone?
Write it down the same day: “Approved $180 by phone, Sep 4, 10:40am.” A note with a time on it is far better than nothing, and honest about how the yes came.
Can I take a deposit on a small job?
You can, though most small jobs bill on completion. If the parts are expensive, price the parts as their own job and bill it first.
Do I need a contract as well?
For a one-off small repair, the estimate with a written yes is enough. For ongoing work at the same house, the one-page service agreement covers access, payment terms and what happens when something goes wrong.
Set up before your next service call
House Matters is handyman software for jobs where the owner isn’t there: price it, the owner taps yes in writing from anywhere, before-and-after on their record, labor and parts billed as lines. Your first three client homes are free. No lead fee, ever.
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