You are halfway up a ladder, or under someone's sink with your arm in the trap, and the phone goes. New number. You wipe your hand on your trousers and answer, and fifteen seconds in the caller says the thing they always say: "Can you give me a rough price?"
And you say what most of us say. "Hard to tell you without seeing it." Which is true. It is also the answer that ends the call. They say "no worries, thanks for your time", ring the next name on the list, and that bloke gives them a number and gets the job. Not because he is cheaper. Because he answered the question.
What the caller is actually asking
They are not trying to pin you down. They are working out whether you live in the same world as their budget. Someone ringing about a leaking radiator valve has no idea whether the answer is eighty quid or eight hundred. Refuse to give any number and they think one of two things: you are being cagey, or it will be expensive and you do not want to say. Neither wins the work.
Rough price, estimate, quote: say which one you are giving
- A rough price is a band, given on the phone, based only on what they described. It can move once you see it.
- An estimate is your best guess, usually written down, still able to move if the job turns out different.
- A quote is a fixed price for a defined piece of work. Once accepted, you are expected to stick to it.
Say out loud which one you are giving, every time. Six words does it: "That's a rough price, not a quote." If you do bigger jobs, get your written terms looked at by your trade body or a solicitor — what your paperwork says about changing a price matters far more than what you remember saying on the phone.
Build your bands once, use them for years
One evening, with a brew, list the eight or ten jobs you get asked about most, then go back through your last couple of dozen invoices and fill this in.
| Column | What goes in it | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Job | The customer's words. "Tap dripping", not "worn ceramic cartridge". | You have to recognise it down a bad phone line. |
| Lowest charged | The easiest version you have done. | Bottom of your band. |
| Most common | What it usually comes to. | The number you say first. |
| Highest, and why | The worst one: no access, seized, upstairs flat, no parking. | Your "what pushes it up" line. |
| What's included | Parts, labour, making good, rubbish away. | Kills the "I thought that was included" row. |
Keep it on one sheet in the van and a photo on your phone. Redo it when merchant prices move.
The exact words to say
When you have a band for it:
"Yeah, I can give you a rough idea. For a job like that I'd normally be between [low] and [high], including parts. That's a rough price, not a quote — if it's an old system or the access is awkward it can go up, and I'd ring you before I did anything that changed the price. Shall I come and have a proper look? It's free and it takes ten minutes."
When you genuinely cannot say, because nobody could:
"I'm not going to guess at that one, because a leak like that can be two things and they're miles apart on price. What I can tell you is what it costs to find out. It's [your call-out charge] to come out, trace it and tell you exactly what's needed, and if you go ahead I'll put that towards the bill. Then you get a fixed price before I touch anything."
When they are ringing round on price alone:
"That's fine, have a look about. If you get something cheaper, check it includes parts and that they're [Gas Safe registered / notifying the work under Part P], because that's usually where the difference is. My number's here if you want me."
The text to send afterwards, same day, while they still remember you:
"Hi [name], [your name] from [business]. Rough price for the [job] we spoke about: £[low] to £[high] including parts, based on what you described. Not a fixed quote — I'd need to see it for that. I'm free [day] morning or [day] afternoon to come and price it properly, no charge for that."
Three questions that turn a vague call into a band
- What exactly, in your words? Let them describe it, then ask for a photo while you are still on the phone. Most people send one, and you can look before you commit to a number.
- How old is the property, and the thing itself? Age tells you about pipework, wiring and fittings, and how hard they will fight you.
- How do I get to it? Upstairs flat, no parking, tenant has to be there, scaffold needed. This is what pushes a job to the top of the band and it never comes out first time.
If you cannot take the call, what matters is that those details get captured and you ring back the same day with a band — a mate in the office, an answering service, or something like DigiAutomate's AI receptionist. What loses the job is not being busy. It is a missed call nobody returns.
When this will not work, and when to get proper advice
Some jobs should never get a phone number, and say so plainly: anything behind a wall or under a floor, anything structural, insurance work where the insurer's scope sets the price rather than you, and the big notifiable jobs — rewires, boiler swaps, heat pump installs under MCS — where certification and paperwork are a real chunk of the cost. Sell the survey, not the guess. Careful too with landlord and agent work, where the person ringing is not the person paying: get the payer's name and the go-ahead in writing first.
And the boring but important bit. Pricing work in someone's home comes with rules about what you must put in writing and about their right to cancel, and they are not identical for every job. Your terms, what your insurance covers, and how you handle VAT as you near the threshold are worth one proper conversation with your accountant, insurer or trade body — not a guess picked up in a Facebook group. Sort that once, and the only thing left to do on the phone is give people a straight answer.
