Free repair estimate template

A repair estimate answers the customer's question before the work starts: what is wrong, what you would do about it, and what it will cost in time and in parts.

Diagnosis

Finding the fault is work. Give it its own line and name the problem as the customer described it.

Labor

The repair you plan, with the part you would replace named in the line and the hours you expect.

Each part

One line per part, with a quantity and its own price.

Small parts

Fuses, clamps and similar small items. List them with a quantity, or put them together on one line.

In the notes, write what you found, what you tested, and what could change the price once the unit is open.

Where repair estimates go wrong: a single number given on the phone. Once you have seen the fault, put the diagnosis, the labor and each part on paper, so the customer says yes to the same thing you plan to do.

Customers ask for a repair quote as often as for an estimate, and for most repairs it is the same paper. In the Word and Excel files you can change the title from Estimate to Quote. Some people say quote for a fixed price and estimate for a best guess, so write on the paper whether the price is fixed or may change after the diagnosis.

Sometimes a repair costs close to the price of a new unit. Send one estimate for the repair and, if you offer it, a second one for the replacement, so the customer can compare the two and approve the one they want.