The four lines a trade quote should have

Most complaints about trade pricing are not really about the price. They are about a number that arrived without an explanation, after the work was done.

A quote that separates four things is checkable. One that does not, is not.

One: the call out

What it costs for someone to turn up, before any work happens. It covers the drive, the vehicle and the time.

The question that matters is whether it is waived, credited or charged on top if the job proceeds. All three arrangements are common and all three are legitimate. Finding out which one applies after the invoice arrives is the problem.

On this border, ask specifically whether travel is inside the call out or additional. A Corowa business quoting a Howlong job is driving twenty minutes each way and that time is being charged somewhere.

Two: labour

A rate and a minimum. A one hour minimum on a domestic job is standard. Half hour increments after the first hour are common and reasonable.

What to watch: a minimum charge that is much larger than the job. A four hour minimum to change a tap is a way of saying the business does not want small jobs, which is fine, but it should be said rather than buried.

Three: materials

Either itemised with a markup, or a single materials line. Both are normal. A markup on parts is how a trade business funds carrying stock so your hot water service gets fixed today rather than Thursday.

What to watch: materials that do not appear at all on a job that obviously used some.

Four: loadings

After hours, weekend, public holiday, emergency. This is where the surprises live.

On the Albury Wodonga border there is a second layer, because the two states do not share a public holiday calendar. Melbourne Cup Day is a holiday rate in Wodonga and a Tuesday in Albury. Labour Day is March on one side and October on the other. A business that works both sides has two of each.

Ask what triggers a loading and what the rate is. "After hours" starting at 4pm and "after hours" starting at 6pm are different products.

The one sentence version

If you cannot tell from the quote what you are paying for, ask before the work starts, not after. A tradesperson who will not itemise is not necessarily overcharging. You just have no way of knowing, and neither does anyone you complain to later.

Indicative ranges for common jobs are on the what should this cost page, and on every locality and category page on this site.