Electrical Quote Template: What to Put on It and What It Commits You To

A quote is the price and the description of the work you are offering to do. Once a homeowner accepts it, much of what you wrote becomes part of the contract under UK consumer law. This page gives you a layout to copy, then sets out what the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 make of it.

This page is about quoting a consumer: an individual acting wholly or mainly outside their own trade or business, such as a homeowner or tenant. That is the definition in section 2 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015. Quotes to businesses are not covered here.

The quote layout

Copy this into a document and keep it as your master copy. Replace each item in square brackets.

Your details: trading name, business address, phone number and email. If you belong to a registration scheme, add your registration number.

Customer and job: customer name, the address where the work will be done, quote number, quote date, and a short description of the work.

Under the table, add four short sections:

• What is included: the work the price covers, in plain words.
• What is not included: for example making good plaster, decorating, or work found behind walls that the quote does not cover.
• When: a start date or a period for the work, and how long the quote stays open.
• Payment: when you will ask for payment and how the customer can pay.

If you agree the job at the customer's home, also attach the cancellation information covered further down.

What the quote commits you to

What you write can become a term of the contract

Section 50 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 says that anything you say or write to the consumer about yourself or the service is treated as a term of the contract, if the consumer takes it into account when deciding to go ahead. That covers the description of the work, what is included, what is left out, and any start date you give.

Section 50 also says a qualification you made at the same time counts with it. If your quote says a price excludes making good, that limit is part of what the customer agreed to.

Information you give under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, covered below, is treated as a term of the contract too. A change to that information is not effective unless you and the customer expressly agree it.

The price

Section 51 applies when the contract does not fix a price and does not say how the price will be worked out. In that case the consumer must pay a reasonable price for the service, and no more. What is reasonable is a question of fact.

A quote with a clear total, or a clear way of working the price out, means section 51 does not come into it. A vague price leaves the figure open to argument.

The time

Section 52 works the same way for timing. If the contract does not fix a time for the work and does not say how it will be fixed, the work must be done within a reasonable time. A start date or a period on the quote settles that.

The standard of the work

Section 49 says every contract to supply a service includes a term that the trader must perform it with reasonable care and skill.

If you agree the job at the customer's home

The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 add duties for an off-premises contract. One example is a contract agreed with the customer face to face at a place that is not your business premises, such as their home. The full definition is in regulation 5, and the regulations have exclusions, so check whether your contract is covered.

Information before the customer is bound

Regulation 10 says that before the consumer is bound by an off-premises contract, you must give them the information listed in Schedule 2, clearly. Where a right to cancel exists, you must also give them a cancellation form. The information must be on paper, or on another durable medium such as email if the consumer agrees.

Schedule 2 includes:

• the main characteristics of the service;
• your trading name and the address where you are established, with your phone number and email where available;
• the total price including taxes, or how the price will be worked out if it cannot reasonably be calculated in advance;
• any additional charges, or the fact that they may be payable;
• the arrangements for payment and for doing the work, and the time by which you will do it;
• where a right to cancel exists, the conditions, time limit and procedure for cancelling.

A quote laid out as above already holds most of this. The cancellation information is the part most often missing.

The 14-day cancellation period

Under regulations 29 and 30, the consumer can cancel an off-premises service contract without giving a reason until the end of 14 days after the day the contract was entered into.

Regulation 36 says you must not start the work in that period unless the consumer has made an express request. For an off-premises contract, the request must be on a durable medium, such as a signed note or an email.

If the consumer asks you to start early and then cancels, they must pay a proportionate amount for the work done up to the point they told you. They pay nothing for that work if you did not give them the cancellation information, or if you started without their request.

Where CertBox fits

Quoting is included in CertBox's free plan. You can build an itemised quote with VAT on your phone, email it with a link the customer can use to accept or decline, and turn an accepted quote into an invoice. For setting your rates, see the CertBox guide to pricing your trade work.

Frequently asked questions

Is an electrical quote binding once the customer accepts it?

For a consumer customer, section 50 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 treats what you write about the work as a term of the contract if the customer takes it into account when deciding to go ahead. That includes the description, exclusions and timing on your quote.

What happens if I agree a job without a fixed price?

Section 51 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 says that if the contract does not fix a price or say how it will be worked out, the consumer must pay a reasonable price and no more. What is reasonable is a question of fact.

Can a homeowner cancel after accepting my quote at their house?

If the contract is an off-premises contract, the consumer can cancel within 14 days after the day it was entered into, under regulations 29 and 30 of the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013. You must give them the cancellation information on paper, or another durable medium if they agree, before they are bound.

Can I start the work during the 14-day cancellation period?

Only if the consumer has made an express request, and for an off-premises contract that request must be on a durable medium such as paper or email. If you did not give them the cancellation information, they pay nothing for work done in that period.

Sources

Checked against these on 2026-11-05.

• Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 2 (key definitions)
• Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 50 (information about the trader or service to be binding)
• Consumer Rights Act 2015, sections 49, 51 and 52
• Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, regulation 10 and Schedule 2
• Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, regulation 5 (definitions)
• Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, regulations 29, 30 and 36

Corrected and updated 2026-11-05. This article is for general guidance only and does not constitute legal or professional advice. Always refer to the relevant standards and consult qualified professionals for definitive requirements.