GuidesWords that bind
Quote vs estimate
Updated October 2026. General information, not tax or legal advice.
A quote is a price for a described job. An estimate is your best guess. Clients hear “quote” even when you said “around”. Write the word you mean at the top of the page.
Quote
A quote says: this scope, this price. If the client accepts it, that is the deal for that scope. Extra work is a variation, quoted before you do it.
You can still state assumptions. “Price assumes the board has spare poles” keeps the quote honest without turning it into an estimate. If the assumption is wrong, you stop and re-price that part.
Estimate
An estimate is approximate. Say the range or say it may move, and say what would move it: hidden rot, a longer cable run, rock in the trench. When you have seen the job properly, replace the estimate with a quote. Do not invoice an estimate as if it had been accepted as a fixed price.
Do not blur them
Calling a guess a quote, then charging more with no change in scope, is how you end up in a dispute. The Australian Consumer Law expects you not to mislead. A clear heading and a variations sentence do more than a page of fine print.
For residential building work, a quote is often not the whole contract. Some states require a written contract, and a cooling-off period, above a price that differs by state. Check the building authority where the job is. Docket will not invent that clause for you.
Short answers
Is a quote legally binding in Australia?
If the client accepts a quote for a clear scope, that price is what you have agreed for that scope. It is not a promise to do extra work for free, and on larger residential building jobs the quote may sit inside a contract your state requires. An estimate is not that agreement.
Can I change a quote after the client accepts it?
You can price a change in the work. You should not lift the price for the same scope because materials moved, unless the quote said the price could move or the validity date has passed and they had not accepted it.
Use your own name on the next one.
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