An estimate is the document you send before the work starts: a good-faith price, a scope, and an expiry date. It is not an invoice and it is usually not a locked quote. Get those three things on one page and clients approve faster — and you are not stuck honouring a number from last quarter.
This generator uses the same live preview and PDF engine as InvoiceSprout invoices. Switch the document type to Estimate, add labour and materials, set a valid-until date (14–30 days is the norm), and download. No account. Nothing leaves your browser.
An estimate can move if conditions change. A quote is a fixed price for a defined scope — once accepted it is usually binding. An invoice is the bill after the work. Most trades send an estimate, then an invoice. Use the quote generator when the client needs a number they can take to a lender or a spouse as final.
Your details, their details, an estimate number, the issue date, a validity period, itemised labour and materials, assumptions and exclusions, and a total. Trades with volatile materials (roofing, lumber) should use 14-day validity or add a material escalation sentence. Service work can sit at 30 days.
Fourteen to thirty days covers almost every industry. Too short and you look pushy. Too long and last month's material price becomes your problem. Write a date on the PDF. An estimate issued 19 October 2026 is valid until 2 November for a roof (14 days) and until 18 November for design work (30 days). Do not write “good for a while.”
Usually no, until the client accepts it in writing or pays a deposit. A quote is more often binding. See the estimate vs quote guide if you need the legal distinction.
14 days when materials move; 30 days for most service work. Always print the expiry on the document.
Yes. Duplicate the document, switch the type to Invoice, add an invoice number and due date, and download again.
Yes — clients want the all-in number. Show tax as its own line.
No. Create and download in the browser. Your last estimate stays on this device only.
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