How Long Is a Quote Valid For? Set Expiry Rules for Trades With AI

Most tradespeople make a quote valid for 14 to 30 days, and shorter, often 7 to 14, when the price depends on materials that move quickly. Add an expiry date, not just "valid for 30 days", and a clause allowing adjustment if supplier prices rise. Nothing here is legal advice; check wording with a qualified adviser.

The period is only half the job. A date tells the client when they can accept at your price. It does not say what happens if they accept on day 29 and timber has gone up on day 20, or if your supplier changes the price between acceptance and ordering. Those are separate questions, and they need separate wording. So set the period by job type first, then choose how firm your price-rise wording should be, and let AI draft the footer and the reminder that goes out before the date passes.

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Pick the period by how fast your costs move

A single figure for every job is the usual mistake. Use the share of the price that depends on materials, and how often the supplier changes list prices, as your guide.

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These are working defaults, not rules. If your supplier sends a price-change notice with 30 days' warning, you can be more generous; if your supplier changes prices without notice, you cannot. Ask yours how and when they notify price changes, and write the answer on a card by your desk.

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A main example: a 20-metre fence quote and a 9 percent price rise

Take a small fencing contractor quoting a 20-metre timber fence at $3,600, of which $2,160 is materials (60 percent) and $1,440 is labour. The quote is valid for 30 days. On day 12 the supplier raises panel and post prices by 9 percent. On day 28 the client accepts.

• Materials after the rise: $2,160 times 1.09 = $2,354.40, an increase of $194.40.
• If the quote has no price-rise wording and the contractor honours it, margin drops by $194.40, which on $3,600 is 5.4 percent of the price.
• If the validity had been 14 days, the client's acceptance on day 28 would have required a new quote, and the contractor would have repriced at $3,794.40.

Neither is wrong. What matters is that the contractor decided in advance, in writing, which one applies. With a 14-day period the problem does not arise unless the client is slow. With 30 days it needs a clause. The sample footer below does both. Note the arithmetic: a 9 percent move on materials is a 5.4 percent hit on the whole job, which is the number to compare with your profit margin when you choose a period.

The same maths applies in a pricing check on a fence run; the fence job pricing tutorial shows how to build the materials list that feeds a figure like this.

Three levels of price-rise wording

You do not need a lawyer's prose to be clear. You need wording a customer can read in ten seconds. Here are three levels, from softest to firmest. Have a qualified adviser check whichever you choose, since what is enforceable depends on where you work and on your contract.

Level 1: expiry only

"This quote is valid for 14 days from the date above. After that date prices may change and a new quote will be needed."

Best for small, quick jobs where acceptance is usually within days. It protects you from late acceptance, not from a price rise after acceptance.

Level 2: expiry plus a fixed-price window

"This quote is valid for 14 days. If accepted within that time, the price is fixed for materials ordered within 30 days of acceptance. Materials ordered later may be adjusted to reflect supplier prices at the time of order, and we will tell you before ordering."

Best for mixed jobs. It gives the client a promise, and gives you a clear end to it.

Level 3: expiry plus an adjustment clause

"This quote is valid for 30 days. Material prices are based on our supplier's list on the date above. If our supplier's price for the listed materials rises by more than 5 percent before we order, we will send you the supplier's notice and the revised amount before ordering, and you may accept it or cancel before work begins."

Best for materials-heavy work and long-lead jobs. The 5 percent threshold stops you pestering a client over trivial changes, and the right to cancel before work begins keeps it fair. Choose your own threshold from your margin: if your margin is 15 percent, a 5 percent materials move on a job that is 60 percent materials already costs you a fifth of it.

A quick sum for choosing the threshold: threshold percentage times materials share gives the hit to price. At 5 percent and 60 percent materials, the hit is 3 percent of the job. At 10 percent it is 6 percent, which on a 15 percent margin is two-fifths of your profit.

A sample quote footer you can adapt

Adapt this to your own trade. Replace the bracketed items and delete anything that does not apply. It is an example, not legal wording.

Quote reference: [number]        Date: [date]
Valid until: [date, 14 days after the quote date]

Price: [amount], covering the work and materials listed above.
Not included: [list, for example disposal, making good decoration, permits].

This quote is fixed if accepted by the date above. Materials are priced from
our supplier's list on the quote date. If that list rises by more than 5% for
the listed materials before we place the order, we will send you the supplier's
notice and a revised price before ordering, and you may accept it or cancel
before work begins. We may withdraw this quote in writing before you accept it.

To accept: reply to this email with "accepted" and your preferred start date.
A deposit of [amount] is due on acceptance. Start dates are confirmed
once the deposit is received.

Two details people forget: "valid until" should be a date, not a period, because a period needs a start date to work out and clients lose emails; and the acceptance method should be stated so nobody argues whether a thumbs-up counts.

Getting AI to draft and adapt the expiry wording

A chatbot is good at turning your rules into plain English. Feed it the rules, not a request for legal advice.

Write a quote footer for a [trade] business. My rules:
- valid for 14 days, shown as an exact date
- price fixed for materials ordered within 30 days of acceptance
- if the supplier's list rises more than 5% before ordering, we notify the client
  with the supplier's notice and a revised price; the client may accept or cancel
  before work begins
- we may withdraw the quote in writing before acceptance
Plain English, under 150 words, no legal jargon. Do not add promises I have not listed.

An illustrative result matches the sample footer above, which is the point: the tool is applying your rules. Check it for added promises. A common slip is a sentence like "prices are guaranteed" that you never asked for. Strike it. Another is the tool adding a clause about interest on late payment: if you did not ask for it, take it out or decide on purpose.

Adapting the footer to a different job in one prompt

Once you have the base footer, ask for variants: "Rewrite for a roofing job where lead times are six weeks. Change validity to 10 days and add that start dates depend on material availability." Check each variant for consistency with your price rules before you save it as a template.

Follow-up before expiry: the message that wins back quiet quotes

A date on the quote is also a reason to message the client. Most quotes go quiet because the client is busy, not because they said no. A short note three days before expiry gives you a natural, honest reason to get in touch.

Write a friendly text to a client whose quote expires on [date].
Facts: quote for [job], price [amount], expires in 3 days. Offer to answer
questions or adjust the scope. Mention that after expiry prices may change
because material costs move. Under 50 words. No pressure, no discounts.

Illustrative result: "Hi [first name], just a reminder that your quote for the fence is valid until Friday. Happy to answer any questions or adjust the scope. After Friday I'd need to recheck material prices, as they move. Thanks, [your name]." The honesty is the selling point: you are not inventing a deadline, you are reporting a real one. If you want software to send it, Jobber's automated quote follow-ups, by email or text, start on its Connect plan (as of November 2026; check the plan table before you buy); the playbook for following up silent quotes covers timing and wording for a labour-led trade.

A before and after: the lapsed quote

Before: a quote sent on 3 March, valid for 30 days, never chased. On 14 April the client says "yes please, same price." The contractor is stuck: honour it and lose margin, or reprice and sound grasping. After: the same quote has an exact "valid until 2 April" date and a three-day reminder on 30 March. If the client replies on 14 April, the contractor can say "that quote expired on 2 April, here is a refreshed one" without any awkwardness, because the date was in black and white and a reminder went out.

Three trades, three different settings

The same footer does not suit everyone. Here is how the settings come out for three illustrative businesses, using the table above and a quick sum each.

A two-person roofing firm

Typical job: $9,500, of which tiles, battens and membrane are about $5,700 (60 percent). Supplier lists change monthly and lead times run to three weeks. Setting: valid for 10 days, price fixed for materials ordered within 21 days of acceptance, Level 3 clause at 5 percent. Quick sum: a 7 percent rise on $5,700 is $399, or 4.2 percent of the job. Without the clause, the firm eats that on a job with a margin of perhaps 15 percent, which is more than a quarter of its profit gone.

A one-person decorator

Typical job: $2,400, of which paint and sundries are $320 (13 percent). Prices move little and the work is booked weeks out. Setting: valid for 30 days with Level 1 wording, plus a start-date note: "start dates are held for 7 days after acceptance." Quick sum: a 10 percent rise in paint costs $32, or 1.3 percent of the job. Not worth a clause; a longer period wins more work from clients who compare three quotes slowly.

A small electrical contractor

Typical job: a $5,200 rewire of a small flat. Cable, consumer unit and fittings come to roughly $1,900 (37 percent). Copper-linked cable can move faster than the rest. Setting: valid for 21 days, Level 2 wording, and a note that cable is priced on the quote date. Quick sum: a 12 percent rise in cable, taking cable as $700 of the materials, costs $84, which is under 2 percent of the job. Level 2 is enough; the contractor can absorb a modest rise or mention it politely.

The sums point the same way each time: the longer the exposure and the larger the materials share, the firmer the clause. Run your own two numbers before you decide.

Audit your existing quotes with a prompt

If you already have a template, ask a chatbot to review it as a client would. Paste the footer with your business name removed.

Read this quote footer as a customer would. List anything that is unclear,
contradictory or missing about: how long the quote is valid, when the price
can change, how to accept, what happens to the deposit. Do not rewrite it.
Return a numbered list of questions a customer might ask.

An illustrative response flags four items: the footer says "valid for 30 days" but the quote date is not on the page, so a reader cannot calculate the end date; "prices subject to change" appears in two places with different meanings; there is no statement of how to accept; and the deposit line does not say whether it is refundable before work starts. Each is a real source of argument. You fix them yourself, because the answers are your business decisions: AI found the gaps, and you choose what to do about them.

A mistake that cost a firm a week of argument

Take an illustrative case. A small joinery firm sent a quote saying "valid for one month". The client read this as one calendar month from the day they opened the email, which was ten days after it was sent. The firm counted from the quote date. The extra ten days spanned a supplier price change, and both sides felt wronged. The fix cost nothing: an exact date, printed in bold, and a reminder message three days before. Phrases like "one month", "30 days" and "a few weeks" all hide a start date. If AI drafts your wording, ask it explicitly to use an exact date placeholder.

A checklist for setting your own rules

Work through these in order and write down the answer to each. It takes about twenty minutes, once.

1. What share of a typical job is materials, as a percentage?
2. How often does your main supplier change list prices, and do they warn you?
3. What is your usual margin, as a percentage of the quote price?
4. How long between acceptance and ordering on your typical job?
5. How many days does a typical client take to decide, from your own records?
6. What threshold of supplier price rise would you want to pass on? Multiply it by the materials share to see the effect on your margin.
7. Do you want to give a fixed-price window after acceptance, and for how long?
8. How will a client accept, and what record will you keep?

Illustrative answers for a fencing firm: 60 percent materials, supplier changes prices every month or two with one week's warning, 18 percent margin, ten days to order, clients take about nine days to decide, pass on rises over 5 percent, 21-day window, accept by reply email. Those answers produce the settings used in the 20-metre example: validity 14 days, Level 3 clause at 5 percent. A decorator would answer the same questions very differently (13 percent materials, stable prices) and land on 30 days with no clause; a steel fabricator quoting a staircase with a six-week lead time would want the firmest version and a short window. The method is the same.

Five rules for expiry that hold up in practice

1. Use an exact date. Count the days when you write the quote. Let software calculate it if you can.
2. Match the period to your supplier's price notice. If they warn you 14 days before a change, 14 days is safe.
3. Write the clause in the quote, not in your terms page. Clients read the quote.
4. Refresh, do not honour, an expired quote by default. Honouring is a choice you make for a client you want to keep, not an obligation you drift into.
5. Keep a record of who accepted what and when. A reply email is enough if it names the quote reference and date.

Checking after three months that the rules work

Rules set once drift out of date, so look at your own numbers after a quarter. Pull every quote from the period and note four things: how many were accepted before expiry, how many after, the average days to a decision, and any job where a supplier rise ate into margin. Illustrative figures for a fencing firm: 40 quotes, 17 accepted in time, 3 accepted after expiry and repriced, average decision time 9 days, one job where a 6 percent rise on posts cost $85. That says the 14-day period fits the way clients decide, the repricing conversation worked, and the threshold caught nothing it should have. If instead half your acceptances arrive after expiry, lengthen the period or tighten the reminder; if rises keep landing between acceptance and ordering, shorten the fixed-price window. A chatbot can turn a pasted export of quote dates and statuses into these four counts, but check its totals with a spreadsheet count, since a dropped row changes the answer.

When prices are already moving: updating live quotes

If a supplier announces a rise while quotes are out, list the open quotes with their expiry dates and materials share. Quotes expiring within a week need no action. Longer ones are where your adjustment clause or a courtesy message matters. The tutorial on updating quotes and telling customers when prices rise works through a fuel-linked example, and the tutorial on what AI can and cannot check in a material price escalation clause goes deeper on Level 3 wording. For changes after work has started, see pricing variations and change orders.

For other tutorials on putting AI to work in a trade business, the AI hub collects them. Whatever wording you choose, remember the limits stated at the top: it is a draft from a tool, not legal advice, and the final check belongs to someone qualified where you trade.

Quote validity questions from tradespeople

Is 30 days too long for a trade quote?

It depends on how fast your materials move. For labour-heavy jobs with stable materials, 30 days is common. For jobs dominated by timber, metal, fuel-linked products or imported goods, 7 to 14 days is safer. You can also quote 30 days with a clause that lets material costs be adjusted.

Can I withdraw a quote before it expires?

A quote is generally an offer, and whether you can withdraw it before expiry depends on the contract rules where you work and how the quote was worded. Say clearly that you may withdraw it in writing before acceptance, and ask a qualified adviser if a dispute arises.

Does an expiry date protect me if prices rise after acceptance?

Not by itself. Expiry only controls when the client can accept. Price protection after acceptance needs separate wording, such as fixed price for stated materials with an adjustment for supplier increases above a set percentage. Have a qualified adviser check the wording you use.

Can AI write my validity wording?

It can draft clear wording from your rules, which saves time. It cannot tell you what is enforceable where you trade. Treat its draft as a starting point, test it against a plain-English read, and have a qualified adviser look at it before you rely on it in a dispute.

Further reads

• Quote vs Estimate for Trades: Which to Send and What It Commits You To — Whether to send a quote or an estimate, and what each commits you to.
• Fence Proposal Template: Materials, Gates and Permit Terms With AI — A proposal template for a materials-heavy trade.
• Cabinet Maker Quote Template: Materials, Hardware and Fitting With AI — Quote layout where hardware prices shift.
• Kitchen Installation Quote Template: Scope and Exclusions With AI — Scope and exclusions on a mixed labour-and-materials job.
• Concrete Quote Template: Slab Prep, Finish and Weather Clauses With AI — Weather and preparation clauses in a concrete quote.
• Follow Up After Giving a Quote: An HVAC Replacement Sequence With AI — A full follow-up sequence after a quote goes out.
• Asphalt Paving Proposal Template: Scope, Exclusions and Weather Terms — A copy-ready asphalt paving proposal: scope, base condition assumptions, exclusions, weather terms and payment, drafted with AI and checked by you.
• How to Quote a Tiling Job: Area, Waste and Prep Lines Checked With AI — A worked bathroom quote with area, waste, adhesive, grout, waterproofing and prep lines, plus the AI prompts that catch errors before the customer sees them.
• How to Use AI in Carpentry: Cut Lists, Takeoffs and Client Quotes — A fitted wardrobe worked end to end: AI cut list with formulas, seven hand checks, wastage decision, order list and quote wording a client can hold you to.
• How to Quote Fabrication Jobs: Can AI Price One From a Drawing? — A worked steel-frame quote: weight, cuts, weld length, finishing and lead time, with AI extracting figures and you setting the price.
• AI Tools and AI Development: The Complete 2026 Guide — the AI hub, including every tutorial in the AI-for-business series.

Sources: general trade practice; Jobber pricing and automation feature pages for automated quote follow-ups (Connect plan and above), checked November 2026. Nothing here is legal advice.