How to write a tree service estimate that gets signed

Start with who and where

Put the customer name, the service address, a phone number and an email at the top. If the billing address differs from the property, record both. Add the date of the visit and how long the estimate stands, so an old quote is not held against you after prices or conditions change.

Record the access details while you are standing there: the gate code, the dog, the side yard that is too narrow for a truck, the power line over the work. These notes protect the crew and the schedule later.

Say which tree, and what happens to it

Name each tree the way the customer would point to it: the maple by the garage, the two ash at the back fence. Then state the work for each one: remove, prune, reduce, cable, treat. "Tree work as discussed" is not a scope.

Photos settle arguments. Attach a photo of each tree and mark it up so the customer can see which one and which limbs the line item covers. A marked photo is clearer than a paragraph.

Spell out what is included

The questions customers ask after the job are almost always about the edges of the scope. Cover these in writing on every estimate:

• Cleanup: whether brush and wood are hauled away, chipped on site or left.
• Stumps: whether the stump is ground, cut flush or left, and what happens to the grindings.
• Wood: whether the customer keeps the logs.
• Access and damage: who is responsible for lawn, fences and shrubs in the work area.
• Permits: whether a municipal permit is needed and who applies for it. Check your own municipality, because rules for protected trees differ by city.
• Extras: what happens if the crew finds something the visit could not show.

Break the price into line items

Break the job into line items, one for each tree or task, and group them into sections for a larger property. A customer who sees the removal, the stump and the cleanup as separate lines can say yes to two and think about the third. That is easier than saying no to one large number.

If you quote the same jobs every week, keep a template for each service so the wording and scope are identical every time. Consistent wording means fewer arguments and a faster quote.

Attach your terms and get the signature

Put your terms of service and contract with the estimate so the customer agrees to both at once. A signature on the day beats a promise to think about it, because the problem is still in front of them and you are still there.

Send a copy back to the customer as soon as they sign. The signed estimate should turn into a job without anyone re-typing the scope onto the schedule.

Do it before you leave the driveway

An estimate written that night from memory loses detail and arrives after the customer has called two other companies. The fastest way to close the gap is to build the quote at the property: describe the job, review each line, and present it for signature there.

That is what Arb Astra estimating is built for: speak the job and it fills in the customer, the property, the line items and the scope for you to review, with photos, your own branding and terms, and an e-signature, even where there is no signal. Once signed, the estimate converts to a job you can put on the crew calendar.

Follow up the ones that do not sign

An estimate that is sent and forgotten is a lead going cold. Note which estimates are still open and how long they have waited, and call them. Lead management shows how long each one has waited so none are lost in an inbox.