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Learn · Estimates and quotes · Lesson 4 of 4

Get quotes from contractors and compare them

You willPut some or all of the work out to contractors by trade, record their prices and see who is the best value, not only the cheapest.
Time6 min
Why it mattersQuotes priced against the same scope can be compared fairly, and the one that leaves things out shows up before you sign.

Try it in Plotlay → Opens an example project with this lesson beside it. Nothing to install.

Steps

  1. Estimate the project, then choose Request quotes on the estimate.
  2. Tick the work to put out. Each trade becomes a package (plumbing, electrical, tiling...), or choose one package for a builder. Set the date quotes are due and choose Make the scope of works.
  3. On Contractors, choose Add a contractor for each one you ask, and tick the packages they price.
  4. Choose Send: download the scope of works and the pricing schedule, then send them with the message from your own email. Contractors never see your estimate’s figures.
  5. When prices come back, choose Enter their reply: their total or item prices, what they leave out, how long the price holds and when they can start. If they filled in the schedule, choose Read their schedule instead.
  6. Open Compare. What stands out names the lowest price and the best value once what each one leaves out is allowed for at the estimate’s figures, and the items priced well apart.
  7. Choose Award for the one you go with. Summary shows every package; Make an estimate from the awarded prices turns them into your budget.

Tips

  • Ask two or three contractors for each package: it shows what a fair price is.
  • Merge packages one contractor does together, such as waterproofing and tiling, under Scope of works.
  • Design options in the estimate go out as alternatives: each contractor prices the package as if that option were chosen.

Common mistakes

  • Taking the lowest price without checking what it leaves out: the levelled price adds the gaps back at the estimate’s figures.
  • Relying on the comparison alone: read each quote’s own terms, inclusions, licence and insurance before you accept one.
Check yourself

One tiler quotes $3,000 but leaves out the waterproofing, which the estimate puts at $900. Another quotes $3,500 with everything in. Which is the better value?

Words in this lesson

Design option
One of two or more versions of part of a design, such as two vanities, kept in one project. Drawings show the chosen one; 3D can show another for a look. Clients can pick the one they like.
Schedule
A table drawn from the plan: rooms and finishes, doors, windows, plants or materials. It updates as the plan changes and downloads as CSV.
Estimate
An indicative cost of the project or some rooms, measured from the model and priced line by line, by trade and by room, with a likely range. Not a price: check it with quotes from licensed trades.
Quote and revision
An estimate turned into a numbered price for a client, on your letterhead, with terms and a payment schedule. A change after it is sent is a new revision (rev B), so the sent copy stays as it was.

Related lessons

Estimate a renovation or new buildGet an indicative cost for the whole project or a few rooms, by trade and by room, with a likely range.4 minAdjust an estimate with your own ratesFix any line, lock it, add your own lines and use your own rates and price lists in every estimate.5 minSend a quoteTurn an estimate into a numbered quote on your letterhead, with terms, payment schedule and an acceptance block.5 min

Steps checked in the app on 23 October 2026.