Can ChatGPT Write a Quote? A Free Builders Quote Template (UK)

ChatGPT is good at the typing. It takes “strip and re-felt rear slope, approx 30 sq m, new battens, reuse tiles where poss, skip on drive” and turns it into clear sentences a customer can follow.

It’s also good at keeping every quote in the same layout, and at writing the polite bits at the top and bottom that nobody enjoys writing at 9pm.

It’s not good at maths you haven’t checked, and it will happily make up a number if you leave a gap. So the rule is simple: you give it every figure, and you check every figure before the quote goes out.

The free version of ChatGPT is open to anyone, so you can try all of this without paying for anything.

Citizens Advice tells homeowners what a proper written quote should include. Build your template around that list and you’re giving customers exactly what they’ve been told to look for:

• A fixed total price, not a daily rate
• A breakdown of all the work and the materials needed
• Separate costs for each material and each part of the work
• How long the price is valid for
• Whether the price includes VAT
• When the price can go up (for example, only if the customer asks for extra work)

Add your own bits on top: business name, phone number, the customer’s first name, the job address area, a quote number and the date.

Open ChatGPT and paste this, then fill in the square brackets:

Read what comes back line by line. Check the sums with a calculator, not with ChatGPT. Then copy it into your usual document with your logo on it, save it as a PDF and send it.

If you use ChatGPT for this regularly, the free version lets you set up a Project, so you can keep your instructions in one place rather than pasting them every time.

You don’t need the customer’s full name, phone number or house number in ChatGPT to write a quote. Write “Customer A, Heywood” in your notes, then add the real details yourself in the final document.

It’s also worth knowing that on the Free and Plus plans, OpenAI can use your chats to train its models unless you switch it off. Go to Settings, then Data controls, and turn off “Improve the model for everyone”. Or use a Temporary chat, which OpenAI says isn’t used to improve its models.

• Leaving gaps. If you don’t give it a figure, it may fill one in. Tell it to ask you instead (the prompt above does this).
• Estimate or quote? Citizens Advice explains that a quote is a fixed price, while an estimate is a rough guess. Once a customer says yes to a quote, it’s a binding agreement. If you mean “estimate”, say “estimate” on the document.
• Waffle. If it comes back too long, tell it “shorter, plain words”. Customers want the price, what’s included and how long it’s valid.
• Copying and pasting without reading. Every quote has your name on it. Read it like the customer will.

Most quotes don’t get a yes on the day. A short, friendly message a few days later is normal. You can ask ChatGPT to write one: “Write a short, friendly follow-up to a customer I quoted on [date] for [job]. No pressure, just checking they got it and if they have any questions.”

Some links here are affiliate links, so I may earn a small commission at no cost to you.

If you send a lot of quotes and want those follow-ups to go out on their own, an email tool with automated emails can do it. GetResponse is one option. If you only send a handful of quotes a week, a reminder in your phone’s calendar and a quick text does the same job for nothing.

If something techy is bugging you, like getting this quote template saved in a Word or Google Doc with your logo, I’ll sort one thing for free. One problem, up to 30 minutes, done remotely, nothing to buy. I’m a local business owner based in Heywood, not an agency. Just get in touch.

And if you want to see how your business shows up on Google, my free Google report is free until 1 November.

Thanks,
James Gonzo