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Adding an estimate range (min-max) to your quote

· 4 min

For services where the final price genuinely depends on factors you can’t capture in a form (site condition, supplier costs, access surprises), a single quoted number sets you up to either underprice the job or scare off the customer. An estimate range (showing a low and a high) handles both at once.

When a range is the right choice

A range is honest signalling: “the answer depends on things we’ll only know once we see it.” Use it when:

  • The customer’s answers genuinely can’t predict the price within ±15%. Renovation work, IT support, custom design projects, anything bespoke.
  • Site visits or surveys are part of your normal sales process. The range gives a meaningful ballpark before the visit; the exact number comes after.
  • You want to encourage the customer to lean towards the higher tier. A range that includes premium options shows what’s possible without forcing them into it.
  • Underpricing would be expensive for you. When the cost of being wrong is significant, the range protects your margin.

When a single number is better

Don’t reach for a range by default. A single number wins when:

  • The form captures everything that matters. Most fixed-scope services (cleaning, valeting, photography hours) can be priced exactly from the form.
  • The customer is comparing you with competitors. Single numbers are easier to compare. A range against a competitor’s exact number tends to lose, fairly or unfairly.
  • The price point is low. Below ~£500, customers expect a real number. A range on a £200 job feels evasive.

Rule of thumb: if the customer would reasonably ask “but what’s it going to actually cost?”, they’re not in range territory yet.

How wide should the range be?

This is where most ranges go wrong. Two failure modes:

Too narrow (£400-450): The customer doesn’t believe it, feels like a single number dressed up. Doesn’t protect your margin meaningfully either.

Too wide (£500-3,000): The customer can’t plan with it, treats it as “no idea”. Often interpreted as “they don’t know what they’re doing”.

The sweet spot is usually a 40-60% spread between low and high. Examples:

  • £800 - £1,200 (50% spread, sounds confident)
  • £2,500 - £3,800 (52% spread)
  • £150 - £220 (47% spread)

Anything wider than 75% spread risks looking like you’re hedging. Anything narrower than 30% gets diminishing returns vs just showing a single number.

How to set the range

In your form’s settings, turn Estimate Range on and pick how the spread is worked out:

  • A percentage (e.g. ±10%): Quotify takes the calculated total and shows a low and high that far either side of it. Best when the uncertainty scales with the size of the job.
  • A fixed amount (e.g. ±£250): the same spread in pounds whatever the job size. Best when the unknowns are a roughly constant cost, like a survey, a call-out, or a fixed bit of prep.

Quotify still works out the exact figure behind the scenes, so you can quote precisely once you’ve scoped the job; the customer just sees the range.

To decide how big to make the buffer, think about what genuinely moves on your jobs: surface condition you can’t see until the visit, volatile material prices, access complexity, or an optional premium finish. If those could swing a job by 20-30%, that’s the size of buffer you want.

Communicating the range to the customer

Just showing two numbers isn’t enough — the customer needs to know why it’s a range. A one-line explanation under the price band, like:

Your estimate sits between £800 and £1,200. The final number depends on the condition of the existing kitchen and your finish choices, which we’ll confirm at the site visit.

…closes 80% of the “why isn’t this just one number?” objections before they happen.

For higher-ticket services, you can also pre-label what each end represents:

Standard finish: £800 Premium finish: £1,200

Now the range isn’t ambiguity. It’s a choice. The customer can self-select roughly where they want to be before you even speak to them.

Pitfalls

Always quoting at the low end of the range. If your real prices are always nearer the high end, the customer will treat the low number as the “real” one and feel ambushed when you quote higher. Set the range honestly and stand by both ends.

Using a range when you don’t need to. Customers who could have got a real number from a simpler form will often pick the competitor who gave them one. Ranges should reflect genuine uncertainty, not a reluctance to commit.

Changing the range based on the customer. Sounds obvious, but: if you quote person A £800-£1,200 and person B £900-£1,300 for the same job because B “seems like they have more money”, you’ll get caught out eventually. Build the logic into the form so the price reflects answers, not vibes.