One page. Six sections.
- Header. Your business name, license and insurance line, phone, date, quote number. Insurance goes on the front page because it is the reason you cost more than the uninsured guy, and the customer should see it before the price.
- Job description. Which trees, by location and species if you know it. "Remove 2 dead oaks at east side of driveway, chip brush, haul logs, grind stumps to 6 inches below grade." Specific enough that there is no argument about which trees.
- Scope by line. Removal, cleanup, hauling, stump grinding, each as its own line with its own price. Customers cut what they cannot afford; if the whole thing is one number they cut you.
- Exclusions. See below. This section is where you make your money back.
- Price and terms. Total, deposit if any, payment due on completion, how long the quote is valid (30 days is standard; wood prices and fuel move).
- Signature line. Accepting the quote is accepting the exclusions.
Exclusions that belong on every tree quote
- Stump grinding, unless quoted as a line. Customers assume it is included.
- Chip and log removal, if the price assumes wood stays. Say where it will be left.
- Repair of lawn, driveway or irrigation damage from equipment access. State that you will use plywood on lawns; state that ruts in wet ground are the customer's.
- Utility locates and permits. Say who calls 811 and who pays for the permit.
- Anything not visible from the ground at the time of quoting: cavities, hidden metal, hornets.
- Work near power lines beyond the point where the utility has to be involved.
Show the customer the difficulty, not the math
Do not put your labor rate or crew hours on the quote. Do put a sentence about why this job costs what it does: "Removal requires rigging each section over the garage roof; a straight fell is not possible." That sentence justifies the price without inviting a negotiation over hours.
Price per line, not per tree
If the customer wants to drop the stump grinding, you should be able to cross out one line and hand the quote back. If the whole job is one number, every change is a renegotiation. Lines also let you see afterward which services carry your margin.
Deposits
For jobs over about $2,000, or any crane job, a 20% to 30% deposit is normal. It reserves the date, it covers a crane cancellation fee if the customer backs out, and it filters people who are still collecting quotes.
How the estimate connects to your cost
The quote the customer sees is the last page of a process that starts with crew hours, equipment hours, disposal and overhead. The pricing calculator gives you the number; the estimate is how you present it. The full spreadsheet on Etsy has a client-quote tab that fills itself from the job calculator, so the number on the page is always the number you costed.