The 10-point checklist for comparing any quote

Compare the shape, then the number

A total is only meaningful once you know what sits behind it. Work through these ten points for each quote.

1. Scope. Is every quote pricing the same list of work?
2. Exclusions. What is explicitly not included?
3. VAT. Included, excluded, or not registered?
4. Materials. Named products, or a provisional sum to be confirmed later?
5. Timescale. Start date, duration, and what happens if it overruns.
6. Payment terms. Deposit size, stage payments, final retention.
7. Insurance. Public liability, and cover for the work itself.
8. Warranty. How long, what it covers, and who honours it.
9. Variations. How extra work will be priced and agreed.
10. References. Recent, relevant, and ideally visited.

Reading the result

If one quote is far cheaper after this exercise, you will usually be able to point at the reason. If you cannot, that is the question to put to the contractor directly.

Common mistakes

• Treating a rough estimate as a fixed price.
• Accepting "we will sort that out as we go" on anything material.
• Paying a large deposit before any materials are ordered.

Next steps

Put the ten points in a simple table with a column per quote. The gaps become obvious, and so do the questions worth asking.