Repair Estimate Template for Appliances, Electronics and Equipment

A repair estimate is a written, priced proposal to fix something a customer has brought to you or asked you to look at, such as a lawn mower, a washing machine, a laptop or a piece of shop equipment. It records what the customer says is wrong, what you found when you inspected it, the parts and labor you expect the repair to take and your diagnostic fee. The customer can then decide whether the repair is worth doing before you start.

An estimate isn't a bill, and it doesn't ask for payment. Once the repair is done, you send an invoice for the work. The appliance repair invoice, computer repair invoice and phone repair invoice templates cover that step. In Billed's estimating software you can convert an approved estimate into an invoice instead of retyping it.

This template is for repairing one item or piece of equipment. For a list of repairs around a house, use the home repair estimate. For vehicles, use the auto repair estimate.

Finding the fault takes time, and sometimes you have to take the item apart to find it. If you charge for that, tell the customer the amount before you start diagnosing, and say on the estimate what happens to the fee:

• If the customer declines the repair. Say the fee is still owed. The sample's "Before we start" note does this: "the diagnostic fee is charged whether or not you go ahead with the repair." The note is marked as sample terms, so edit it to match your own policy.
• If the customer goes ahead. Say whether the fee is charged on top of the repair or credited against it. In the sample it is added: the diagnostic fee sits below the subtotal and is included in the estimated total.
• If you waive it. Put that in writing too, so neither side is surprised.

In California, the Bureau of Household Goods and Services' Write It Right guide for electronic and appliance repair says diagnosis fees are disclosed in writing before repairs are performed, before the product is removed from the consumer's property and before it is accepted at the service facility.

Many repairs turn up something else once the cover is off. Don't hide that risk in the labor rate. Choose one way of handling it and write it on the estimate:

• Stop and re-estimate. The sample's note says: "If we find more work is needed, we will contact you for approval before doing it." Then price the extra work and get the customer's approval before you do it.
• Price a likely extra separately. If you suspect a second part may also be faulty, write it in the notes with its parts and labor price, marked "only if needed". The customer sees the possible cost up front and can approve it or not. Lines in the parts and labor tables count toward the estimated total, so keep possible extras out of them until the customer approves.
• Add a contingency. A labeled percentage for work that's likely but can't be pinned down. This template has no contingency line, so you'd have to add one. Say how it will be used and that any unused amount won't be charged. For a single item, separate lines are usually easier for the customer to follow.

Use "Not included" for work you looked at and aren't pricing. The sample excludes carburetor cleaning and engine work, which the inspection didn't find necessary.

Set a "Valid until" date that reflects how quickly your parts prices and availability change. The sample uses two weeks as a placeholder. Shorten it when a part is scarce or its price is moving. If the customer approves after the date has passed, check the parts prices again and reissue the estimate rather than editing the old one by hand.

1. Add your shop's details, the estimate number, the date and the "Valid until" date.
2. Enter the customer, the item (make and model, serial number, date received) and anything left with it.
3. Write the reported problem as the customer described it, then your findings after inspection.
4. Fill in the parts (part number, quantity, unit price) and the labor (hours and rate), then the diagnostic fee. In the Excel file, each line amount, the parts and labor subtotals, the subtotal, the tax and the estimated total are calculated by formulas. Type the diagnostic fee as an amount, or enter 0.00 if you don't charge one. The sales tax rate sits in its own cell, starts at 0% and is applied to the subtotal plus the diagnostic fee. Change it if tax applies. If it doesn't, leave it at 0%. Don't delete the fee or tax rows, because the estimated total refers to them. In Word or on the PDF, work out the amounts and totals yourself.
5. Edit the "Before we start" and "Not included" notes to match your terms and this job.
6. Have the customer sign the authorization block before you start, and keep a copy.

The PDF is a blank form for printing and filling in by hand at the counter. The Word and Excel files have the same layout with the mower sample filled in, so you can overwrite them and save a copy for each job.