Fencing Prices

Morning All,

I've been a member of the forum for a while now and have learnt a lot from here. Never posted a discussion before but after the last quote I did I thought it would be good to get other peoples opinions. I've spent weeks creating a calculator on excel to come up with quotes based on the work required by people so we can give an estimate there and then.

This weekend I went to see a fencing job which was 14 Bays, 8 foot concrete posts, lap panels and gravel board. Also removal of old fencing which was wooden posts and panels. I put it in calculator and double checked everything and our quote come out at £85 per bay, all in £1,200. I thought this was very competitive until she showed me her other quote for £750... To match that we'd be charging £11.50 per bay labour.

We only did a couple of small fencing jobs last year so it's not something we've done many quotes on, but we based those on £100 per bay. So am I way out with my quote or is the guy working way to cheaply? What would others charge?

I'm based West Midlands.

Thanks for your replies in advance.

Ash

Id charge according to your worked out costs - which i imagine is £1200 Ashley. You sell longevity, quality and value. If the other quote is nearly £500 less Id ask, is he using identical materials to you? So easy to drop 200 quid just to get the job. What would you say to her neighbour when quoting for her fence in a couple of weeks time? £1200 or £1k ? All I can advise is that you do your costs, add in profit and work out how long it takes. And always provide a quote, an estimate is not what any customer wants. A quote shows that you have covered all costs and eventualities. If she wants the 750 job, let her crack on with that. The other guy may not be insured, may not have a licence to take waste, no business account, not got your experience etc. The list goes on,,,! Basically value yourself.

Replies

Benedict Simmons February 2, 2016 at 11:24am

£750 sounds far to cheap to me. Even your price is on the cheap side. At the end of the day you get what you pay for. Make sure you are quoting from the same specifications. the other party might be quoting for something much lower spec.
Andy Kenney February 2, 2016 at 11:34am

Id charge according to your worked out costs - which i imagine is £1200 Ashley. You sell longevity, quality and value. If the other quote is nearly £500 less Id ask, is he using identical materials to you? So easy to drop 200 quid just to get the job. What would you say to her neighbour when quoting for her fence in a couple of weeks time? £1200 or £1k ? All I can advise is that you do your costs, add in profit and work out how long it takes. And always provide a quote, an estimate is not what any customer wants. A quote shows that you have covered all costs and eventualities. If she wants the 750 job, let her crack on with that. The other guy may not be insured, may not have a licence to take waste, no business account, not got your experience etc. The list goes on,,,! Basically value yourself.
- Daniela McGhie > Andy Kenney February 2, 2016 at 7:37pm
  
  Totally agree with above comments.
Ashley Norman February 2, 2016 at 12:21pm

Thanks for the replies guys. I thought I was going crazy haha. The only reason I say estimate when we are there is because it is subject to the materials being available at the price I am quoting from my sheet. I normally grab there email and send the official quote over when I get back to office. I use the estimate as a close really, as I find it easier to do business with people when I am there with them. As you say with the materials, we use good quality stuff as I believe that the customers we get normally want to pay for the job to be done properly. Thanks again.
PRO

Andrew Watts February 2, 2016 at 12:50pm

I think you were spot on, I've just finshed a quote, 9 panels, and we have a standard charge of £80+vat / panel, to include posts, and taking down old fencing etc. Added £5 per panel as there was some trellis. We would add on another £10 per panel for concrete posts. As I say, your original price good. Don't chase cheaper work with no margin.
- Ashley Norman > Andrew Watts February 2, 2016 at 1:50pm
  
  Thanks Andrew. Appreciate the feedback! As I say we've tried to incoorporate fixed priceing on some of our work now so it's good to hear it is actually correct.
  - PRO
    
    Richard Gadsby > Ashley Norman February 2, 2016 at 5:39pm
    
    It sound about right to me all the one I've done have been around £100 per bay.
    It's not worth it for less.
    Don't let her try and make you fix it when the £700 hoes wrong!!
Roy Parker February 2, 2016 at 7:14pm

85 per bay is cheap let the other people do the job there is no point working to loose money better sat at home drinking tea
- Thermo > Roy Parker February 2, 2016 at 8:33pm
  
  any fool can get out of bed in the morning for nothing. so you match his price. what happens when you do the job and you hit a snag, and so it takes you longer. you win some, you lose some. the important thing is to make sure the ones you in are not a hollow victory. You're a business NOT a charity.
  
  Sometimes i get to work in a garden next door to another one ive quoted on and lost out to for a cheaper quote. I've lost count of the times ive looked at it and given a wry smile knowing they've got what they paid for. Keep your standards and keep your prices
PRO

Andy February 3, 2016 at 9:20am

Agree with all the comments. I think a problem is people see a fence panel for sale at the garden centre then add a few quid and expect you to be around that price. There are some installers who work that way but as stated by other comments you know your prices you know your overheads and you provide longevity, quality and expertise. That all has a value. I would suggest that if your customer had three quotes she would question (or should question) why that first one was so cheap especially if yours and a.n. Other are pretty close. Work to your prices they seem fair to me.