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I'm not VAT registerd, but have done two major building projects in the last few years.
One of the most annoying things we found was trades adding VAT after aggreeing a price, or even worse after finishing the job. As a customer I know it's got to be paid, so I expect it up-front. If a company is below the threshold then great, but if it's going to be on the bill you really should be quoting the total price: just state "inc. VAT" every time.
The second most annoying thing was people charging a mark-up on materials and asking for a deposit, when we knew they had 30-day accounts with the merchants and that they got a decent trade discount! That's another discussion, but a valid one as well.
for private customer's include vat for commercial plus vat
the trade accounts are paid monthly so if the contractor buys a load of materials say two days before the end of the month he gets the bill for it 2 days later and some merchants will give you a fortnight to pay
if it is a big job that will take time and a lot of materials get a staged payment agreement when you reach a certain stage in the contract
It's always been the convention to state prices inc VAT for domestics (ie £12incVAT) and ex VAT for commercial/businesses (ie £10+VAT). I believe that is also the recommendation from Trading Standards and CAB.
However, as long as you clear and don't just display an 'ambigious' price then there should be no subsequent legal questions if someone complained. It's as much to protect you as the customer.