What belongs in an interior design quotation in Singapore

A client reads a quotation line by line, often next to quotes from other firms. A clear one is easier to say yes to, and one that states exactly what it covers is one you can defend once the job starts.

Here is what an interior design quotation for a Singapore home should contain, in the order the client reads it.

The short answer

A complete quotation has twelve parts:

1. Header: your firm, the client, the site and the document version
2. Drawing references the price is based on
3. Preliminaries: protection, hacking, disposal and site set-up
4. Scope, grouped by area
5. Line items with description, quantity, unit and rate
6. Provisional sums and client-supplied items
7. Exclusions
8. Assumptions
9. Totals and GST
10. Payment schedule
11. Variations, warranty and defects
12. Acceptance and signatures

The rest of this article covers what goes in each, and the lines that tend to go missing.

1. The header: who, where, which version

• Your registered company name, UEN and, if registered, your GST registration number
• The client's name exactly as it will appear on the contract
• The full site address, including unit number
• Property type: HDB, condominium or landed. It changes access, approvals and what "bare unit" means
• Quotation number, revision number and date
• How long the prices hold

The revision number matters more than it looks. By the third round of changes, both sides need to be sure they are talking about the same document.

2. What the price is based on

Name the floor plan, layout or 3D drawings the quotation was priced from, with their revision. When the client later says "but the drawing showed a full-height cabinet", you can point to which drawing the price covered.

3. Preliminaries

These are the costs of getting a site ready and keeping it clean. They belong at the top, as priced lines the client can see:

• Floor, lift and common-area protection
• Hacking and removal of existing fixtures
• Debris disposal and haulage
• Site supervision
• Final cleaning before handover

For HDB flats, contractors must be listed in HDB's Directory of Renovation Contractors before they can carry out renovations. State that you are listed, and say who applies for any approvals the works need. For condominiums, say whether you or the client handle the management's renovation application.

4. Scope by area

Group the quotation by room: living, kitchen, master bedroom, common toilet. Clients think in rooms, and a quote grouped by room is easier to compare and to cut when the budget is tight.

Inside each area, sub-group by trade: carpentry, masonry, electrical, plumbing, painting. That is how your team and subcontractors will read it.

5. Anatomy of a line item

Every line should let the person building it work without phoning you. A good line carries:

• Item: what it is. "Wardrobe, full height"
• Description: material, finish, series or brand where it matters, and anything unusual. "Laminate finish, soft-close hinges, internal drawers ×2"
• Quantity and unit: "12 ft run", "6 points", "1 set"
• Rate and amount

A line that says "Master bedroom carpentry" with a lump sum cannot be checked by the client or built by your carpenter. For the checks to run before sending, see our quotation checklist.

6. Provisional sums and client-supplied items

If something cannot be priced yet, such as a feature light the client has not chosen, label it provisional and say what will settle the final figure.

If the client is buying an item themselves, write whether your price includes installing it. "Supply and install" and "install only" are different lines, and mixing them up is how a single tap or light turns into a dispute.

7. Exclusions

List what is not in the price: appliances, loose furniture, curtains, authority fees, works by the client's own contractors. An exclusions list reads as professional, not defensive.

8. Assumptions

Write down what the price depends on:

• Working hours and access to the unit
• Condition of existing wiring and plumbing
• Floor levels and wall straightness
• Whether the unit is handed over empty

When one turns out to be wrong on site, a written assumption turns an argument into a variation order.

9. Totals and GST

Show a subtotal per area, then the overall total. Show any discount as its own line, so the client can see what was given.

If your firm is GST-registered, IRAS requires prices quoted to the public to be GST-inclusive. You can also show the amount before GST and the GST itself, as long as the GST-inclusive total is at least as prominent. The prevailing rate is 9 per cent. Check the IRAS website before updating an old template.

10. Payment schedule

Tie each payment to work that can be seen on site rather than to a date. If your firm is CaseTrust-accredited, initial deposits are capped at 20 per cent of the total cost. We cover structuring the stages in how renovation firms structure progress payments.

11. Variations, warranty and defects

One paragraph on variations: changes are quoted and signed before the work starts. One on warranty: what is covered, for how long, and what voids it. One on defects: how the client reports them, and how you respond.

12. Acceptance

A signature block for both parties, with names and dates, and a line confirming that the client accepts the quotation, including its exclusions, assumptions and payment schedule. An unsigned quotation is a price list, not an agreement.

The lines that go missing

They tend to sit between trades, so no single trade thinks to price them:

• Making good after electrical chasing or plumbing work
• Removing and disposing of existing wardrobes, tiles or fittings
• Hoisting, after-hours work or extra trips for access-restricted buildings
• Sealant and silicone work in wet areas
• Touch-up painting after other trades finish
• Final cleaning

Each of these is small on its own. Left out, they come out of your margin.

Template or system?

A spreadsheet template covers the layout. It does not stop two estimators pricing the same wardrobe differently, or an old GST line surviving into this year's quotes. It also does nothing about the part that decides whether you win the job: how quickly a complete, correct quotation reaches the client, and how quickly they can say yes to it.

How EnQuote helps you close faster

Homeowners often collect quotes from several firms, compare them, and go quiet while they think. Every evening you spend rebuilding a quote is time the client spends reading someone else's. EnQuote is built to shorten each step between first meeting and signature.

Send the quote before the client leaves the table

EnQuote runs in the browser on a laptop or tablet, so you can build the quotation during the first meeting. Lay out the rooms, pick line items from your own catalogue of carpentry, tiling, M&E and more, and send a branded PDF by WhatsApp or email on the spot. The client goes home with your quote in hand, not a promise of one.

Every quote is complete, without anyone retyping it

The twelve parts above live in your templates. Preliminaries, exclusions, assumptions, the payment schedule and your terms come with every new quotation, so a junior designer's quote is as complete as a senior's. Rates and margins come from one shared price book, and totals, discounts and GST calculate themselves. No one drops a section or underprices an item because they quoted from memory.

Revisions in minutes, not another evening

Clients will swap a finish, drop a room or ask for a cheaper option. Change the line, and totals update straight away. Resend the revised version the same day, while you are still the firm they are talking to. The revision history stays on the project, so there is never a question about which version was agreed.

Signed on a phone, not at the next meeting

When the client is ready, send the quotation for e-signature. They sign on their phone or laptop, and the signed copy files itself in the project folder with a timestamp. No printing, no scanning, no waiting for them to find time to meet you again. The signed version is also the baseline for any variation order later.

No enquiry left waiting

Leads from WhatsApp Business and your website forms are captured into EnQuote automatically and assigned to a designer, by round-robin rules or by hand. Follow-up reminders nudge your team before a warm lead goes cold. Each client has one record holding every enquiry, quote, approval and document, so anyone picking up the conversation knows where it stands.

See what is closing, and why

Track which channels bring leads that convert, and see who on your team is responding, quoting and closing. When you know where your signed jobs come from, you know where to spend your time and your marketing budget.

From signature to invoice without re-keying

Once signed, the quotation flows into the project: purchase orders to suppliers and subcontractors, progress claims, and invoices that sync to Xero or QuickBooks. The price you sold is the price you track against, so the job you won is a job that makes money.

See it on your own quotations

The fastest way to judge whether this fits your firm is to see a quotation built with your own trades and rates. Book a demo and we will walk through it with your team, or read more about fast quoting and lead management first.