# Bids, Quotes, Proposals....



## gemal (Sep 26, 2006)

i have a customer who can't wait to have her kitchen done. i brought in electrician, plumber etc. i made out a contract & all the necessary permit papers, now she's sitting on the contract for over 2 weeks & has yet to sign the contract or give me a deposit. i know she committed to me. what's her problem or will it become my problem down the road?


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## Brickie (Jun 15, 2006)

gemal said:


> i have a customer who can't wait to have her kitchen done. i brought in electrician, plumber etc. i made out a contract & all the necessary permit papers, now she's sitting on the contract for over 2 weeks & has yet to sign the contract or give me a deposit. i know she committed to me. what's her problem or will it become my problem down the road?


Unless she signs your contract & gives you a deposit, she is not committed.


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## karma_carpentry (Aug 7, 2005)

Debookkeeper said:


> Karma -
> 
> The GC I work for also uses allowances. For example, we were building a new house and the homeowner at that time didn't have an idea of what particular plumbing fixtures or cabinets she wanted. So they were listed as allowances, and the number he chose was for moderate priced cabinets and plumbing fixtures. When the time came for her to pick out the said fixtures - if she chose more expensive ones that went above the fixed allowance, she was charged additional. If it fell below the allowance - she was credited.
> 
> Deb


Deb, thanks for the explanation. Somehow it sounded different how TCleve used the term. This seems perfectly reasonable - of course if the HO hasn't picked out an item, you don't know how much it will cost. And I assume it might apply to labor costs too: perhaps an undermount sink would take more to install than an overmount, for example, so there's a labor differential too, which I guess would be adjusted after the fact. As long as that's clearly written in the contract.

Does anyone have an "allowances" clause in their contract that they'd share?


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## Debookkeeper (Jul 23, 2006)

karma_carpentry said:


> Deb, thanks for the explanation.
> Does anyone have an "allowances" clause in their contract that they'd share?


I don't know how everyone else does it, but when we are involved with work like I explained, (new house or large remodel) we list all the pertinent items in a letter, quick example: 

General requirements (demolition, cover-up, dumpsters) $xxx,xx
Electrical - rough to finish as per drawings $ xx,xx
Cabinet allowance 
Tile allowance
Plumbing fixture allowance 

(this would be done all lined up, but it stopped working in this thread)

Etc, 
Once the GC meets with the homeowner for the umpteenth time :laughing: to go over the letter, we get a signed contract with all the proper legal stuff in it, stating "as per letter dated 9/26/06

The allowances do have the labor factored in, so if they choose something that is more labor intensive, that then gets factored into the additional allowance as well. He is fortunate enough to have a lot of repeat customers whom we have never had to worry about collecting from. I just recently touched up the contracts for a few customers that we haven't done much business with.


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## Gordo (Feb 21, 2006)

gemal said:


> i have a customer who can't wait to have her kitchen done. i brought in electrician, plumber etc. i made out a contract & all the necessary permit papers, now she's sitting on the contract for over 2 weeks & has yet to sign the contract or give me a deposit. i know she committed to me. what's her problem or will it become my problem down the road?


She is shopping you.


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## Gordo (Feb 21, 2006)

Debookkeeper said:


> I don't know how everyone else does it, but when we are involved with work like I explained, (new house or large remodel) we list all the pertinent items in a letter, quick example:
> 
> General requirements (demolition, cover-up, dumpsters) $xxx,xx
> Electrical - rough to finish as per drawings $ xx,xx
> ...


I have done this in the past with new clients and most of the time they were scared off because of the unknown cost of whatever the allowance was for (i.e. plumbing fixtures, cabinets, etc.). The funny thing is the are the ones in control of the costs yet it scares them away.:laughing: 

I have more recently given hard costs on "typical" fixtures installations (materials and labor) with a side note that cost could INCREASE upon HO selection/change. This has two-fold consequences: HO feels comfy with costs and is more apt to use what the pros recommend.

Allowances give the potential HO a way to wiggle out.
Allowances work better with established clients IMO.


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## Gordo (Feb 21, 2006)

karma_carpentry said:


> Deb, thanks for the explanation. Somehow it sounded different how TCleve used the term. This seems perfectly reasonable - of course if the HO hasn't picked out an item, you don't know how much it will cost. And I assume it might apply to labor costs too: perhaps an undermount sink would take more to install than an overmount, for example, so there's a labor differential too, which I guess would be adjusted after the fact. As long as that's clearly written in the contract.
> 
> Does anyone have an "allowances" clause in their contract that they'd share?


We use similar allowances as DEEBOOKEEPER, but with establish clients.

Hard costs work better with potential clients..........as long as they know it WILL cost to change their mind.


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## Tom R (Jun 1, 2004)

gemal said:


> i have a customer who can't wait to have her kitchen done. i brought in electrician, plumber etc. i made out a contract & all the necessary permit papers, now she's sitting on the contract for over 2 weeks & has yet to sign the contract or give me a deposit. i know she committed to me. what's her problem or will it become my problem down the road?



I agree with Gordo here, - - _your_ homework/paperwork is being shopped around.

I never bother writing up paperwork anymore 'less they're ready to sign.


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