Most tradies are good at pricing a job and bad at chasing it. The quote goes out on Tuesday night after the kids are in bed, the phone fills up with new jobs on Wednesday, and by the following week nobody remembers whether the customer ever replied. Good quote follow-up for tradies is not about being pushy. It is a short, consistent routine that tells the customer you want the work, answers the question that is holding them up, and gives you a clear yes or no so you can plan your calendar.
Good quote follow-up for tradies means confirming the quote arrived within a day, sending a short text two to three days later, an email with the quote attached around day seven, and a final "should I close this off?" message near day fourteen. Stop the moment the customer replies or accepts. Most of this can run automatically from your job management software.
This guide covers why quotes go quiet, a follow-up schedule you can copy, six steps to set it up, sample wording for SMS and email, what ServiceM8, Tradify and Simpro can do out of the box, when a person should take over, and the Spam Act points worth checking.
What is quote follow-up, and why do quotes go quiet?
Quote follow-up is the set of messages and calls you send after a quote goes out, until the customer accepts it, declines it or the quote expires. It sits between pricing the job and booking it in, which is exactly where busy trades businesses tend to drop the ball.
A quiet customer is rarely a firm no. The usual reasons are practical:
- The quote never arrived, or it landed in a junk folder or a partner's inbox.
- They are comparing quotes and have not heard back from the others yet.
- They have a question about scope, timing, materials or payment terms and have not got around to asking.
- The price was higher than expected, and they are unsure whether to negotiate or walk away.
- Life got in the way: the job is still wanted, just not urgent this week.
Every one of those is something a follow-up message can surface. Either way, you stop guessing about work that may or may not be coming.
How long should you wait to follow up a quote?
Follow up quickly at first, then space messages further apart. The first contact should happen within a day because it is really a delivery check, not a sales nudge. After that, a few days between messages gives the customer time to compare and decide without forgetting you. Use the schedule below as a starting point for residential and small commercial jobs.
| When | Channel | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Same day or next morning | SMS | Confirm the quote arrived and invite questions |
| Day 2 to 3 | SMS | Friendly check-in; offer to talk through options |
| Day 7 | Resend the quote with the accept link and your next available start date | |
| Day 7 to 10 (larger jobs) | Phone call | A person rings to discuss scope, timing or price |
| Day 14 | SMS or email | Final message: ask whether to keep the quote open or close it off |
| Quote expiry | System update | Mark the job lost and record the reason if you have one |
Two rules matter more than the exact days. Stop every message the moment the customer replies, accepts or declines, and never send more than four or five follow-ups for one quote. Beyond that, you are more likely to annoy a future customer than win a current one.
How to follow up a quote in 6 steps
- Put an expiry date on every quote. A quote valid for 30 days gives you a natural reason to follow up ("your quote is valid until the 14th") and protects you from material price changes.
- Send quotes from your job management software, not a personal email. When quotes live in ServiceM8, Tradify, Simpro or AroFlo, the system knows which ones are open, accepted or declined. A PDF sent from your phone's email is out of reach of any automation.
- Make accepting easy. Include an online accept button or a clear "reply YES to book" instruction, your next available start date, and how a deposit works if you take one.
- Set up the follow-up sequence once. Load your schedule and wording into your software, or into a connected workflow, so it runs for every quote without anyone remembering to do it.
- Route replies to the right person. Questions about scope, price or timing should go straight to whoever wrote the quote, with the full message history.
- Close the loop and review monthly. Mark quotes won or lost, record a reason where you can (price, timing, went with someone else, no response), and look at the numbers once a month. Lots of "no response" means your follow-up needs work; lots of "price" points at your quoting.
What should a quote follow-up message say?
Short, specific and easy to reply to. Use the customer's name, mention the job so they do not have to look it up, include your business name, and end with one simple question. Here are four examples you can adapt.
Delivery check (SMS, same day)
"Hi Sarah, it's Dan from Northside Electrical. Just checking our quote for the switchboard upgrade came through OK. Happy to answer any questions. Reply here or call 04xx xxx xxx."
Check-in (SMS, day 2 to 3)
"Hi Sarah, Dan from Northside Electrical again. Any questions on the switchboard quote? We have a start date free on the 28th if that suits."
Quote resend (email, day 7)
"Hi Sarah, I've attached your quote for the switchboard upgrade again so it's easy to find. It's valid until 14 November. You can accept online with the link below, or reply if you'd like to change anything about the scope. Thanks, Dan, Northside Electrical."
Close-off (SMS or email, day 14)
"Hi Sarah, I haven't heard back about the switchboard quote, so I'll close it off for now unless you'd like me to keep it open. If you went another way, no problem at all. A quick reply helps us plan our schedule. Dan, Northside Electrical."
The close-off message often gets the most replies because it asks for a simple answer and removes any awkwardness about saying no. Avoid discounts in automated messages. If price is the issue, that is a conversation for a person.
Can ServiceM8, Tradify or Simpro automate quote follow-up?
Often, yes, and checking what your current software already does should be your first step. Here is what the main job management tools used by Australian tradies offer, based on their own documentation.
- ServiceM8 has a Quote Follow Up automation, part of its Automation add-on. According to ServiceM8's help article on Quote Follow Up Automation, it can send up to five follow-ups by email, SMS or both, at times you choose, and can automatically mark jobs with unaccepted quotes as Unsuccessful after a set period.
- Tradify describes quote reminders on its quoting software page as automatic emails that follow up on quotes the customer has not responded to.
- Simpro businesses often add two-way SMS through an integration partner. For example, Simpro lists Podium as an integration partner for quote follow-up and other customer messages.
Features and plan inclusions change, so confirm the details in your own account before relying on them.
Built-in reminders or a connected workflow?
| Factor | Built-in software reminders | Connected follow-up workflow |
|---|---|---|
| Setup effort | Low: switch on and edit templates | Higher: rules, testing and documentation |
| Handling replies | Replies usually land in the job or inbox for someone to read | Replies can be sorted, answered if routine, and passed to the estimator |
| Rules by job type or value | Usually one sequence for every quote | Different sequences, such as a phone call task for quotes over a set value |
| Other systems | Works inside the one tool | Can update your CRM, create the job on acceptance and report won and lost reasons |
| Best fit | Most sole traders and small teams | Businesses with several estimators, high quote volume or quotes in more than one system |
Start with the built-in option. A connected workflow earns its keep when replies go unread, when quotes start in a CRM and finish in job management software, or when accepted quotes should create the job and deposit invoice automatically. That is as much a systems integration job as a messaging one.
When should a person take over from automation?
Automation is good at sending the right message on the right day and noticing who has not replied. It should not negotiate. Hand the conversation to a person when the customer:
- questions the price, asks for a discount or mentions a competing quote;
- wants to change the scope, materials or timing;
- asks a technical question about the work;
- has a quote above a value you set, where a phone call is worth the time.
Our Quote Follow-up Automation is built around those boundaries: it finds open quotes, sends messages at agreed intervals, records replies and reasons, and alerts your team when a customer has a question or is ready to proceed. Pricing changes, objections and negotiation always go to the person responsible for the quote. If customers tend to reply by text with routine questions, an AI SMS Assistant can answer those from approved information and pass the rest on.
Do quote follow-ups need to comply with the Spam Act?
They can. Under the Spam Act 2003, a commercial electronic message, such as an email or SMS that offers or promotes your services, needs consent, must identify the sender and must include a way to unsubscribe. The ACMA's guidance on how to avoid sending spam explains that consent can be express or, in some cases, inferred from an existing business relationship.
A customer who asked you for a quote has a direct relationship with you about that job, but treat follow-ups as if the rules apply. In practice:
- always include your business name;
- stick to the quote the customer asked for, with no unrelated promotions;
- add a simple opt-out, such as "reply STOP and we won't contact you about this quote again", and honour it.
Customer names, numbers and addresses are personal information, so keep follow-up messages to what the customer needs and check where your SMS or automation provider stores message history.
What does automated quote follow-up cost with IT Your Service?
If your job management software's built-in reminders cover what you need, turning them on costs only your time and any SMS fees. Where you need more, automating a single workflow, such as quote follow-up connected to ServiceM8 or Tradify, starts from $500. Connecting multiple systems, such as a CRM, job management software and Xero so accepted quotes become jobs and deposit invoices, starts from $1,500. Every project includes 30 days of post-launch support, and the final price is confirmed in writing after a free audit. See our pricing page for details.
Quote follow-up is one half of getting paid for the work you price; the other is chasing the invoice once the job is done, which our guide to automated invoice reminders covers. For more on how we connect job, accounting and customer systems for plumbers, electricians and other trades, see automation for trades and home services. If you would like help working out which quotes are slipping through and what to automate first, book a Free Audit.