Forty free estimates cost $6,420. Twelve became jobs.
Price the whole batch of estimate appointments, including the ones you lose, before deciding how many more your estimator and installation crew can handle.
TL;DR
- In the invented example below, 40 free estimate visits cost $6,420 when estimator time and losing bids are included. With 12 wins, acquisition costs $535 per won job.
- Keep allocated cost and additional cash spending in separate columns. An existing salary consumes capacity even when another estimate creates no extra paycheck.
- Check two calendars before buying another batch: the estimator must visit and write every bid; the crew must complete the jobs you expect to win.
A free estimate acquisition cost starts before the quote reaches the homeowner. Someone answers the inquiry, schedules the visit, drives over, measures the work and writes the proposal. That effort belongs to the bids you lose as well as the jobs you win.
An advertising report can show a tolerable price per appointment while your estimator's week fills with unpaid visits. The next decision is whether another batch can repay its acquisition cost and fit both calendars.
What belongs in free estimate acquisition cost?
Start with a defined group of opportunities. Keep one opportunity reference through the inquiry, estimate and eventual job. Three quote versions for one replacement remain one opportunity.
For this worksheet, the group includes all advertising spending assigned to generating its estimate visits. That spending includes inquiries that failed to book. Dividing only the money attached to successful appointments would hide part of the bill.
Then add the work needed to produce every estimate: scheduling, travel, site time and proposal preparation. Include repeat visits when they belong to the same opportunity. Keep installation labor in the later job calculation so you can see the two workloads separately.
The SBA's break-even guide separates fixed and variable costs and relates required unit sales to the amount each sale contributes. The estimate worksheet below applies that distinction; its numbers and method are original.
Forty visits, twelve wins and sixty estimator hours
Every number in this example is invented. This is a completed historical group with all 40 estimate decisions checked: 12 won and completed, 28 lost. There are no unresolved quotes in the calculation.
The estimator and office employee were already salaried. The hourly amounts below allocate their employment cost to the work; neither employee received overtime. A $600 share of an existing agency retainer is allocated to this group. Fuel and other variable vehicle expense exclude wages.
| Acquisition item for all 40 visits | Calculation | Allocated cost |
|---|---|---|
| Advertising assigned to the group | Invented advertising spending | $2,400 |
| Existing agency retainer share | Assigned share | $600 |
| Estimator travel | 20 hours × $50 | $1,000 |
| Estimator site visits | 30 hours × $50 | $1,500 |
| Estimator proposal writing | 10 hours × $50 | $500 |
| Office scheduling | 4 hours × $25 | $100 |
| Variable vehicle expense | 40 visits × $8 | $320 |
| Total | 60 estimator hours; 4 office hours | $6,420 |
The group costs $160.50 per completed estimate visit: $6,420 ÷ 40. It costs $535 per won job: $6,420 ÷ 12. Advertising alone is $200 per win, but that leaves $335 of acquisition work and fees per win outside the number.
The 28 lost bids remain in every numerator. You cannot tell the estimator to spend time only on tomorrow's winners.
Will another batch require $6,420 in extra cash?
That depends on which bills change. Suppose a proposed second batch has the same spending and workload. The estimator has 60 genuinely uncommitted hours, the office has four, and the agency fee remains unchanged.
| Cost of the proposed additional batch | Allocated to batch | Additional cash under these assumptions |
|---|---|---|
| Advertising | $2,400 | $2,400 |
| Agency retainer share | $600 | $0 |
| Existing estimator salary allocation | $3,000 | $0 |
| Existing office salary allocation | $100 | $0 |
| Variable vehicle expense | $320 | $320 |
| Total | $6,420 | $2,720 |
The additional cash estimate is $226.67 per win, rounded, if another 12 jobs result. It answers a short-term spending question. The $535 allocated figure shows how much acquisition work the jobs must support over time.
Neither amount is automatically the right advertising limit. A salaried estimator may have no spare time. A fee may rise at a volume threshold. Overtime, subcontracted estimating or displaced paid service work would change the decision. Enter those consequences before using the additional-cash column.
How many won jobs must repay the batch?
Assume each completed job leaves an invented $750 after its job-specific delivery costs, including installation labor and materials. This amount is before the acquisition costs above and before other fixed shop overhead. Estimator wages are excluded from delivery costs to avoid counting them twice.
At 12 completed jobs, the group contributes $9,000 before acquisition. Subtracting $6,420 leaves $2,580 toward other overhead and profit. This is not net profit.
For the proposed batch, divide the cost you are testing by $750 and round up to a whole job:
| Question | Calculation | Whole completed jobs required | Crew hours at 8 per job |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cover allocated acquisition cost | $6,420 ÷ $750 = 8.56 | 9 | 72 |
| Cover additional cash alone | $2,720 ÷ $750 = 3.63 | 4 | 32 |
| Repeat the historical 12 wins | 12 jobs | 12 | 96 |
Those first two rows cover only their named acquisition costs. They do not establish the shop's break-even point.
Suppose the crew has only 80 open hours in the promised completion window. It can fit ten eight-hour jobs under these simplified assumptions. A plan expecting 12 completions needs 16 more crew hours, even though the estimator can visit all 40 homes.
Resolve the completion dates or reduce the proposed workload before making promises. A historical 30% win rate also remains an assumption about the next group, not a promise of 12 wins.
Keep the worksheet tied to one decision
Write the acquisition period, outcome check date and promised completion window at the top. Keep pending estimates visible rather than calling them losses to finish the math. Compare mature groups when you want a reliable cost per win.
Use the marketing budget guide for the broader spending plan. Once a quote exists, the unsold-estimate review helps assign its next action. This worksheet handles the earlier decision to buy and produce another set of estimates. More budget and season guides connect that decision to the shop's available work.
What this doesn't cover
The example excludes canceled jobs, collection delays and differences between job types. It assumes the $750 contribution survives delivery. Replace it with your own completed-job costs and keep uncertain outcomes separate. The additional-cash comparison also requires a real check that existing staff time is available.
Do this in your account
- Select one estimate-generating group and keep every related advertising dollar, including spending on inquiries that never booked.
- Count unique completed estimate visits, won jobs, losses and pending decisions separately.
- Total estimator travel, site and proposal hours across winners and losers. Add scheduling and variable vehicle expense.
- Build allocated-cost and additional-cash columns; mark the assumptions behind every zero.
- Divide by mature wins, then test required completions against estimator and crew calendars before authorizing another batch.
FAQ
Should losing estimates count toward acquisition cost?
Yes. They consume money and time needed to generate the group's wins. Keep them in the total even when a lost bid was handled correctly.
Can I use the estimator's salary as the hourly cost?
Use a consistent employment-cost allocation that matches your records. Keep it distinct from additional payroll cash, and add employment costs beyond base pay when your method includes them.
Does a free estimate need to recover its cost individually?
The group of won jobs must support the acquisition effort. An individual lost estimate will not repay itself. Track enough comparable opportunities to understand the combined burden before expanding visits.
Sources
- U.S. Small Business Administration: Break-even point, read October 17, 2026. Supports cost definitions and the unit-contribution approach. All examples, allocations and capacity assumptions above are invented.
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