Pick your year
Home by Dark
×

Write the quote

⏱ 30 min6 steps

A written quote that lists what's included and what each option costs means fewer calls back with questions. In this lesson you'll hand Claude your rough notes, or a photo of the job, and get back a quote with options and blanks for every price. You set the prices. Have one real job in mind. Your first draft may come out wrong in places, and the fixes under each step cover the usual ones.

×

Steps

Step 1 of 60 done · about 30 min left

  1. Step 1 of 6, not done yet
  2. Step 2 of 6, not done yet
  3. Step 3 of 6, not done yet
  4. Step 4 of 6, not done yet
  5. Step 5 of 6, not done yet
  6. Step 6 of 6, not done yet

  1. Start a new chat and tell Claude how you quote

    A quote can be for a roof repair, a catering order, a month of bookkeeping or a set of family portraits. This sets the rule first, then has Claude learn how your quotes usually look.

    drafts and sorts; a person approves anything with a price, a date or your name on it. A quote has all three, so Claude writes the words and you set the numbers.

    This part of the section is words and worksheets only. Claude writes the quote. In these lessons you don't connect Claude to your bank, your card reader or your invoicing software, and you never paste bank, card or account details into it.

    1. Open the or claude.ai and start a new chat.
    2. Copy the prompt below.
    I own a small business, and I want to turn my rough notes about a job into a clear written quote. You'll help me in this chat. The rule: you draft, and I set every price and check every word. Never suggest a price, a rate, a discount, a date or a payment term. Write FILL IN and say what goes there. Use [Name] wherever the customer's name would go. Never ask me for bank, card or account details. First, ask me one question at a time: what I do, what my quotes usually cover, and what customers most often ask about a quote. My business: [what you do and where]
    1. Paste it into the chat. Replace the part in square brackets with what you do and where, like roofing in Springfield or a cake shop.
    2. Send it, then answer Claude's questions one at a time.
    prompt What you type to Claude. A good one says what you want, how to work and what never to do. All wordsAI Short for artificial intelligence. Here it means a program like Claude that reads what you write and writes back in plain words. All wordsClaude app Claude on your phone or computer, where you chat with it by typing. claude.ai is the same thing in a web browser. All words

    You should see:

    Claude says it understands the rule, then asks its first question.

    That's not what I see
    Claude asked me everything at once.
    Type this and send it: One at a time, please. Then answer the first one.

  2. Get your notes or a photo of the job ready

    Claude only needs the work, never who it's for. Getting your notes ready first means nothing private goes into the chat by accident.

    1. Find your notes from the visit, the call or the order: what they asked for, sizes, quantities, anything you noticed.
    2. Take out the customer's name, address, phone number and email.
    3. If you'll use a photo, pick one that shows the work. Crop out anything that shows where they live or who they are, like a house number, a street sign, a car's license plate or a face.
    That's not what I see
    My notes are on paper.
    Take a photo of the page, or type the main points into a note. Cross out the customer's name and address first if they're on it.
    There's a house number or a face in my photo.
    Crop it out with your phone's photo editor before you attach it, or take another photo closer in on the work.

  3. Have Claude turn your notes into a quote

    Claude can read a photo you attach in the Claude app or claude.ai. It's good at describing what it sees, but it can't measure anything. This prompt drafts the quote from your notes and lists what it still needs from you.

    1. Copy the prompt below.
    Turn these notes about a job into a written quote I can send. Start with "Hi [Name],". Include: what the job is, in plain words; a list of what's included, one line each; what's not included; how long the quote is good for; when payment is due; and how to say yes. Put FILL IN for every price and every date, unless I wrote it in my notes. Always put FILL IN for how they pay. If I attached a photo, use it only to describe the work. Don't guess sizes, quantities or condition from it. Then list every question you'd need me to answer before this goes out. My notes: [your notes about the job, with no customer name, address, phone or email]
    1. Paste it into the same chat. Replace the part in square brackets with your notes.
    2. To add a photo, click the + button in the lower-left corner of the message box, then Add files or photos, and pick it.
    3. Send it.
    4. Answer Claude's questions in your own words.

    You should see:

    A draft quote that starts with "Hi [Name],", with lists of what's included and what isn't, FILL IN where your prices and dates go, and a list of questions for you.

    That's not what I see
    Claude put in a price or an hourly rate I never gave it.
    Delete it, and reply: Don't put in any price I didn't give you. Write FILL IN. A price on a quote is a promise, and only I set it.
    I can't see how to attach the photo.
    In the Claude app or claude.ai, click the **+** button in the lower-left corner of the message box, then **Add files or photos**. You can also drag the photo into the chat window. The phone app's buttons may be worded a little differently.
    Claude described something in the photo that isn't there.
    Reply: You described [what it got wrong]. That isn't right. Use only my notes for that part. Then check the rest of the description against the job yourself.

  4. Have Claude add options

    Options let a customer pick instead of saying no. A landscaper might offer a one-time tidy-up or a monthly visit, and a dog walker three walks a week or five. This prompt builds options from the work you described.

    1. Copy the prompt below.
    Now give this quote two or three options for the customer to choose from, built only from the work I've described. Make one the plain version and one the version I'd recommend, and add a third only if my notes support one. For each option, say in one or two lines what's different and what's included. Put FILL IN for every price. Don't invent extra work, upgrades or discounts. If you can't see a real second option in my notes, tell me, and ask what it could be.
    1. Paste it into the same chat and send it.
    2. Cross out any option you wouldn't really offer.

    You should see:

    Two or three options, each with a line or two on what's included and FILL IN for the price.

    That's not what I see
    The options feel made up.
    Reply: Use these options instead: [the choices you'd really offer, in your own words]. You know which choices customers ask for.

  5. Fill in your prices and check the sums

    Now you put the numbers in. Claude can add them up wrong, so check the sums on a calculator yourself before anything goes out.

    1. Write down your price for each and each option, from your own price list or your own working out. If you're not sure what to charge, the lesson "What to charge" helps.
    2. Copy the prompt below.
    Here are my prices for each line and each option: [your prices]. Put them into the quote. Then show me every sum, line by line, with each total, so I can check it on a calculator. Use only the numbers I gave you. If a total needs a number I didn't give you, such as tax, write FILL IN and tell me which number is missing.
    1. Paste it into the same chat. Replace the part in square brackets with your prices.
    2. Send it.
    3. Check every total on the Calculator app or your phone.
    line item One row on a quote or a bill. It names one thing and gives it its own price. All words

    You should see:

    The quote with your prices in, then each sum written out line by line with its total.

    That's not what I see
    A total doesn't match my calculator.
    Work it out on the calculator once more. If you get the same answer twice, fix the total in the quote yourself, and reply: The total for [the line] should be [your total]. Check every other sum again, line by line.
    I'm not sure whether to add tax.
    Leave it as FILL IN, and ask your accountant or bookkeeper. Tax rules depend on where you are and what you sell, and Claude shouldn't guess them.

  6. Put the template and the prompt on one page

    This prompt saves a blank quote and the prompt that fills it, so the next job starts from a page you already have.

    1. Copy the prompt below.
    Put these on one page I can save. First, a blank quote template, based on the quote we wrote, with FILL IN for the job, every price, every date, when payment is due and how to pay, and [Name] for the customer. Second, the notes-to-quote prompt I used, with a blank in square brackets at the end for my notes. At the top, write these rules: I set every price. I check every sum on a calculator. I take out names, addresses, phone numbers and emails before I paste. I never paste bank, card or account details into AI.
    1. Paste it into the same chat and send it.
    2. Copy the page into a note or a document called Quote .
    3. When you send a real quote, fill in how to pay in your own email or software, outside the chat.
    template A starting point with blanks to fill in, so you don't start from nothing every time. All words

    You should see:

    One page with the rules at the top, then a blank quote template and your notes-to-quote prompt.

    That's not what I see
    The page looks messy when I paste it.
    Ask Claude for it as plain text, with a blank line between the template and the prompt. Then copy it again.
×

Your challenge

Write the next quote you send this week from your template. Fill in every price yourself, check the totals on a calculator, and read it once as the customer before it goes.

Last checked 2026-10-20

Start