Guides
Moving a fabrication shop's quoting off the spreadsheet
Most small fabrication shops quote from an Excel cost-up: material, cutting, welding hours, finishing and margin. It works until the sheet is copied for every job, material prices go stale, and nobody compares quoted hours with actual hours until a job has already shipped at a loss.
The fix is usually a small quoting system built around the way your shop already quotes: current material prices in one place, standard labour times for each operation, every quote saved against its job, and quoted-versus-actual hours visible when the job closes.
I'm a mechatronics engineer, and I've taken a real job through a local fabricator: replacement drainage grates, made and fitted for an owners corporation. The Two-Week Fix is a fixed price from $2,500, with a free working sample first.
Where spreadsheet quoting leaks money
- Stale material prices. The steel price in the template is whatever it was when someone last updated it.
- Copied sheets. Every quote starts from an old job's file and carries its mistakes forward.
- Labour hours in one person's head. Welding and fabrication times depend on whoever does the estimate.
- No feedback loop. Quoted hours are never compared with actual hours, so the same underquote repeats.
- Lost versions. A revised quote becomes a new file, and nobody is sure which one the customer accepted.
What a simple quoting system does
- Keeps material prices in one list that's updated once, not in every copied sheet.
- Builds a quote from standard operations, such as cut, drill, weld, finish and install, with your times and rates.
- Saves every version against the job, with who changed what and when.
- Produces a clean quote document for the customer.
- When the job closes, puts quoted hours next to actual hours, so you can see which kinds of job you underquote.
It doesn't have to replace your accounting or your whole job management. Plenty of shops keep Xero or MYOB for invoicing and fix only the quoting step. If the tool you already use quotes well, the fix may be a better template or a connection, not a new system.
What to have ready for the free call
- A recent quote you're happy with, and one that lost money.
- Your current material price list or main supplier.
- Your standard rates for labour and machine time.
What it costs
The Two-Week Fix is a fixed price from $2,500 for one process like quoting, agreed in writing before I start, usually handed over in about two weeks. Half (50%) to start, half on handover. Support and hosting afterwards is optional at $149 / month.
Frequently asked questions
Can it use the formulas in my current spreadsheet?
- Yes. The first step is to rebuild your existing cost-up logic, so new quotes match what you'd have priced, and then improve it.
Can it connect to Xero or MYOB?
- Often, yes. Both let other systems read and write data, and the free call is where I check what your setup allows. A connection that's in the agreed scope is part of the fixed price.
How long does it take?
- Usually about two weeks from agreed scope to handover. Your handover date is agreed in writing before I start. If I'm late because of me, you get 10% off the second payment.
What does it cost?
- A fixed price from $2,500, agreed in writing, after a free 30-minute call and a free working sample within two business days.
What if the finished system doesn't work?
- You see a working sample before you pay a cent. Once we agree the scope in writing, if what I hand over doesn't do what we agreed, I keep working on it at no extra cost until it does. If I still can't make it work, I refund everything you've paid. This doesn't limit your rights under the Australian Consumer Law.
Got a process you've outgrown?
Show me on a free 30-minute call. You'll see a working sample of the fix within two business days, before you pay a cent.
Book my free 30-minute call