The item you need is missing. Or something similar exists but excludes the component, installation or configuration you must deliver. Instead of choosing the nearest price, describe the service and reconstruct what it takes to perform it.
A commercial offer needs a price explainable through internal calculation. If a technical assignment or procedure requires a formal new price, also verify its required method, documents and approvals. The example below does not replace a formal analysis.
Start with the result and unit
Write what you deliver. “Install an access-control system with two readers, existing cabling and initial configuration” defines the case. “Complete system” leaves almost everything open. Then define the unit: system, point, metre or hour.
The unit changes the calculation. For a complete system, hours can stay in internal records while the client sees a lump-sum service. For identical units, check which costs repeat and which occur once, such as travel or commissioning.
Break down direct costs
List materials and actual quantities, then necessary person-hours. Use the business cost of hours, not wages alone. Add necessary equipment hire and transport where not already included. For supplies, check packs, waste, accessories, delivery and availability.
You need not show the client your supplier purchase price. The worksheet tells you whether selling is sustainable. In the public document, present understandable items at selling prices.
A checkable numerical example
Suppose a small installation requires the following synthetic amounts before applicable taxes; these are not market rates:
- Components and accessories: €180.
- Labour: 4 person-hours × €30 direct hourly cost = €120.
- Equipment hire: €25.
- Dedicated transport: €35.
Direct cost is €360. Add €40 in job overheads not already included elsewhere, making full cost €400. A 25% markup gives a €500 price. Planned profit is €100, or 20% of selling price, before any uncounted costs.
These percentages are not universal. If hourly costs already include overheads, do not add the same €40 twice. For a different margin, recalculate based on selling price rather than merely changing the percentage's label.
Handle uncertainty explicitly
Distinguish a predictable cost from missing information. Necessary travel needs estimating. Cabling with an unknown route needs checking or an explicit assumption. Do not hide uncertainty inside an apparently precise figure.
You can make an estimate subject to a site visit or separate confirmed work from work awaiting confirmation. If allowing for risk, justify the amount internally rather than calling it a cost already incurred. Profit rewards the business; contingency concerns possible deviations. They are different components.
Describe the new price to the client
State service, relevant materials, quantities and conditions. Separate the readers from installation if the client needs to choose models, or group a defined package. Keep exclusions visible: unprepared network, building work or additional training to be agreed.
A missing price-list item does not justify vague wording. Unusual work particularly needs an explanation of what the price includes and what might change it.
Keep the method and update the data
File the calculation with material sources, price dates and planned hours. After completion, compare estimated and actual cost. A reusable item improves when assumptions are corrected, not when the first total is copied forever.
PreventivOk supports entering quote items and reusing them through the personal catalogue where available in your workflow. It does not provide certified automated new-price analysis or online regional price-list browsing. Technical and economic checks remain yours.
The second unit may cost less than the first
Transport in the example covers the job. Installing two systems on the same visit does not automatically double it. Labour may increase almost fully or include shared preparation. Separate repeated and shared costs before setting a unit price.
Keep separate worksheets for “first system” and “additional unit on the same visit” if this accurately describes the service. Do not use that distinction when location or conditions change: a second site may need another delivery and setup. This protects both price sustainability and the package's clarity.
After building the price, enter the work in PreventivOk with a clear description, quantity and consistent terms. Create your next quote with PreventivOk.