Terms and conditions template for tradespeople: seven clauses and the law that limits each one

A tradesperson's terms need seven clauses: price and dates, extra work, payment, the customer's right to cancel, late cancellation, faults, and removed materials. The wording below is free to copy onto your quotes. Under each clause is the rule that limits it, because section 62 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 says an unfair term "is not binding on the consumer".

Free tool

Quote terms maker for tradespeople

Fill in the quote date, start date and deposit. The tool writes the terms to attach to your quote and works out the date the quote runs out, 30 days after its date.

Which letterHouseholderBusiness customer Your business name Date of the quote VATThe price includes VAT.We are not VAT registered. Expected start date Working days the job should take Deposit (householder terms)Neither law the guide read sets a figure for a deposit.

Copy the text Print or save as PDF

• For a job agreed at the customer's home, also give the cancellation form in Schedule 3 of the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013. Clause 4 does not replace it.
• Never use the business payment clause on a householder.
• For a longer job, add a line to clause 3 saying what is due at which stage.
• Print the terms on the quote or attach them, and ask the customer to accept in writing.

The rule this rests on: Consumer Rights Act 2015, sections 49 to 52, 57 and 62 and Schedule 2; Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulations 10, 29, 30 and 36. A draft to check and adapt, not legal advice.

Works in your browser. Nothing you type leaves this device.

Before you copy it

The template is written for householders, with one marked clause for business customers.

Keep your terms in line with what you say on the visit. Section 50 of the Act treats anything you say or write about the job as a term of the contract if the customer takes it into account when deciding to go ahead.

The template

1. Price and dates. This quote is a fixed price for the work described and is valid for 30 days from its date. The price includes VAT [or: we are not VAT registered]. It covers only the work listed. We expect to start on [date] and to take about [number] working days. If weather, illness or late materials move those dates, we will tell you as soon as we know.

The rule. If no price is fixed, section 51 says the customer pays "a reasonable price for the service, and no more". If no time is fixed, section 52 says the work must be done "within a reasonable time". Both are questions of fact, so write the price and the dates down.

2. Extra work. If you ask for extra work, or we find something that could not be seen when we quoted, we will give you the price in writing (a text or email is enough) and will not start it until you agree.

The rule. Schedule 2 lists a term that lets the trader decide the price after the customer is bound, with no agreed way of working it out. Price each extra before you do it.

3. Payment. A deposit of £[amount] is due when you accept this quote and books your start date. [For longer jobs: £[amount] is due when [stage] is complete.] The balance is due within 7 days of our invoice on completion.

The rule. Neither law we read sets a figure for a deposit. Schedule 2 does list a term that lets you keep a customer's money when they pull out, unless you owe them the same when you pull out.

3B. Payment, business customers. Payment is due within 30 days of the invoice date. We may charge statutory interest and fixed recovery costs on overdue amounts under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998.

The rule. GOV.UK says that with no agreed date a business payment is late after 30 days, and an agreed date must usually be within 60 days. Statutory interest is 8% plus the Bank of England base rate, and the fixed sums are £40, £70 or £100 by size of debt. GOV.UK also says you cannot claim statutory interest if the contract sets a different rate, so do not write your own. Never use 3B on a householder. Our guide to late payment interest has the sums.

4. Your right to cancel. If you agreed this job at your home or anywhere away from our premises, or wholly by phone or email, you may cancel within 14 days of agreeing it, without giving a reason, by telling us in writing. If you ask us in writing to start within the 14 days and then cancel, you will pay for the work done up to the time you tell us. If the work is finished within the 14 days at your request, the right to cancel ends.

The rule. Regulations 29, 30 and 36 of the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013. The clause does not replace the cancellation form: regulation 10 says you must also give the customer the form in Schedule 3, on paper unless they agree to another format. Our guide to writing a quote explains what you lose if you skip it. Regulation 28 removes the right to cancel where the customer has asked you to visit for urgent repairs.

5. Cancelling or moving the date. After the 14 days, if you cancel or move the job with less than 5 working days' notice, we may charge for materials bought for your job that we cannot return or reuse, and for time we cannot fill, up to the amount of your deposit. If we cancel, we will return everything you have paid for work not done.

The rule. Schedule 2 lists any term that makes a customer who pulls out pay "a disproportionately high sum in compensation". Charge what the cancellation cost you, not a flat penalty.

6. Putting things right. We will do the work with reasonable care and skill. If something we did is faulty, tell us and we will come back and put it right at no charge. Nothing in these terms reduces your legal rights.

The rule. Section 49 puts the care and skill term into every contract, and section 57 says a term excluding that liability is not binding.

7. Waste and removed materials. We will take away waste from the job. Old fittings, cable, pipe and other removed materials become ours to dispose of or recycle unless you ask to keep them before we start.

The rule. We found no statute on this point, which is the reason to write it down. If the old copper goes to a yard, see whether you pay tax on scrap.

What to leave out

Three lines turn up in terms borrowed from other firms and are unlikely to bind a householder: "no refunds under any circumstances", "we accept no liability for any loss", and "prices may change without notice". Each matches an entry in Schedule 2 or falls to section 57.

How to use it

1. Fill in the brackets and delete 3 or 3B, whichever does not apply.
2. Print the terms on the quote or attach them to it.
3. Ask the customer to accept in writing.
4. For a job agreed at the customer's home, add the cancellation form.

Overlyft is an AI agency for small firms. It can set up an AI Quote Writer that drafts each quote from your notes with your own payment terms and exclusions, and you check it before it goes to the customer.

This is general information, not legal advice. For large contracts, ask a solicitor to check your terms.