Free HVAC Estimate Template (PDF + Instant Generator)
An HVAC estimate needs eight things on it: equipment, materials, labor, consumables, tax, an expiry date, deposit terms, and a number you can look up when he calls back. Everything below is that list, with what goes in each field and an example already filled in. Print the blank one, or open the same template with the lines already on it and put your own prices in.
What goes on an HVAC estimate
This is the whole form. Nothing here is optional in the sense of being decorative: each row is on the list because leaving it out produces a specific argument later, and the third column is what it looks like filled in.
| Field | Filled in | What goes in it |
|---|---|---|
| Estimate number | Q-1042 | Your own sequence, one per estimate. It exists so that a phone call three weeks later takes ten seconds instead of ten minutes. |
| Equipment model and size | Goodman GLXS4BA3610, 3 ton | The exact model number you are quoting, plus the tonnage or BTU. A model number is what stops the homeowner comparing your quote to a cheaper unit and calling it the same job. |
| Materials | Lineset, pad, whip, disconnect, condensate pump | Everything that gets consumed or installed that is not the equipment itself. One line per group, not one line per screw. |
| Labor hours | 14 hrs | Hours, then your rate, as two separate numbers. A single lump labor figure is the first thing a homeowner asks you to justify. |
| Consumables | Brazing, nitrogen, strapping, mastic | Nitrogen, solder, brazing rod, tape, straps, sealant. Small enough to feel not worth billing and large enough to eat the job margin over a year. |
| Sales tax | 7.25% on materials | Your rate, and what it applies to. In a lot of states materials are taxable and labor is not, and the two get billed at different rates on the same page. |
| Good through | 30 days from the date above | The date the price stops being your price. Without it, an estimate you wrote in August is one you are still arguing about in March. |
| Deposit | 30% on signing, balance at start-up | How much up front and when the rest is due. Written on the estimate, it is a term he agreed to. Said on the phone, it is a surprise. |
The parts that decide whether it gets accepted
A model number, not a description
"3 ton condenser" is not a quote, it is a category. The homeowner takes it to two other contractors, one of them quotes a builder grade unit against your mid range one, and the only visible difference is that yours costs more. A model number makes the comparison honest without you having to explain anything.
Hours and rate as two numbers
A single lump labor figure is the first thing anybody pushes back on, because it is the only number on the page with no arithmetic behind it. Fourteen hours at your rate is a number he can check against his own sense of how long the job takes. One big number is a number he can only accept or fight.
Tax that matches how your state works
In a lot of states materials are taxable and labor is not, so the tax line has to apply to part of the estimate rather than all of it. Getting this wrong in the customer's favor costs you the difference out of your own pocket, and getting it wrong the other way is the kind of thing that ends up on a review.
An expiry date and a deposit
These are the two lines contractors skip, and they are the two that are really about you rather than the customer. The expiry date ends the estimate. The deposit line turns a conversation into a term he agreed to, in writing, before you ordered equipment that is now sitting in your van.
Three things people leave off
- What the price does not cover. Duct repairs, electrical upgrades, anything found behind the old equipment. Write the exclusions on the estimate and a change order is a normal step. Leave them off and the change order is a fight.
- Your license number. Most states require it on estimates and contracts, and homeowners who are checking do notice its absence.
- A place to sign. An estimate with a signature line gets signed on the spot more often than one that has to be answered by email tomorrow, and by tomorrow he has two other numbers.
Two ways to use it
Fill it in and send it
This link opens the builder with every line above already on the quote: open the HVAC estimate template with these lines in it. Put in your customer, your prices and your tax rate, and you have a PDF you can text to the homeowner before you leave the driveway.
The builder is the paid part of this site: $29 a month for the whole shop, never per technician, cancel yourself in one click. The price and the terms are on one page. The charts, the templates and the PDF below stay free either way.
Print it and write on it
If you would rather keep a pad of these in the truck, the blank version is a one page PDF with the same fields on it. No email, no sign up, no gate.
Download the blank HVAC estimate PDF
The other templates
For a specific job, start from the one that already has that job's lines on it rather than adding them to this one:
- Furnace installation quote template: removal and disposal, AFUE, venting, gas, condensate, permit, rebate.
- AC replacement estimate template: SEER2, lineset, pad, electrical, drain, EPA recovery, rebate.
- HVAC maintenance agreement template: visits a year, covered and not covered, parts discount, renewal, cancellation.
- HVAC invoice template: what this estimate becomes once the job is done.
- Service call invoice template: fault code, what you found, what you recommend next, signature.
- Change order form: for when the scope changes after this estimate was signed.
If the question is what to put in the price column rather than which fields to fill, that is the labor rate calculator. More about how estimates get built and sent from the truck is on the HVAC estimate software page.
HVAC estimate template questions
What should be included in an HVAC estimate?
Equipment model and size, materials, labor hours at your rate, consumables, sales tax, an expiry date, and the deposit terms. The two most often left off are the expiry date and the deposit, and they are the two that cost money later: without an expiry you are still honoring an August price in March, and a deposit agreed on the phone instead of on the page is a surprise.
Is an HVAC estimate legally binding?
On its own, usually not. It becomes binding when the customer accepts it, and what he accepted is whatever the page says, including the exclusions. That is why the terms line matters more than the layout. Rules differ by state and a signed estimate can be treated as a contract, so have a lawyer read your standard terms once and then reuse them.
How long should an HVAC estimate be good for?
30 days is the common answer and it is a reasonable one, because equipment pricing moves and your supplier is not holding a number for you. Whatever you pick, print it. An estimate with no end date is one you will be arguing about the following season.