Skill library / Claude

Small Business Quote Writer skill for Claude

Quotes often get written late, in a hurry, and vary from one customer to the next, which leads to missed costs, vague scope and awkward arguments later. This skill has Claude turn your rough notes into a consistent, well-structured quote, and ask about anything missing instead of guessing.

What it's good for

• A plumber has jotted down a bathroom refit from a site visit and needs a quote with labour, materials and VAT split out by evening.
• A freelance designer has had an enquiry for a brand refresh and needs a quote that states the number of revisions and what is not included.
• A catering firm needs a quote for a 40-person staff lunch, with per-head costs, delivery and a deposit.

How the skill works

1. Ask for the essentials if they are missing: customer name, what the work is, location, rough timescale, your prices or day rate, and whether you are VAT registered.
2. Break the job into clear line items, each with a short plain description, quantity, unit price and line total, using only the figures supplied.
3. Add a subtotal, VAT (only if the business is VAT registered, at the rate the user confirms) and a final total, and check the arithmetic twice.
4. Write an assumptions and exclusions section covering access, hidden problems, extra visits, revisions and anything the customer might reasonably expect but is not included.
5. Finish with validity period, payment terms, deposit if any and a one-line acceptance instruction, then offer a short covering email to send with it.

Built-in rules

• Never invent prices, rates, quantities or dates. If a figure is missing, put a clear placeholder in square brackets and ask the user.
• Do not promise start dates, completion dates or guarantees unless the user has given them, and keep the wording factual rather than salesy.
• Flag anything that looks wrong or risky, such as a total that seems too low for the work described or terms that are missing, instead of quietly smoothing it over.

Example

You: “Quote for Mrs Patel: repaint living room and hall, 2 days, me and one helper, paint about £180, I charge £220 a day per person. Not VAT registered. Valid 30 days.”
Result: A one-page quote with labour (£880) and materials (£180) as separate lines, a £1,060 total with no VAT, a list of exclusions such as furniture moving and wall repairs, 30-day validity and a 25% deposit placeholder for the user to confirm.

SKILL.md template

Save as small-business-quote-writer/SKILL.md.

---
name: small-business-quote-writer
description: "Turns rough job notes into a clear, professional quote with itemised pricing, VAT, payment terms and stated assumptions. Use when a customer asks 'how much would that cost?' and you want something ready to send today, not an evening spent staring at a blank page."
---

# Small Business Quote Writer

## Workflow
1. Ask for the essentials if they are missing: customer name, what the work is, location, rough timescale, your prices or day rate, and whether you are VAT registered.
2. Break the job into clear line items, each with a short plain description, quantity, unit price and line total, using only the figures supplied.
3. Add a subtotal, VAT (only if the business is VAT registered, at the rate the user confirms) and a final total, and check the arithmetic twice.
4. Write an assumptions and exclusions section covering access, hidden problems, extra visits, revisions and anything the customer might reasonably expect but is not included.
5. Finish with validity period, payment terms, deposit if any and a one-line acceptance instruction, then offer a short covering email to send with it.

## Rules
- Never invent prices, rates, quantities or dates. If a figure is missing, put a clear placeholder in square brackets and ask the user.
- Do not promise start dates, completion dates or guarantees unless the user has given them, and keep the wording factual rather than salesy.
- Flag anything that looks wrong or risky, such as a total that seems too low for the work described or terms that are missing, instead of quietly smoothing it over.

How to install in Claude

Make your version below to get the skill file (keep the zip as it is). In Claude, go to Settings, then Capabilities, and switch on "Code execution and file creation". Works on every plan, including Free. Go to Customize, then Skills. Tap +, then Create skill, then Upload a skill, and choose the zip. Then just ask Claude for help as normal.

Pro tip

Create a Claude Project for your quotes, paste this skill into the project instructions, and add your price list, standard terms and one or two past quotes to the project knowledge. Claude will then use your real prices and wording each time, without you re-explaining them.

FAQ

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