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Quote It Right vs Excel (or Google Sheets)
Let's be straight: for a shop quoting one or two jobs a month with straightforward specs, a spreadsheet might be enough. It's free, you already know it, and nobody has to learn anything.
The trouble starts when the sheet gets copied. The fourth farmhouse table gets priced from a copy of a copy of the third, the overhead line is still last year's rent, and self-employment tax never made it into the formula at all. Quote It Right is the sheet you'd build if you had a week to build it properly, plus the parts a spreadsheet can't do: a quote the client can approve and pay a deposit on.
Side by side
| Feature | Quote It Right | Excel |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $5/mo Premium or $10/mo Pro, flat per shop. Free Starter plan with 3 saved projects | Free, or already paid for with Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace |
| Learning curve | Type in materials and hours; the math is done | None, if you already live in it |
| Shop rate | Worked out from the income you want, taxes, overhead and unbillable hours | Whatever number is in the cell, from whenever you typed it |
| Forgotten costs | Overhead, tax, finish, delivery and tool replacement are lines you're prompted for | Only what you remembered to add a row for |
| Version drift | One template; change a price and every future quote uses it | Every quote is a copy; fixes never reach the old ones |
| Quote shown at four profit levels | Yes | Build it yourself |
| Client approves the quote from a link | Yes | No |
| Collect the deposit from the quote | Yes, on Pro, through Stripe | No |
| Branded PDF | Yes; your logo on Premium and Pro | Print to PDF and tidy it yourself |
| Board feet and lumber cost | Yes | A formula you write and maintain |
| Works on your phone at the lumber yard | Yes | Sort of |
Excel and Google Sheets are free or bundled with software you already pay for. No prices to check.
When Excel is the better pick
- You quote a couple of jobs a month, the specs are simple, and you've got a sheet that already works. Don't fix it.
- You want total control over the layout and the formulas, and you don't mind maintaining them.
- You never send a formal quote: a number in a text message is how your clients like it.
When Quote It Right is the better pick
- The sheet has already lied to you once: the overhead was stale, or the tax wasn't in it, and a job paid less than it should have.
- You've got more than one version of the sheet and you're not sure which one is right.
- You want the client to approve and pay a deposit from one link, and the quote to look like it came from a real business.
Common questions
- Why not just use a spreadsheet?
- Because spreadsheets decay. Every quote becomes a copy of the last one, the overhead line goes stale without anyone noticing, and the costs you forgot to add a row for stay forgotten. Quote It Right keeps one price list, prompts for the costs that get missed, and shows the quote at four profit levels before you send it.
- Can I get my quotes out again?
- Every quote downloads as a PDF whenever you like. Your data isn't locked in.
- Is it really worth $5 a month?
- One under-priced job costs more than a year of Premium. The free Starter plan has no time limit, so try it on your next quote and decide with a real number.
- Do I have to sign up to see if it works?
- No. The Pay Yourself Calculator and the Board Foot Calculator are free with no account, and you can build a quote in guest mode before you sign up.
Try it on your next quote
The calculators are free with no account, and the Starter plan has no time limit. Decide with a real number, not a feature list.
Also compared: Quote It Right vs Jobber · Quote It Right vs CabiPro