Quoting · 9 min read

Scaffolding quotation template: what to include, with a worked example

A scaffolding quote that wins work does two things: it makes the price easy to say yes to, and it makes it impossible to argue about later. Here's exactly what to put on the page, a template you can copy, and a worked example with real numbers.

The 12 things every scaffolding quote needs

1. Your details. Company name, address, phone, email, company number and VAT number.
2. Client details. Name, site address (not the billing address), and the contact who signs off.
3. Quote number and date, plus a validity period, usually 30 days.
4. Scope of works. What you are scaffolding, in one paragraph a non-scaffolder understands.
5. Scaffold specification. Type (independent, birdcage, tower, chimney), length in metres, number of lifts, working height, bay size.
6. Load class, Class 2, 3 or 4. State it; it protects you when someone stacks bricks on a painting scaffold.
7. Hire period. The included weeks, and the weekly rate after that. This is where most of your margin lives.
8. Erect and dismantle, priced separately or included, but say which.
9. Extras and exclusions. Debris netting, monoflex, boarded lifts, brick guards, loading bays, night work, out-of-hours access.
10. What the client provides. Clear access, hard standing, parking, permits, licences, power, welfare.
11. Compliance. TG20:21 compliance sheet, handover certificate, weekly inspections, CISRS-carded operatives, £5m/£10m public liability.
12. Payment terms. Deposit, stage payments, terms in days, and what happens if the hire overruns.

The template

Copy this into your own document and swap the bracketed parts. Keep it to one or two pages, long quotes get skimmed, not read.

[YOUR COMPANY]                       QUOTATION
[Address] · [Phone] · [Email]        Quote no: [SQ-0001]
Company no. [00000000] · VAT [GB000000000]   Date: [DD/MM/YYYY]
                                     Valid until: [DD/MM/YYYY]

CLIENT              [Client name]
SITE ADDRESS        [Site address + postcode]

SCOPE OF WORKS
Supply, erect, hire and dismantle an [independent tied] scaffold to
the [rear elevation] of the above property to allow [roof repairs].

SPECIFICATION
  Type                [Independent tied scaffold]
  Length              [12.0 m]
  Lifts               [2] (working height [4.0 m])
  Bay size            [2.0 m]
  Load class          [Class 3 - 2.00 kN/m2, general trades]
  Boarded lifts       [Top lift fully boarded, double guardrail,
                       150 mm toeboards]
  Tie pattern         [Pattern B, to TG20:21]

PRICE
  Erect & dismantle                              GBP [  0.00]
  Scaffold hire - first [6] weeks (included)     GBP [  0.00]
  Transport / delivery & collection              GBP [  0.00]
  Extras: [debris netting 12 m]                  GBP [  0.00]
                                        --------------------
  Subtotal                                       GBP [  0.00]
  VAT @ 20%                                      GBP [  0.00]
  TOTAL                                          GBP [  0.00]

  Additional hire after week [6]: GBP [  0.00] per week.

INCLUDED
  TG20:21 compliance sheet · Handover certificate ·
  Weekly statutory inspections · CISRS-carded operatives ·
  GBP [10]m public liability insurance

EXCLUDED / BY OTHERS
  Pavement or highway licence · Parking suspensions ·
  Removal of obstructions · Out-of-hours or weekend working ·
  Alterations once erected (charged at GBP [ 0.00] per visit)

PAYMENT TERMS
  [50]% on erection, balance [14] days from invoice.
  Hire charged monthly in advance after the included period.

Accepted:  ______________________   Date: ____________

Worked example

A typical domestic job: 12 m independent tied scaffold, 2 lifts, rear elevation, roof repairs, 6 weeks hire, one van load.

Extended hire after week 6 at £45/week. Those rates are illustrative, yours will differ by region and by how hard you're being pushed on price. The structure is what matters.

If those numbers feel pulled from thin air, use our scaffolding price estimator to benchmark the job against typical 2026 UK rates before you send it.

Five mistakes that cost real money

• No hire period stated. "Scaffold: £1,200" with no end date means the client keeps it for five months and you eat the cost.
• No load class. A painting scaffold gets used for blockwork, and you're the one explaining it to an inspector.
• Alterations not priced. Put a per-visit rate on adaptations up front. Half of all domestic jobs need one.
• Licences left ambiguous. Pavement licences and parking suspensions are the client's unless you say otherwise, in writing.
• Slow turnaround. The scaffolder who quotes same-day wins the job more often than the one who's £80 cheaper three days later.

Quote same-day, every time

The template above works fine in Word. The problem is that filling it in properly for every enquiry takes 30–45 minutes, so it gets done at 9pm or not at all. That's the gap ScaffQuote closes: the specification, pricing, exclusions and the TG20:21 sheet are generated from your own rate card in one pass.