Moving quote template that locks in the date

What a moving estimate should include

Quote a move by the crew, the truck and the hours, then add the things that make each move different: stairs, long carries, pianos, packing and materials. This moving quote template keeps every one of those on its own line and takes a deposit to lock in the date. The Swift Moves apartment sample opens ready to edit in the quote maker, and the same layout works as a removalist quote in Word, Excel or PDF.

Moves are priced on time, and time depends on details customers forget to mention. Record both addresses, access at each end, the inventory or room count, crew size, truck size and whether you bill hourly or fixed, so the price still holds when the truck pulls up and the crew starts carrying.

1. Both addresses and accessFloor level, elevators, stairs, the walk from truck to door, parking limits and loading zones at each end. A third floor walk-up adds real hours.
2. Inventory or room countThe large items and the number of rooms or likely boxes. A walk through in person or by video beats a guess every time.
3. Crew and truckNumber of movers and truck size. Four movers on a two bedroom apartment cost more per hour than two, but often finish the move for less.
4. Billing basisHourly with a minimum, or a fixed price. If hourly, say when the clock starts and stops: depot to depot, or arrival to final item placed.
5. Specialty itemsPianos, gun safes, gym machines, large aquariums and antiques, each priced separately with any extra crew, dollies or straps they need.
6. Packing and materialsBoxes, tape, paper and wardrobe cartons as a set, with packing labor by the hour as an option.
7. Protection and disassemblyFurniture pads, stretch wrap, mattress bags, and taking apart bed frames, tables and desks. Say what is included in the rate.
8. Deposit and date changesA deposit to hold the date and truck, and what happens to it if the customer moves or cancels the booking at short notice.

Sample removalist quote with example prices

Swift Moves quotes Hana Takahashi to move a two bedroom apartment across town. Four movers and a truck for 6 hours at $185 an hour is $1,110, with $120 for a set of boxes and packing materials and $180 to handle an upright piano, for a $1,410 subtotal. Four hours of packing service at $60 is optional. A 20% deposit books the date; on these example prices that is $282 before any tax.

Edit the Swift Moves quote

4 lines are filled in, from movers and truck to packing service. Put in your own moving rates, then download the PDF.

Open the moving sample

How to price a moving job

Local moves are mostly priced per hour for a crew and truck, with a minimum number of hours. Long distance moves are more often priced by weight or volume plus distance. Either way, the moving estimate is only as good as your knowledge of the inventory and the access at both ends.

1. Hourly crew and truck rateA rate per hour for a set crew and truck, with a minimum such as 3 hours and a travel or call out charge. Clear for local work and simple to adjust on the day.
2. Fixed price from an inventoryTurn the inventory into cubic feet, estimate the hours from it, and quote one total. The customer gets certainty and you carry the risk, so attach the inventory to the quote.
3. Weight or volume plus distanceFor long hauls: a rate per pound or per cubic foot plus mileage, fuel and tolls. State how the load will be weighed or measured, and check any rules that apply to household moves where you operate.
4. Per item add-onsPianos, extra stair flights, long carries, shuttle trucks for narrow streets and storage days, each as its own line.

Fuel, tolls and truck payments sit inside the hourly rate for local work, so recheck the rate when they rise. The guide to fixed price vs time and materials helps you decide between hourly and fixed quotes.

Worked example: a three bedroom house at a fixed price

Fixed price moves start from the inventory. The loading pace and the hourly rate below are examples you would replace with numbers from your own crew records.

1. VolumeThe walk through inventory comes to about 1,100 cubic feet of furniture and boxes.
2. Loading and unloadingFour movers loading about 275 cubic feet an hour need 4 hours to load. Unloading is quicker, about 3 hours, so 7 hours of carrying.
3. Drive and setupThe houses are 25 miles apart: 1 hour of driving plus 0.5 hours for paperwork and floor protection, so the job runs 8.5 hours.
4. Crew and truck8.5 hours at an example $195 an hour for four movers and a truck is $1,657.50.
5. Materials and extrasMattress bags and wrap at $85, plus $75 for a 14 step staircase at the new house. Total $1,817.50, quoted as a fixed $1,820 with the inventory attached.

Items missing from the inventory, a blocked driveway or an elevator booked by another tenant will break a fixed price, so say on the quote how extra time is charged.

Moving inclusions and exclusions

Moving quote mistakes that eat your margin

Moving companies lose money in the hours nobody priced. These gaps come up again and again on local moves.

• Pricing from the bedroom count without an inventory, then finding a garage full of tools and a home gym.
• Not checking access at the new address, where the truck may have to park a block away.
• Leaving the start and stop of the clock undefined, which turns every bill into a debate.
• Taking no deposit on a peak weekend, so a cancellation the day before leaves a truck and crew idle.
• Moving a piano or safe at the standard rate without the dolly, straps or extra hands it needs.
• Forgetting the drive back to the depot on a one way job across town.