Estimate follow-up revenue calculator

This estimate follow-up calculator shows what a higher close rate is worth: estimates sent a month × average value × close rate, at the rate you close today and at the rate you are aiming for.

We send estimates a month, worth each on average. We close 30% of them today, and with steady follow-up we’re aiming for 44%.

Extra revenue a year: $67,200

more a year, from the same 20 estimates a month

Your month’s estimates20 sent
Closed today
0
Extra jobs a month
+0
Not closed at 44%
20
Monthly revenue today
$0
Monthly revenue at target
$0
Extra revenue a month: +$5,600 a month

Count every estimate or quote you send out. The close rate is the share that become paying jobs; the target is your own estimate of the rate steady follow-up would get you.

How does the calculator work out the extra revenue?

Monthly revenue from estimates is estimates sent × average estimate value × close rate. The calculator works that out at your current close rate and at your target, and the difference, times twelve, is the extra revenue a year. With its starting values — 20 estimates a month at $2,000 — a 30% close rate books $12,000 a month and 44% books $17,600: $5,600 more a month, $67,200 a year, from the same estimates.

Today20 × $2,000 × 30%$12,000 a month
At target20 × $2,000 × 44%$17,600 a month
A year($17,600 − $12,000) × 12$67,200 a year

How should I follow up on an estimate?

Keep it short and keep it going. A common pattern is a check-in the day you send it, another a few days later and another after a week, then a last one before the price expires. The first can be one line — “Just checking whether you had any questions about the estimate I sent” — without resending the estimate or pitching it again.

  1. 1

    The day you send it

    A one-line check-in

  2. 2

    A few days later

    Ask what’s holding it up

  3. 3

    After a week

    Ask if the timing works

  4. Before it expires

    Say when the price ends

The first check-in, in full“Just checking whether you had any questions about the estimate I sent.”

Why does follow-up change the close rate?

A customer who hasn’t replied hasn’t necessarily said no — they may be comparing quotes, waiting on someone else, or have forgotten. A follow-up puts your estimate back in front of them while they decide. Track your own close rate before and after you start following up, and put both numbers into this calculator.

In Business Genie

Estimates with a deposit, and the follow-up sent for you

Business Genie sends estimates and proposals that can take a deposit before the job, and sends automated follow-ups, so the check-ins above don’t depend on anyone remembering them. On the web and in the iOS and Android app.

Free setup · Free for a month · No credit card to start

A proposal in the app, with a deposit asked before the job. Sample customer and amounts.

More free tools for estimates

Price the job before the estimate goes out, and send it on a template. Or see every free tool.