How do I get a fence company’s open quotes ready for a buyer?

Gather quotes from every place they hide: your estimating program, email, notebooks and the truck. Put them in one list with the customer, address, fence type, quote date, amount and the last time anyone spoke to the customer. Remove duplicates and mark old ones that no longer apply.

Give each quote a status such as awaiting decision, approved but unscheduled or probably lost. Add short notes, for example that a customer is waiting on a neighbour’s agreement or on a property survey. Say whether prices have changed since the quote, since materials and labour costs move and a buyer needs to know whether those quotes still hold.

Be honest about conversion. Describe how often your quotes turn into jobs in a normal season and what usually decides it. A buyer should not treat the whole list as certain revenue. Explain who follows up and what promises were made, such as a particular install date. Your lawyer can advise how to word any statement about the pipeline in the sale documents. Think about weather and ground conditions, because a quote for a hard winter dig may no longer be practical in the same form.

Key takeaways

• Put every quote in one list with status and last contact.
• Flag quotes whose prices may no longer hold.
• Describe your usual conversion honestly instead of presenting the list as sure revenue.
• Check whether older quotes still fit current conditions.