- Quote
- A document setting out a fixed price for a specific job. Once a client accepts it, it can carry contractual weight. Usually includes materials, labour, quantities, and unit prices, along with your VAT treatment.
- Proposal
- A more detailed document than a quote. On top of pricing, it sets out commercial terms: timeline, payment terms, validity period, warranty, and what's excluded. Used for bigger jobs or commercial clients who expect more than a price list.
- Estimate
- A rough cost approximation without a fixed-price commitment. Usually given as a range, for example between €2,000 and €3,000, based on your experience, and used when there are still unknowns before you can quote a firm price.
- Deposit
- A partial payment a client makes before you start a job, typically 25% to 50% of the total. It confirms the client is committed and covers your initial material costs. In Ireland, deposits are usually paid by bank transfer or in cash rather than card, so make sure your IBAN is on the quote before you ask for one.
- Labour
- The cost of the actual work in a job, separate from materials. Can be charged by the hour, by the day, or as a fixed price. Should cover more than just time on site, factor in travel, prep, and clean-up too.
- Measurement Certificate
- A document recording the quantities of work actually completed on a job, checked against what was quoted. Common on larger contracts where payments are staged against measured progress rather than a single deposit and balance.
- Award / Acceptance
- The formal moment a client confirms they're going ahead with your quote. Once a client awards or accepts a quote, they're officially agreeing to the price and scope and giving you the go-ahead to start.
- Contract Work
- An arrangement where you commit to completing an entire job for an agreed price, rather than being paid by the hour. You take on responsibility for the final result, whatever it costs you to get there.
- Subcontracting
- When you bring in another tradesperson or firm to carry out part of the job. For example, a builder subcontracting an electrician for the wiring on a renovation.
- Specifications Document
- A technical document describing exactly what needs to be done on a project: materials, methods, standards, and specifications. Larger jobs, especially for local authorities or main contractors, often come with one of these, and it's what you price your quote against.
- Trade Registration / Licence
- Ireland doesn't have one blanket licence covering every trade the way some countries do, but several trades need formal registration before you can legally carry out certain work, for example Safe Electric registration for electrical work, or RGI (Registered Gas Installer) status for gas work. Check what applies to your own trade, and put your registration number on quotes so clients can see the work is compliant and insurable.
- Inspection
- A formal check of a completed or in-progress job to confirm it matches the quote, plans, and relevant standards. Can be carried out by the client, an independent professional, or a regulatory body such as the local authority.
- Warranty
- The period after a job is finished during which you agree to fix any defects at no extra cost. There's no single statutory warranty length for trades work in Ireland, so state your warranty period clearly on the quote so the client knows what's covered and for how long.
- Retention
- A percentage of the total value, typically 5% to 10%, that a client holds back until the end of the warranty period. Acts as security against defects that show up after you've finished and left site.
- Instalments
- Instalments means splitting the total price into several payments over time instead of one lump sum. On a Prummo quote in Ireland, instalments are agreed directly between you and the client, for example a deposit, a mid-job payment, and a final balance, all paid by bank transfer or cash. There's no card-based instalment plan attached to Irish quotes, so make sure the schedule and amounts are clear on the quote itself.
- Proforma Invoice
- A preliminary document showing the amount a client will owe before the final invoice is issued. It has no tax standing on its own, but it helps the client confirm the figure and get payment ready.
- Profit Margin
- The percentage you add on top of your real costs (materials plus labour) to make a profit. Typically somewhere between 20% and 40%, depending on the type of work and how established you are.
- Direct Cost
- Expenses tied directly to a specific job: materials bought for it, labour hours on site, and any equipment hire. Easy to attribute to a single quote.
- Indirect Cost / Overhead
- Business expenses not tied to any one job: insurance, van and fuel, tool maintenance, phone, and accountancy fees. These should be factored into your hourly rate, not just added on job by job.
- Service Fee
- A percentage a platform charges for facilitating a transaction. Prummo doesn't charge a per-quote service fee in Ireland since quotes are settled directly between you and the client by bank transfer or cash. Prummo's own charges come through its subscription plans instead.
- Validity Period
- The window during which the prices on a quote stay fixed. Typically 15 to 30 days. After that, you can recalculate if material costs have moved on.
- Payment Terms
- The terms that set out how and when a client pays: method (bank transfer or cash), deadlines (on completion, within 30 days), and structure (deposit plus part payments, or full payment on completion). Spelling this out clearly on the quote avoids awkward conversations later.
- Amendment / Change Order
- A formal change to a quote or contract you've already agreed with a client. When extra work or a change in scope comes up mid-job, the amendment records the new scope and the adjusted price, so both sides have it in writing.
- Revenue
- Revenue, officially the Office of the Revenue Commissioners, is Ireland's national tax authority. It handles VAT registration, income tax, and PAYE for anyone working and earning in the Republic of Ireland. A self-employed tradesperson registers with Revenue to get a VAT number and files returns through Revenue's online service (ROS). Keep the figures on your quotes and invoices consistent with what you report to Revenue to avoid discrepancies at tax time.
- VAT Invoice
- A VAT invoice is the document a VAT-registered tradesperson must issue for taxable work, and Irish tax law sets minimum requirements: your VAT registration number, the invoice date, a unique invoice number, a description of the work, and the VAT rate and amount shown separately from the net price. Most construction and repair work in Ireland is charged at the reduced 13.5% rate rather than the standard 23% rate, so getting the correct rate on the invoice matters. Missing or incorrect details can invalidate the invoice for the client's own VAT reclaim, and cause problems if Revenue reviews your records.
- RGI (Registered Gas Installer)
- RGI stands for Registered Gas Installer, the official register for gas installers in Ireland, maintained by the Register of Gas Installers of Ireland (RGII) on behalf of Gas Networks Ireland. Only RGI-registered installers can legally carry out natural gas installation and servicing work in the Republic of Ireland. If you're a gas-fitting tradesperson, showing your RGI number on quotes and invoices reassures clients the work is compliant and insurable.