Section-Based Quoting for Tradies
Quote the way you actually work — '8 fence bays + 2 gates' — with per-section labour and materials, not one giant flat list.
Or try it on the web →Most quoting apps give you one big flat list of line items. Real trade jobs aren't flat — a fence is 8 bays plus 2 gates plus a hardstand. A bathroom reno is demo plus waterproofing plus tiling plus fit-off. A kitchen is base cabinets plus wall cabinets plus benchtop plus splashback. Section-based quoting splits the job into named sections so the quote reads the way the customer thinks about the work, and so you can price each section properly without burying the labour in a single line.
What a section actually is
A section is a named slice of the job with its own materials and its own labour. For a fencer it's 'Section 1: 12m colorbond run — 8 bays' and 'Section 2: 2 × gate hang'. For a builder doing a bathroom reno it's 'Section 1: demo and strip', 'Section 2: waterproofing to AS 3740', 'Section 3: wall tiling', 'Section 4: fit-off'. Each section has its own line items, its own labour hours, and rolls up to a section subtotal. The PDF shows the customer the breakdown by section, which is far more legible than a 40-line flat list.
Why this wins on multi-room and multi-zone jobs
If you quote a two-bathroom renovation as one flat list, the customer can't see what they'd save by dropping the second bathroom. If you quote it as two sections, they can — and the conversation about scope becomes easier instead of harder. The same applies to a fence with three different fence types in three different runs, a paint job covering interior + exterior, or a deck plus pergola. Section-based quoting turns 'too dear, can we trim it?' into a 10-second conversation: 'drop Section 3 and we're back inside budget'.
How sections work in QuoteMate
When building a quote, tap 'Add Section' instead of stacking line items into one list. Name the section, add materials (with AI suggestions and live supplier pricing), enter labour hours, and (if you want) set a markup that's different to the rest of the quote. Repeat for each section. The PDF renders each section as its own block with a subtotal, then the totals at the bottom — GST, materials total, labour total, grand total. The customer reads a structured quote; you keep a structured record that's easy to copy forward.
Where the section breakdown lives in the data
Every section is stored on the quote with its own ID, name, line items, labour hours, and labour unit. When the customer accepts the quote, the section structure is preserved on the resulting invoice — partial payments can be applied per section if you stage the work that way. When you save the quote as a job template later, the sections come along, so the next similar job starts already structured. Section management lives inside the materials list (where the work is), not buried in the labour and markup screen — that's the way tradies think about a quote.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. For a simple one-and-done job (replace a tap, install a downlight) one flat list is fine. Sections matter for multi-zone, multi-room, or staged jobs where the breakdown helps the customer decide and helps you price properly.
Yes. Materials and labour markup can be set globally for the quote and overridden per section — useful when one section uses premium materials you don't want hidden inside a blended margin.
Yes. The PDF renders each section as its own block with subtotal. You can also choose to hide internal labour and material breakdowns per the PDF template settings if you only want section totals on the customer copy.
Yes — that's what section templates are for. Save the section as a template once, then drop it into any future quote in one tap.
Sections make partial acceptance and partial invoicing much cleaner. You can stage invoices per section as the job progresses, with payments applied per section.