Customer-supplied pendants: collect the scope before quoting

Before pricing a customer-supplied pendant installation, establish how many fittings there are, who supplies them, whether the positions already exist and what you still need to inspect. A product photo and an exact count are more useful than a request to install a few lights.

A realistic enquiry

Illustrative enquiry: a customer wants four pendants installed at new positions above a kitchen bench. They will supply the fittings and provide a product link, room photos and their preferred locations. This describes four installations; it does not establish that wiring, access or support requirements are suitable. Those remain for the electrician to assess.

What to collect and check

1. Ask for the exact number of fittings. Keep a range such as more than 20 visibly unresolved until the customer provides a count or the job is assessed.
2. Record customer-supplied versus business-supplied fittings separately from installation labour. Request the product name or link and note whether the fittings have arrived.
3. Distinguish replacing fittings at existing points from installing at new positions. Ask which rooms are involved and whether the requested locations are decided.
4. Collect room and location photos taken from an ordinarily accessible position. Let the customer answer not sure about ceiling construction, height or access.
5. Record the suburb, access arrangements and timing. Do not let a requested date imply an appointment has been confirmed.
6. State what the proposed installation covers and which additional work needs assessment before a final price is approved.

Keep the pre-quote scope checklist beside the enquiry and compare what to look for in quoting software when choosing your process.

Keep supply and installation separate

If the customer supplies four pendants, a matching supply-and-install item can add a charge for fittings they have already bought. Start with the business's appropriate installation item. Check whether its unit means each fitting, an hour or the whole job before applying a quantity. If the available catalogue item does not fit, leave the line for review instead of forcing a match.

Ask the question that changes the quote

A useful follow-up resolves a specific uncertainty: how many fittings, which positions, or who supplies them. Repeating the whole enquiry adds effort without necessarily improving the scope. Keep the customer's original wording beside the structured answers so that a later answer does not silently erase a different part of the job.

Where Ash helps

TradeStream collects the enquiry through a customer link. Ash uses the submitted details and the business's work items and catalogue to help prepare a job brief and draft quote. The electrician reviews the match, quantities, inclusions and price. The example above explains the intended review process; it is not a customer result or a promise that every fitting can be priced remotely.

Before you approve the quote

For the four-pendant example, check that the draft describes four installations, avoids an unintended fitting-supply charge, and makes unconfirmed wiring and access work visible. Decide whether a site visit is needed before approving the scope and price.

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