What to Do When a Customer Comes Back to an Old Quote After Prices Went Up

Do not start by changing the total. Open the original quote and answer four questions. Those answers tell you whether this is a normal re-quote or a contract problem.

1. Was the quote accepted or signed?
2. Did it include a valid-until date, and has that date passed?
3. Is the scope exactly the same, or did the customer add or remove work?
4. Which costs actually changed: materials, equipment, labor, freight, permits, or subcontractors?

This is the cleanest case. Recheck the job using today's real supplier and labor costs, revise the affected line items, and send a fresh quote. ACCA advises HVACR contractors to consider shorter validity windows when distributors cannot hold pricing, with 15 to 30 days listed as a typical range.[1]

1. Pull a current supplier price for the material or equipment that moved.
2. Update the affected line items instead of adding a vague percentage to the whole job.
3. Keep the original quote in your records.
4. Label the new document as revised and give it a new date and quote number.
5. Set the new expiration date no later than the shortest price hold you received from a supplier.
6. Wait for the customer to accept the revised quote before ordering materials or starting work.

A cost increase does not automatically erase a quote that is still inside the validity window. If the scope has not changed and the increase is manageable, honoring the quote is often the cleanest business decision.

If honoring it would turn the job into a serious loss, talk to the customer before you order anything or reserve the crew. Show the specific cost that changed and ask whether they agree to a revised quote. Do not edit the old document in place and act as if the customer approved the new number.

Stop treating this like an open sales quote. A signed bid or proposal may form part or all of a contract, and change-order rules vary by state. California, for example, requires changes to covered home-improvement contracts to be in writing. Minnesota also requires residential building contracts and change orders to be written.[3][4]

• Read the signed agreement and any material escalation or change-order language.
• Do not silently replace the accepted total.
• Document the cost change and discuss it before work continues.
• Use the written change-order process required by the agreement and your state.
• For a meaningful dispute or a large loss, get advice from a local construction attorney.

Do the math before deciding. Compare the original gross profit with the revised cost. A $75 increase on a strong job may be worth absorbing. A $1,500 equipment jump on a thin-margin installation usually is not.

Use current job-specific inputs. National price indexes can confirm that construction inputs move over time, but they do not tell you what your distributor will charge for this job. The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes producer price indexes for construction materials and industry inputs. Use that data as context, then price the quote from a current supplier cost.[2]

1. Compare the old and new cost for each affected item.
2. Preserve your normal markup instead of inventing a special surcharge.
3. Show scope changes as their own line items or change order.
4. Keep notes or supplier documentation behind the quote in case the customer asks.
5. State the new total, revision date, and expiration date clearly.

You do not need to hand the customer your entire price book. You do need a clear explanation that connects the revised total to something real.

Be specific without turning the message into an argument. Name the item, the old quote date, the new total, and the next step.

Match the date to the risk in the job. ACCA's current contractor guidance says distributors may not be able to guarantee pricing and lists 15 to 30 days as a typical quote-validity range. A supplier who will hold a key equipment price for only 10 days is a good reason not to promise the customer 30.[1]

For larger projects or long lead times, ask a local attorney to review any material escalation clause. A short sentence copied from the internet is not a substitute for contract language that fits your state and your work.

• Changing an accepted quote without telling the customer.
• Calling every estimating mistake a tariff or supplier increase.
• Adding one unexplained percentage to the entire job.
• Deleting the old quote instead of keeping a revision trail.
• Ordering materials before the revised price is accepted.
• Waiting until the final invoice to reveal the increase.

In Jorvio Quotes, you can keep the old quote, duplicate it, adjust the affected line items, set a fresh valid-until date, and send the revised version for review and signature. The customer sees a clear new document, and you keep the original record instead of rebuilding the job from memory.