How customers
choose a tradie.

In NSW, customers can check a builder's or tradesperson's licence online by name, licence number or ABN. Other states have their own registers.

WA Consumer Protection's advice is typical: get at least three quotes, get them in writing, check the licence, and pay no more than a small deposit. It explains that a quote is the total amount agreed and becomes binding once accepted, while an estimate is a best guess that can change.

Picture three quotes on the kitchen bench. One arrived the same day, says exactly what's included, has a total price and a licence number. One is a figure in a text message. One hasn't arrived. The cheapest isn't always the one that wins.

Clarity does a lot of the work. When one quote lists what's included and another doesn't, the vague one can look cheaper while being worse value, and customers who've been caught before tend to avoid it. Run your own process through the check below.

Plenty of quotes aren't lost to a competitor. The customer got busy, forgot, or wasn't sure who to call. A single, polite follow-up a few days later ('Just checking you got the quote, happy to answer any questions') wins back some of those, and costs nothing.

Track it: quotes sent, quotes won, and why the others went elsewhere when you can find out. Your win rate is the number that tells you whether the problem is price, speed or trust.

In NSW the deposit limit is law, not advice. Under NSW home building law, the most a customer can be asked to pay as a deposit is 10%, and home building work over $5,000 (including GST) needs a written contract. On work valued at more than $20,000 (including GST), you need home building compensation cover before you take any money or start, and customers can look you up by name or licence number on the HBC Check register. Put the deposit, the contract type and your certificate on the quote: it answers the questions careful customers have been told to ask.

Customers are also told to keep deposits small. WA Consumer Protection suggests no more than 10% for most trade work, and builders aren't allowed to ask for more than 6.5% on contracts between $7,500 and $500,000, with the rest paid as work is done. Rules differ by state, so check yours.

A small, explained deposit, and staged payments for bigger jobs, removes one more reason to hesitate. If you need a bigger deposit for materials, say why on the quote: 'Covers the hot water unit, which we order on acceptance.'