The Tack Box · Quote Calculator

Build the welding quote, line by line

Work lines, materials with your markup already in the price, and a one-page PDF the customer can sign. Free, no login, nothing leaves your browser.

Updated August 2026

Quick answer

A welding quote is work lines (hours × rate) plus materials priced with your markup already in the number. Build the lines below, check the total, and download a one-page PDF with terms and a signature line. If you do not know what to charge yet, start with the job pricing calculator and bring the number here.

What this puts on paper

One US Letter page: your shop name and logo, the customer, a job description, a Work table (description, hours, rate, amount), a Materials table (item, quantity, unit price, amount), the total, your terms, a valid-until date, and an acceptance signature line. It is the same sheet as the blank welding quote template, with the lines filled in from your numbers.

The material prices on the sheet are customer prices. Your markup is applied to each unit price before it prints, and there is no markup column anywhere on the document. What the customer sees is a price per item and a total, which is all they need to see.

Quote calculator vs job pricing calculator

Two different questions:

  • Job pricing answers "what should I charge?" It builds your number from tasks, materials, consumables, overhead, and profit margin, then gut-checks it against your shop rate. That math is for you, not the customer.
  • This calculatoranswers "put it on paper." It turns hours, rates, and materials into the customer-facing document: clean lines, marked-up unit prices, terms, signature. Overhead and profit never appear as lines here — they are already inside your rate and your markup.

Materials: from stock size to a priced line

The slow part of writing a quote is pricing the steel. The stock estimator does it in one step: pick the material and shape, enter the dimensions and your price per pound, and it computes the weight and writes the line — description, cost per piece, quantity. Same math as the metal weight calculator, wired straight into the quote.

It refuses to guess. A tube whose wall thickness makes it solid, an angle thicker than its leg, a missing dimension — you get a plain error instead of a wrong number on a signed quote.

New to quoting? The full method — rate, markup, worked example — is in how to quote welding jobs. Prefer to fill it in by hand? The blank quote template is the same sheet with empty lines.

Questions welders keep asking about quotes

What should a welding quote include?

A quote the customer can sign: your shop name and contact, the customer, a job description, work lines (what you will do, hours, rate), material lines with quantity and unit price, the total, payment terms, a valid-until date, and a signature line. The PDF this calculator builds has all of it on one page.

Should I show my markup on the quote?

No. Bake it into the material unit price. The customer sees "2x2 square tube — $16.25/ea", not "$12.50 + 30% markup". A markup line invites a negotiation about your margin. The price is the price.

What is the difference between a quote and an estimate?

A quote is a fixed price the customer accepts by signing — you are committing to the number. An estimate is a ballpark that can move when the job is opened up. Put "Quote" on fixed-scope work you can price confidently and "Estimate" on repair work where you cannot see the damage until you start. This tool builds the fixed-price version.

How long should a welding quote stay valid?

30 days is standard. Steel prices move, so an open-ended quote is a free option against you. If material prices are jumping, drop it to 14 days or add "material prices subject to confirmation at order" to your terms.

Welding quote calculator vs job pricing calculator — which one do I need?

The job pricing calculator answers "what should I charge?" — it builds your number from labor, consumables, overhead, and profit margin. This calculator answers "put it on paper" — it turns the number into customer-facing lines and a PDF. Price the job there first if you are unsure, then write the quote here.

How do I price the steel on a welding quote?

Weight times your price per pound, plus markup. Use the "Estimate from stock size" panel: pick the material and shape, enter the dimensions and your $/lb, and it computes the weight and writes the line for you — "A36 steel plate 48 × 96 × 0.25 in — 326.7 lb @ $0.85/lb" — with the cost per piece. Your markup gets baked in on top.

This builds one quote. Then what?

Bead Board saves every line you have ever priced, duplicates past jobs to quote repeat work in minutes, tracks the job on your board, and turns the accepted quote into the invoice without retyping a line.

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Why shops choose Bead Board