IT SERVICES ESTIMATE TEMPLATE
Free IT services estimate template
An IT services estimate for the project in front of you — a new office network, a server move, a workstation rollout: labor by task with the hours, hardware resold on its own lines by model, licenses by seat, and the managed plan afterward as a per-month option, with a short valid-until because hardware prices move. Free in Word and PDF, with every line explained.
Word and PDF · Free · No email, no sign-up
The short answer
An IT services estimate prices three kinds of thing on their own lines: the project labor by task — hours × rate, or a per-workstation price — the hardware you'll resell by item and model, and the licenses by product and seat count, so the client can see your work, the pass-through costs and the monthly costs apart, and the tax lands on the right lines.
Then the managed plan as an option — devices × rate per month, with what's covered — because the client deciding about a project shouldn't have to decide about a plan at the same time, and most take it once the project is done.
Around that go your legal name and EIN, the client with the person who'll approve it, the estimate number and a short valid-until date, when you can start — usually the day the internet line is live — what's included and what isn't, and how to pay: a deposit that orders the hardware, the balance when everything is in and working.
FREE TEMPLATE · WORD AND PDF
The IT services estimate template, filled in
Below is the template filled in for Clearpath Office IT LLC, a fictional IT services business, so you can see every line in use. The downloads are the same estimate with [bracketed] lines to replace — free, no email address, no sign-up.
![Free IT Services Estimate Template — the blank fill-in estimate as it downloads, with [bracketed] lines to replace](/estimate-templates/it-services-estimate-template-preview.png)
Example · fictional business
Clearpath Office IT LLC Omaha, NE (402) 555-0129 · hello@clearpathofficeit.example EIN 00-0000000 (example) · W-9 available on request | ESTIMATE |
Prepared for Prairie Fork Accounting Attn: Lisa Nguyen, office manager 4505 Dodge St, Omaha, NE | Project Office move-in: network, Wi-Fi and 10 workstations set up, with the managed plan as an option afterward 2 days on site the week before the move; the plan, if taken, starts the 1st of the month after Start: on the deposit, the day after the internet provider's install |
| Description | Qty | Rate | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Project labor — network Rack, firewall and switch installed and configured; Wi-Fi set up and tested in every room — hours × rate | 6 | $110.00 | $660.00 |
| Project labor — workstations 10 workstations set up, joined to Microsoft 365, data moved from the old PCs, printers and scanner connected — per workstation | 10 | $95.00 | $950.00 |
| Hardware — firewall / router, business class Resold at list; model and serial on the delivery note | 1 | $379.00 | $379.00 |
| Hardware — 24-port PoE switch Resold at list | 1 | $449.00 | $449.00 |
| Hardware — Wi-Fi 6 access points, PoE Resold at list; two, ceiling-mounted | 2 | $179.00 | $358.00 |
| Software licenses — email and office suite 10 seats, first month, resold; renews monthly on the plan or billed direct | 10 | $14.00 | $140.00 |
| Managed IT plan — 10 workstations Monitoring, patching, antivirus, help desk, nightly backup with an offsite copy — per month, starting the month after the move | 10 | $45.00 | +$450.00 |
| Subtotal | $2,936.00 | ||
| Sales tax, 7% on hardware (example) | $83.02 | ||
| Estimated total | $3,019.02 | ||
Deposit to begin
$1,200.00 books the job; the balance is due when the work is finished.
What's included
The hardware listed, installed and configured; 10 workstations set up with the data moved and a copy of each old PC kept for 30 days; the Wi-Fi tested in every room; and a handover note with the passwords in a password manager. Not included: the internet line itself, cabling in the walls if the new office needs it (we'd price it on the walk-through), and the managed plan, which is the option above.
How to pay
The $1,200 deposit orders the hardware and books the two days; the balance is due when everything is in and working on the day after the move. ACH or bank transfer, card or check.
Every figure on the example is an example, not a price guide — use your own rates. The Word file is a standard .docx you can edit in Word or any app that opens Word documents; the PDF prints as-is if you'd rather fill it in by hand.
Quotes and a website, one place
Start your IT services website — quoting is built in
Add your business name and your town, and Zarla builds your IT services website from this one line. The same dashboard sends quotes like this one as a link your customer accepts online, and drafts the invoice when they do.
Already have a website? Bring it across →Zarla keeps your old page addresses where it can and redirects the ones that change, helping you keep the Google standing you've built.
LINE BY LINE
What goes on an IT services estimate
Every line on the template, in order, and what to write on it.
| The line | What to put there |
|---|---|
| Legal name, contact and EIN | Your business name and EIN as they'll appear on your W-9, your phone, email and address. The client's accounts team sets you up as a vendor from this page. |
| Estimate number, date and a short valid-until date | A number that never repeats, the date, and the date the price holds until — 14 days when hardware is on it, because the distributor's price won't hold longer; 30 days for labor alone. |
| Prepared for and the project | The client company and the person who'll approve it, then the project in one line — devices, sites, what moves — the days on site, and what has to be in place first: the internet install, access to the building, the hardware delivered. |
| Project labor by task | Each task on its own line in its unit: hours × rate for the network, the server or the migration; a per-workstation price for the rollout; a fixed price for a job you've done fifty times. Say what each line includes. |
| Hardware, line by line | Each item by name and model, resold at list or at your quoted price, with the serial to follow on the delivery note. Hardware is taxable in nearly every state, so it never hides in a labor line. |
| Licenses by seat | Each product by seat count and per-seat price, first month or annual, and whether it renews on the plan or is billed direct. Cloud subscriptions are taxed in some states and not others. |
| Tax and total | Sales tax on the hardware, on software where your state taxes it, and on the labor in the states that tax computer services; then the estimated total and the deposit. |
| The option | The managed plan as devices or users × rate per month with what's covered — on its own line, as an option, starting after the project. Most clients take it once the project has gone well. |
| What's included and how to pay | The setups, the testing, the handover and the backup of the old machines; what isn't — the internet line, cabling, the plan; then the deposit that orders the hardware, when the balance is due and how to pay. |
STEP BY STEP
How to write an IT services estimate
After the walk-through, with the distributor's hardware quote open in the other window.
Put your legal name and EIN at the top
Business name and EIN as on your W-9, your contact details. Save the file once with these filled in so every estimate matches the vendor record.
Number it, date it, keep the valid-until short
The next number in your series, today's date and a valid-until of about two weeks when hardware is on the estimate — your distributor's price won't hold longer.
Name the project and what has to be in place
The client and the approver; the project in one line with device counts and sites; days on site; and the start condition — usually the internet provider's install date.
Price labor by task, then hardware, then licenses
Each task in its unit with what it covers; each piece of hardware by model on its own line; each license by product and seat count. Resold items stay out of the labor lines.
Add tax, total it, name the deposit
Sales tax on hardware, on software and services where your state taxes them; the estimated total; the deposit that orders the hardware.
Offer the plan as an option, write what's included, and send it
The managed plan per month on its own line, scope in and scope out, the deposit and the balance. Send the PDF the same day, before the hardware price changes.
How IT services estimates win the project
Hardware on its own lines, always. A firewall buried in “network setup — $1,039” gets compared to a consumer router on a shelf. “Labor 6 hours $660; firewall $379; switch $449” gets approved, because the office manager can check the hardware and see what your work costs. It also puts the sales tax on the right lines.
Keep the valid-until short when hardware is on it. Distributor prices move weekly. Two weeks is honest; a month is a promise you can't keep. If the client comes back after it, re-quote the hardware lines only — the labor holds.
Offer the managed plan as an option, after the project. The client deciding about a move-in shouldn't have to decide about a monthly plan in the same breath. Price the plan per month on its own line, starting the month after the project, and most clients take it once the project has gone well.
Say what has to be in place first. “Start: the day after the internet provider's install” is the line that stops a two-day job from becoming four days of waiting on site. Name the start condition and who owns it.
Write what's not included. The internet line, cabling in the walls, the printer nobody mentioned, the old server that turns out to hold the accounting data — one sentence under what's included, “we'd price it before starting”, keeps the estimate honest and the project profitable.
Tax and paperwork. In the US the hardware and boxed or downloaded software you resell are taxable in nearly every state, and labor usually isn't — but several states tax computer, data-processing or repair services (Texas, Connecticut, Ohio and Hawaii among them), and cloud subscriptions are taxed in some states and not others, so keep hardware, licenses and labor on separate lines and check your state's revenue department or your accountant. A US business client paying you $2,000 or more in a year (the threshold from 2026) will ask for your W-9 before the first payment, so the name and EIN on the estimate should already match it. Outside the US the rule is the other way around: in Australia and New Zealand a GST-registered business gives a consumer a price that includes GST, and in the UK and EU a VAT-registered business shows the VAT and quotes consumers a price with it included. Confirm the details with your accountant.
Send it from Zarla and get it accepted online
A Word estimate is a fine way to start. The slow part is everything after you send it: waiting for a reply, wondering whether they opened it, and retyping every line into the invoice when they say yes.
If you build your IT services website with Zarla, quotes are in the same dashboard. Build the quote from your own price book — one price, or up to three options side by side with the one you'd pick marked Recommended, and any line as a checkbox extra. Send it as one link, by email. Your customer picks an option, ticks any extras, types their name to accept, and gets a copy; Zarla drafts the invoice for exactly what they chose, with any deposit you asked for, and the job moves to Won. The quote template is already in your brand: your website's logo, colors and fonts, set once for every quote and invoice. On a paid plan, with your Stripe account connected, that invoice carries a pay-now button, so the deposit comes in as soon as you send it.
Want to see the website first? Browse IT services website templates or see how Zarla builds IT services websites. Still setting up? Read how to start an IT services business and write your IT services business plan. Setting your rates? See IT services pricing.
The whole paper trail of a job, step by step: how to write a quote, then the IT services invoice template, then how to write a receipt — with a free receipt template. For any other trade, start from the free estimate template.
IT services estimates: common questions
Your legal business name, contact details and EIN as on your W-9; the client and the person who'll approve it; an estimate number, the date and a short valid-until date; the project in one line with device counts, sites, days on site and the start condition; project labor by task in its unit; each piece of hardware by model on its own line; licenses by product and seat count; tax where it applies, the estimated total and the deposit; the managed plan as a per-month option; what's included and what isn't; and how to pay.
An estimate is your best calculation of what the job will cost, given what you can see today; the final price can move if the work turns out different. A quote (or a fixed price) is the price you will charge for the work described. A bid is a quote submitted against someone else's specification, usually in construction. Say which one your document is in its title.
Match the unit to the task: hours × rate for the network, the server and anything you can't fully see; a per-workstation price for rollouts, where the work repeats; a fixed price for a job you've done many times and can scope tightly. Mixing them line by line on one estimate is normal — each line names its unit and the invoice bills the same way.
Each item on its own line by name and model at the price you'll charge — list, or your quoted price — with the serial to follow on the delivery note. Keep a short valid-until, because the distributor's price moves, and say whether the client could buy it themselves; the client who's offered the choice usually lets you supply it.
As an option, on its own line, per month, starting after the project — not folded into the project price. The client approves the project today and the plan when the project has gone well; a plan hidden in the project total gets both of them questioned.
About two weeks when hardware is on it — distributor prices don't hold longer — and thirty days for labor alone. Put the date on the estimate; if the client comes back after it, re-quote the hardware lines and keep the labor.
Enough to cover the hardware and licenses you're buying on the client's behalf, with the balance due when everything is in and working. For labor-only projects with an established client, many IT businesses take nothing up front and invoice on completion, net 15.
Yes. The IT services estimate template on this page downloads free as a Word document and a PDF — no email address, no sign-up. Edit it in Word or any app that opens Word documents, or print the PDF and fill it in by hand.
Not from a Word file — the customer replies by email or phone, and you type the job into an invoice later. To get a yes in one tap, send it from quoting software. If your IT services website is on Zarla, the quote tool is in the same dashboard: your customer opens one link, picks an option, ticks any extras and types their name to accept, and Zarla drafts the invoice for what they chose — which, on a paid plan with Stripe connected, carries a pay-now button. Jobber, Housecall Pro, Wix and Squarespace send quotes customers accept online too.
Send estimates from your own IT services website
Add your town and your business name, and Zarla builds the site from that one line — with quoting in the same dashboard.
Already have a website? Bring it across →Zarla keeps your old page addresses where it can and redirects the ones that change, helping you keep the Google standing you've built.