How to write a construction quotation in Malaysia (with examples)
A quotation is often the first real document a client sees from you — and it quietly decides two things: whether you win the job, and whether you get paid the right amount without arguments later. A vague, hand-written figure on WhatsApp invites haggling and scope creep. A clear, itemised quotation makes you look professional and sets the terms before a single brick is laid.
Here's how to put one together properly, the way Malaysian contractors actually work.
What every quotation should contain
Whether you're a G1 tukang or running a G7 outfit, a solid quotation has the same bones:
- Your company details — name, SSM number, CIDB grade, phone and address. This signals you're a real registered business.
- The client and the job — who it's for and the site address.
- A quotation number and date — so both sides can refer to it later.
- Itemised lines — each scope of work with quantity, unit and unit price.
- Subtotal, SST and total — the maths laid out, calculated to the sen.
- Terms — deposit, payment schedule, validity period and what's excluded.
Break the job into line items
The single biggest upgrade you can make is to stop quoting one lump sum and start listing the work line by line. Itemising does three things: it shows the client exactly what they're paying for, it protects you when they ask for "just one more thing", and it makes your number easy to defend.
For each line, decide a sensible unit. Tiling and painting are usually priced per square foot (sqft), electrical work per point (pts), and one-off jobs as a lump sum (LS). Keep your descriptions plain — "Hack & dispose existing kitchen wall tiles" beats "demolition works".
A worked example
Say you're quoting a small kitchen renovation. Your itemised lines might read:
- Hack & dispose existing wall tiles (kitchen) — 1 LS — RM1,800.00
- Supply & lay porcelain floor tiles 600×600 — 45 sqft × RM12.00 — RM540.00
- Plaster & paint (2 coats) — 1 LS — RM3,200.00
- Electrical rewiring + 6 points — 6 pts × RM150.00 — RM900.00
That gives a subtotal of RM6,440.00. If the work is subject to SST at 8%, you add RM515.20, for a total of RM6,955.20. Spelling it out like this means the client sees a fair, transparent number — not a figure plucked from the air.
Do you charge SST?
Service tax applies to certain construction and renovation services once your business crosses the registration threshold. Whether a particular job is taxable depends on the service and your registration status, so confirm your position before adding it. If you are registered and the service is taxable, show SST as its own line so the client understands the breakdown rather than feeling the price jumped. We cover this in detail in our guide to SST on construction services.
Set clear terms
Terms are where contractors lose money, so be explicit:
- Deposit — most renovation jobs take 30–50% upfront to cover materials. Say so. (See our guide on how much deposit to collect.)
- Payment schedule — for larger jobs, tie payments to progress stages rather than one balloon at the end.
- Validity — "Price valid 30 days" protects you against material price swings.
- Exclusions — list what isn't included so extras become a clear variation, not a free favour.
Make it easy to say yes
A quotation that arrives as a clean PDF — with your branding, tidy line items and the maths done — closes faster than a number typed into a chat. It tells the client you run an organised business, and it gives them something concrete to approve.
How MORTAR helps
MORTAR turns this whole process into a few taps. You add line items with quantity, unit and price; it calculates the subtotal, SST and total to the sen; and it generates a clean, branded A4 PDF you can share straight to WhatsApp. When the client says yes, one tap converts the quotation into a project and raises the deposit invoice automatically — no re-typing the numbers.
Want quotations that look professional and do the maths for you? Join the MORTAR early list and win the next job with a tidier quote.