How should a Shopify store handle quote requests for big made to measure jobs?
Citizens Advice tells people getting work done on their home to get written quotes from at least 3 different traders before they decide, and reminds them that a quote is a fixed price while an estimate is only a rough guess. Anyone planning a big awning job may well do the same. Your quote is being compared, so it has to be quick, clear and fixed.
How should a Shopify store handle quote requests for big made to measure jobs?
Let shoppers price most jobs themselves, and send only the big ones to a short quote form. You set the line, by size, by order value or both. Above it, the product page shows a plain note and a button to ask for a quote or a home visit, with every measurement and choice already filled in. Sizes you do not make are stopped before payment and offered a quote. Then reply within a working day with a fixed price in writing. Inchy works this way, and requests reach you in the app and by email.
Two motorised awnings in the demo come to £3,785.90, above the demo's limit, so the note appears and Book a home visit is picked out.
Why not ask for a quote on every job?
Because most jobs fit your price list, and a customer who can see the price does not need to wait for you. A shopper who wants an awning 437 cm wide can type it, see the price from your own grid and buy it whenever it suits them. Making everyone ask for a quote turns those easy sales into emails and waiting.
A quote earns its place when a conversation adds something: a very wide awning, two or three at once, a wall that needs looking at, or a club ordering shirts for the whole season. Those are the jobs worth a phone call, and the ones where getting it right matters most.
Where should you draw the line?
Pick it from your own experience of which jobs go wrong without a chat. You can set it by size, by order value, or both. The demo uses order value: the awning asks to talk above £3,000 and the team shirt above £600.
Above the line, the shopper sees "For a project this size we would like to talk it through with you first." and the quote button is picked out in blue. On the awning the button says "Book a home visit". On the shirt it says "Ask about team and bulk orders", and in the demo an order of 32 shirts, £694.72, brings up the note.
Sizes you cannot make are different. They should never reach the basket. You set the smallest and largest size for each product, and anything outside is stopped before payment. In the demo, typing 700 cm shows "Width can be up to 600 cm", the total is cleared and the shopper reads "This size is made to order. Send us the details and we will quote you."
What should the quote form ask?
As little as it can. The builder already knows the product, the size and every choice, so the shopper should not type them again. The demo form asks for a name, an email, a phone number if they want to give one, and the best way to talk: phone call, video call, home visit or email. "About your project" is filled in for them.
Look at the last line: "Price shown: £3,785.90 for 2". You know what the customer has already seen before you pick up the phone, so your quote starts from their number, not from zero. Requests arrive in the Inchy app and by email with every measurement in them.
After they press Send, tell them when they will hear from you, and keep to it. The demo says "Thank you. We will be in touch within one working day."
How do you turn a quote into an order?
Write the quote the way Citizens Advice tells customers to expect one: a fixed total price, a breakdown of the work and the materials, how long the price is valid for, and whether it includes VAT. A customer comparing three quotes will put yours next to the others, so make it the easiest one to read.
Then let them pay without a phone call. In Shopify you can create a draft order on behalf of the customer, set a custom price on any line, and send them an invoice that contains a link to the checkout page. Once they pay, it becomes an order in your order list like any other.
If the cover is still undecided, send a sample with the quote; how to offer fabric samples before an order covers that. And for the jobs that do go straight through the basket, why checkout prices can differ from the product page explains why the checkout must charge exactly what the page showed.
Questions and answers
Where do quote requests arrive?
In the Inchy app and by email, with every measurement and choice in them.
Can the line be a size instead of a price?
Yes. Big sizes or orders above an amount you set can go to the quote form. Sizes beyond your largest are stopped before payment.
Does the button have to say the same thing on every product?
No. In the demo the awning says "Book a home visit" and the shirt says "Ask about team and bulk orders".
Can a team order ask for a quote too?
Yes. Team orders work the same way; see how to take a team t-shirt order in every size in one go.
Are quote requests an extra on the plan?
No. Quote requests come with every plan: Team wear at $19.99 a month, and Made to measure at $99 a month for awnings and anything priced by size. Unlimited products, billed by Shopify and no fee per order.
Who makes Inchy?
InterioApp. We have priced and sold made to measure products since 2011, in our own shop first, and our quoting software and calculators are used by made to measure businesses in the UK, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
Set your own line for big jobs and send yourself a test request from your product page. See Inchy and try the live builder. Start the 7-day free trial on the Shopify App Store.
Sources
Citizens Advice, Before you get work done on your home: written quotes from at least 3 different traders; a quote is a fixed price, an estimate a rough guess; what a quote should include.
Shopify Help Center, Creating draft orders: create a draft order on behalf of a customer and send an invoice; a custom price on any line item.
Shopify Help Center, Sending invoices for draft orders: the invoice contains a link to the checkout page.
Inchy live demo: quote limits of £3,000 and £600, messages, form fields and sample UK prices, read on 21 October 2026.
Written with AI. Every figure is checked against the sources listed above.
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