What goes on a towing estimate
Towing is rarely estimated — most of it is a call-out at a rate — but long distance and specialist recovery are different. Those get priced in advance, because the customer is deciding whether to move the vehicle at all and the mileage is most of the number.
- Pick-up and drop-off, with the mileage between them
- The hook-up or call-out fee, separate from the mileage
- The rate per mile, and whether that is loaded miles or round trip
- The equipment needed: flatbed, wheel-lift, dolly, winch
- Whether the vehicle rolls, steers and brakes, which decides the equipment
- Storage by the day, if it is going to a yard
- After-hours, weekend and holiday rates, where they might apply
The sample line items and example prices this sheet opens with are on the towing invoice template — the same table, which is about the trade rather than about this paper, so it lives in one place rather than on all six. Working out the price itself? The markup calculator turns your cost and markup into the figure to put on the estimate, and shows the margin it leaves.
What you get
A PDF, and a link your customer can open in any browser. Word and Excel versions are not available yet — if a spreadsheet is what you need, this is not yet the tool for it, and saying so is cheaper for both of us than you finding out after typing everything in.
Pick how it looks
Six looks, from a plain classic sheet through a bold top band to a shop ticket, and your initials go on automatically until you upload a logo. See all six.
How to send it
Most customers want the paper on their phone, so the estimate goes out by WhatsApp, text or email, or as a link that needs no app and no account on their side. Or download the PDF to print it or keep it for your own records.
Questions
Should I charge round-trip mileage or loaded miles?
Either, as long as the customer knows which before you set off. Round trip is the honest cost of a long recovery; loaded-only looks cheaper and is not. The dispute is never about the rate, it is always about which miles were being counted.
What do I need to know before pricing a recovery?
Whether it rolls, steers and brakes, and where it is sitting. Those four facts decide whether it is a wheel-lift or a flatbed with a winch, and the difference is the whole price. A number given without asking is a number you will be revising at the roadside.