You cannot lift a number you never look at. Estimate win rates for small firms cluster in a surprisingly wide band — and the low end is usually a follow-up story.
Ask for the win rate and you get a feeling, not a figure. Feelings do not improve month on month; figures can.
Small service businesses typically convert 30–60% of estimates. Below that band, suspect process before pricing — usually the estimates simply are not being chased. Way above it, you may be underpricing your way to a full diary.
Chart the journey — sent, viewed, followed up, decided — and the drop is nearly always in the middle: estimates that never received a follow-up and quietly expired. Rejection is loud and rare; expiry is silent and constant.
Fix follow-up first (chase everything, on a schedule). Then speed — estimates sent within a day convert measurably better. Then, and only then, look at price. Most businesses reach for the discount lever first because it is the easiest to pull; it is also the most expensive.
Quote Nudge QB gives you the funnel over your QuickBooks estimates and works the middle of it automatically. The number appears; then it climbs.
Anywhere from 30% to 60% depending on trade and how selectively you quote. The trend matters more than the level: measure it monthly and judge your changes — faster sending, systematic chasing — by whether it moves.
QuickBooks tracks statuses per estimate but doesn't give you a follow-up-aware funnel. Quote Nudge QB assembles one automatically from your estimate data — sent, chased, accepted, declined, expired.
Auto follow-ups and branded online acceptance on your QuickBooks estimates, with deposits coming soon. £16.79/mo after the trial — no card required.
Start free trialOne nudge is rarely enough, and ten is too many. Here is how many times to follow up on an estimate, the ideal cadence, and exactly when to stop chasing.
Coming soon — the best time to collect a deposit is the second a customer says yes. Here is how taking a percentage on estimate acceptance, straight into your own Stripe, will work.