How to Price Materials Automatically in a Quote Without Looking Anything Up
By Dan Reeve — Working handyman and founder of SMASH Invoices. Dan has been a sole trader for over a decade and built SMASH after losing $1,200 in uninvoiced jobs in a single year. He still takes on handyman work and uses SMASH on every job. About Dan →
To price materials automatically in a quote, use an invoicing app with a built-in materials catalog. Describe what you used — "replaced 250L hot water system, two flexi hoses, and a pressure relief valve" — and the app cross-references a materials database to identify and price each item. Under ATO GST requirements, materials used on a job must be itemised separately on a tax invoice when claiming GST credits — making accurate materials pricing both a business and a compliance issue. SMASH Invoices includes 2,250+ Australian trade materials priced from Bunnings supplier data, enabling automatic materials pricing from a spoken job description in under 30 seconds.
Why looking up prices is the biggest time sink in quoting
You're at a job. You've assessed the work. You know what it needs: a new mixer tap, two flexi hoses, thread seal, and half an hour of labour.
You could quote this on the spot. But first you need the price of the mixer tap. Open a browser. Search "Caroma mixer tap Bunnings." Wait for it to load. Find the right model. Write down $89.
Now the flexi hoses. Open the browser again. "Flexi hose 300mm Bunnings." Wait. Find it. Write it down.
Thread seal. Another search. Another wait.
You've spent 8 minutes pricing materials for a 45-minute job. And you're standing in the customer's kitchen.
This is why so many tradies quote a round number instead. "Call it $250 all in." The round number is probably not accurate. It's a guess. And the guess is almost always too low.
What automatic materials pricing actually looks like
You finish assessing the job. You hold up your phone and say: "New mixer tap, two 300mm flexi hoses, thread seal, labour 45 minutes."
The app hears "mixer tap" and finds the Bunnings-sourced price. It hears "flexi hose 300mm" and prices it. Thread seal: priced. Labour 45 minutes: applied at your saved rate.
Total quote: built. In 15 seconds.
You show the customer the quote on your phone, or you send them a portal link. They see a professional, itemised quote with individual prices. They approve it. You start the job.
No searching. No guessing. No round-number underquoting.
How the SMASH Invoices materials catalog works
The catalog contains 2,250+ items across all major trades. It was built from Bunnings pricing data and covers plumbing fittings, electrical components, paint and prep materials, fasteners, garden supplies, cleaning products, and more.
When you describe a job by voice, the app's AI identifies trade-specific terminology from your description and matches it to catalog items. The more specific your description, the more accurate the match. "P-trap 40mm" is more specific than "waste fitting" — both will find results, but specificity improves accuracy.
For items not in the catalog, you can add them to your personal catalog at any time. Once added, they appear automatically in every future quote.
"I do pool maintenance. The chemicals change in price constantly. Used to guess or look them up every time. The catalog has them priced properly. I just say what I used and the quote is right." — Michael T., Pool Maintenance, Brisbane QLD [PLACEHOLDER]
How this changes the quoting conversation with customers
When you can quote accurately on the spot — itemised, materials included, GST shown — the conversation with the customer changes.
They see the breakdown. They understand what they're paying for. The "just give me a round number" culture that leads to underquoting disappears, because you have the data to give them a real number faster than you could round one.
And when the job is done, the invoice matches the quote exactly. The customer approved a specific price. There's no negotiation at the door.
Frequently asked questions
Is there an app that automatically prices plumbing materials in quotes? Yes. SMASH Invoices includes a 2,250+ item materials catalog priced from Bunnings supplier data, covering plumbing fittings, pipes, valves, and fixtures. Users describe job requirements by voice, and the app automatically identifies and prices plumbing materials. The generated quote shows itemised materials with individual prices.
How accurate is automatic materials pricing for trade quotes? Accuracy depends on specificity of description and recency of catalog pricing. SMASH Invoices uses Bunnings-sourced pricing updated from supplier data, covering the most common Australian trade materials. For specialist or branded products not in the catalog, users can add items to their personal catalog with their preferred pricing.
Can I add my own materials prices to a quoting app? Yes. SMASH Invoices allows users to add any material to their personal catalog with a custom price. Once added, the item is available in all future voice quotes. Users can set prices at cost, cost-plus-markup, or a flat rate. Personal catalog items take precedence over catalog defaults when both are available.
Do I need to know the exact price of materials to use voice quoting? No. When you use a voice quoting app with a materials catalog, you name the materials and the app prices them automatically. You don't need to know the price of a P-trap or a flexi hose — you describe what you're using and the catalog supplies the pricing. This is the core advantage over typing invoices manually.
How do I handle materials price changes when using an automatic pricing catalog? For jobs where materials prices are volatile, add a materials price variance clause to your quote: "Materials prices subject to current supplier pricing at time of purchase." Most customers accept this standard clause. Alternatively, add a 10–15% buffer to catalog prices in your personal catalog settings to account for fluctuation.
Describe the job. Materials priced automatically. 2,250+ items. No lookup. Start Free →