Machine Shop Quote Sheets for Setup, Run Time, and Tolerances

A machine shop can lose money before the first chip comes off the part.

The customer sends a drawing and asks for 12 parts. The part looks simple. The estimator prices material, a little setup time, a per-piece run time, and a normal margin. Then the job reaches the floor and the print tells the real story: a tight bore, a finish note, an awkward second-op setup, deburr time nobody priced, customer-supplied material with no spare stock, outside plating, and an inspection requirement that takes longer than the cut.

That is not just a bad estimate. It is a quote-sheet problem.

A useful machine shop quote should show how the price was built: part revision, quantity breaks, setup, run time, material, tooling, outside processing, inspection, scrap allowance, delivery, and approval rules. Then the approved quote should feed the machine shop work order, inspection report, invoice, and job file.

The point is not to make the customer read your whole router. The point is to make the priced assumptions visible before the purchase order arrives.

Start with the drawing, revision, and quote quantity

The quote sheet should identify exactly what you priced.

Use a header like this:

Do not quote "12 aluminum brackets" if the drawing is really "PN-1042 Rev C, 6061-T6, black anodize, 12 pieces, customer drawing dated June 27, model file received June 28."

That sentence matters because a quote for Rev C is not automatically a quote for Rev D. A quote for 12 pieces is not automatically a quote for 2 pieces. A quote using shop-supplied material is not automatically a quote using customer-supplied drops with no extra stock.

It also gives you something to compare against the customer's purchase order. If the PO changes quantity, revision, shipping date, inspection package, or terms, do not release the job as if nothing changed. Confirm the mismatch or issue a revised quote before the floor starts cutting.

If the customer sends incomplete files, write the gap into the quote:

Quote is based on PDF drawing only. Native model, STEP file, or clarified datum scheme may change setup, toolpath, inspection, and price.

That kind of note belongs beside the price, not in a later apology.

Separate setup time from run time

Setup time is the first number customers underestimate because they do not see it in the finished part.

Setup can include:

• reading the drawing and confirming revision;
• reviewing tolerances, finish notes, datums, and inspection callouts;
• ordering or staging stock;
• selecting machine, workholding, tools, inserts, collets, jaws, fixtures, and gages;
• programming, simulation, and post-processing;
• proving the first piece;
• offset adjustment and tool wear checks;
• teardown, cleanup, and documentation.

Run time is different. It is the per-piece time once the job is stable enough to repeat.

Keep them separate on the quote sheet:

If you hide setup inside the per-piece price, reorders become messy. The customer will ask why the first order and second order are different. The shop will forget whether the fixture still exists, whether the program is proven, whether material changed, or whether the old setup assumptions still hold.

Use two prices when needed:

Then write the condition:

Repeat pricing applies only if the same drawing revision, material specification, finish, quantity range, inspection requirement, and delivery window apply.

That keeps a reorder from turning into free engineering.

Price tolerances like cost drivers

Tolerances are not decoration. They are cost drivers.

ASME Y14.5 is one of the core standards shops and engineers use for dimensioning and tolerancing language, including geometric dimensioning and tolerancing. Whether the customer explicitly calls out ASME Y14.5, an internal drafting standard, or a customer-specific spec, the quote sheet should make clear which tolerances drove the price.

Do not write "machine per print" and hope everyone agrees later.

Call out the expensive features:

This is where a statement of work attachment helps even on a small job. The quote gives the number. The scope attachment explains which specs, exceptions, and assumptions are included in that number.

Use plain language with the customer:

Price includes standard dimensional checks plus first-piece verification of the listed critical dimensions. Full CMM report, 100 percent inspection, capability study, PPAP-style package, or customer-specific quality forms are excluded unless listed as separate line items.

The quote should not pretend all inspection is the same. The machine shop inspection report should match the quoted inspection level, instruments, frequency, critical dimensions, and record package.

Use capability to decide whether to quote, reprice, or decline

Some parts are not bad jobs. They are bad fits.

The NIST/SEMATECH e-Handbook frames process capability as a way to compare process performance against specification limits. In shop terms: if your normal process cannot reliably hold the tolerance, the quote has to change.

Before pricing a tight feature, ask:

• Have we held this tolerance on similar material and geometry?
• Is this feature controlled by machine capability, fixturing, tool wear, temperature, operator method, inspection method, or outside process?
• Does the customer require capability data, or only conforming parts?
• Is the lot small enough that prove-out time dominates the price?
• Is the quote really for production, or for a prototype that may need revision?

Then choose one of four positions:

The dangerous move is pricing a hard tolerance as if it were a normal dimension because the part "looks simple."

Scrap allowance is not a hidden fee

Scrap allowance is the part of the quote that acknowledges reality.

Parts get scrapped because:

• first-piece prove-out reveals a setup correction;
• customer material is short, warped, mismarked, or inconsistent;
• a tight feature drifts during the run;
• a tool chips or wears faster than expected;
• thin parts move after roughing;
• outside processing damages, masks, distorts, or rejects parts;
• inspection finds a nonconformance late;
• the customer changes the revision midstream.

The quote sheet should say how scrap risk is handled.

For shop-supplied material:

Price includes normal process scrap allowance for the quoted quantity. Extraordinary scrap caused by drawing changes, customer-approved process changes, customer-supplied data errors, or outside-processing changes may require a revised quote or change order.

For customer-supplied material:

Customer-supplied material must include [quantity] usable blanks plus [quantity] extra blanks for setup and process allowance. Short, damaged, mislabeled, uncertified, or nonconforming material may delay delivery and require repricing.

For prototype work:

Prototype quote includes one setup attempt and one conforming delivered part if feasible from supplied material. Design changes, tolerance changes, or additional iterations are not included unless listed.

That is not padding. It is making the risk visible.

If the customer will not provide extra blanks and the part has real setup risk, write the consequence:

Quote assumes no replacement stock is available. If supplied material is consumed during setup, prove-out, or nonconforming customer material discovery, delivery and price may change.

Do not forget deburr, cleaning, packaging, and handling

Many losing machine shop quotes are not wrong on cutting time. They are wrong on everything around the cut.

Add line items or notes for:

For small runs, these tasks can decide the margin.

Write the quote like this:

Price includes standard deburr and shop cleaning. Cosmetic finish, sealed cleaning, individual bagging, custom labels, serialized marking, certificate package, and customer-specific packaging are excluded unless listed.

Then the delivery note or packing slip can match what was actually shipped: part number, revision, quantity, certs included, rejected quantity if any, backorder if any, and customer PO reference.

Material needs its own assumption block

Material mistakes are expensive because they affect both price and schedule.

The quote sheet should capture:

• alloy, grade, temper, condition, and specification;
• stock form: bar, plate, tube, casting, forging, extrusion, or customer blank;
• required certs and traceability;
• rough size and extra stock;
• whether drops are acceptable;
• who owns leftover material;
• whether substitute material is allowed;
• whether material price is locked or confirmed at order.

For shop-supplied material, connect the quote to a purchase material requisition or purchase order before the job is released. When drops, extra blanks, returned stock, or damaged material matter, use the same reconciliation habit described in the material takeoff reconciliation guide. For customer-supplied material, make the receiving check part of the work order:

Verify material count, condition, cert, heat number, dimensions, and visible defects before setup. Do not start if material identity or quantity does not match the approved quote.

This is especially important when the customer sends expensive material and no spare stock. The quote should say whether the shop is responsible for replacing customer-supplied material after normal process risk, customer drawing error, or customer material defect. Do not leave that decision for the invoice.

Safety and compliance time still has to be priced

Machine shop quoting is not only math. Some jobs require setup and handling time because the work has safety, chemical, or machine-guarding implications.

OSHA's general machine-guarding rule at 29 CFR 1910.212 requires guarding methods for points of operation and other hazardous machine areas where needed. OSHA's lockout/tagout rule at 29 CFR 1910.147 applies to covered control of hazardous energy during servicing and maintenance. Hazard communication rules at 29 CFR 1910.1200 and PPE rules at 29 CFR 1910.132 can also matter when a job involves coolants, solvents, coatings, abrasive work, dust, chips, eye hazards, hand hazards, or special handling.

The quote does not need to recite OSHA in front of every buyer. It does need to price the work you must actually perform:

• special setup for awkward or unsafe workholding;
• guarding, fixturing, or safe access adjustments;
• coolant, solvent, or chip handling;
• abrasive, grinding, or deburr controls;
• lockout time for maintenance or special setup;
• PPE and training-sensitive operations;
• outside processing when the shop should not perform the operation in-house.

Do not let a customer deadline pressure you into quoting an unsafe shortcut. If a part needs a fixture, guarding method, or outside process to run safely, price that reality or decline the work.

The approved quote should hand off to a machine shop work order that names the operation sequence, machine assignment, setup notes, tool list, inspection plan, safety notes, and stop conditions.

Put revision changes and adders into a change-order path

Machine shop changes often arrive as casual emails:

• "Can you add two more holes?"
• "Use Rev D instead."
• "Hold this bore tighter."
• "Can you get it here Friday?"
• "Can you include material certs?"
• "Can you inspect every part?"
• "Can you anodize instead of bare aluminum?"

Those are not harmless notes. They can change setup, programming, tools, fixtures, inspection, outside processing, scrap risk, delivery, and price.

Use a simple rule:

Any change to drawing revision, quantity, material, tolerance, finish, outside processing, inspection package, packaging, delivery, or customer-supplied material condition requires written approval before continued work if it affects price, schedule, or risk.

For small changes, a revised quote may be enough. For active jobs, use a change order tied to the approved quote, work order, and customer PO.

That protects both sides. The customer can see what changed. The shop can pause before turning an approved job into unpriced engineering.

A quote sheet format that works

Use a quote sheet with sections the estimator can fill quickly:

This format also makes repeat work easier. When the customer asks for a new quantity, the estimator can see which cost buckets scale and which do not.

For example:

The quote sheet should make that logic visible without turning into a lecture.

Tie the quote to the job record

The quote does not end when the customer approves it.

Use the approved quote to drive the job file:

1. Machine shop quote: what was priced and approved.
2. Purchase order: what the customer ordered or what the shop ordered from suppliers.
3. Machine shop work order: what the floor is authorized to make.
4. Inspection report: what was checked, accepted, rejected, reworked, or conceded.
5. Delivery note or packing slip: what shipped and what documents were included.
6. Invoice: what the customer owes, tied to the accepted quote and shipped quantity.
7. Receipt: payment record after collection.

That record chain matters for business records too. IRS Publication 583 explains that business records should support income, expenses, and credits on tax returns. A machine shop quote is not a tax record by itself, but it helps explain why material, tooling, outside processing, freight, rework, or an invoice line belongs to a specific job.

If the customer approves electronically, keep the approval tied to the exact quote version. The ESIGN Act generally prevents electronic signatures and records from being denied legal effect solely because they are electronic, but retention and reproducibility still matter. In plain shop terms: keep the accepted quote PDF, email or purchase order approval, date, approving person, and revision in the job file.

That is the same discipline behind written quote records, just with machining-specific cost drivers. If a card dispute, customer deduction, or payment argument shows up later, the same record chain also supports the chargeback defense packet: what was quoted, what was approved, what changed, what shipped, and what the customer accepted.

For jobs where the condition of customer-supplied material, finish, packaging, or damage risk matters, add a few controlled photos to the job file. Keep them tied to the quote, work order, inspection report, or packing slip instead of scattering them in texts; the same habit is covered in photo requirements for work orders.

The rule to remember

Do not quote only the part shape.

Quote the job conditions:

• drawing and revision;
• material and certs;
• setup and programming;
• run time and handling;
• critical tolerances and finish;
• inspection package;
• outside processing;
• packaging and shipping;
• scrap allowance;
• approval and change rules.

The best machine shop quote sheet lets the customer see why a simple-looking part is not priced like a simple cut. It also gives the floor a clean handoff, gives inspection a clear target, and gives accounting an invoice that matches the work actually approved.

Sources

• ASME Y14.5-2018 (R2024), Dimensioning and Tolerancing, ASME standard page for dimensioning and tolerancing/GD&T context.
• 29 CFR 1910.212, General requirements for all machines, OSHA machine-guarding rule.
• 29 CFR 1910.147, The control of hazardous energy (lockout/tagout), OSHA lockout/tagout rule.
• 29 CFR 1910.1200, Hazard communication, OSHA hazard-communication rule.
• 29 CFR 1910.132, General requirements for personal protective equipment, OSHA PPE rule.
• NIST/SEMATECH e-Handbook of Statistical Methods, Process Capability, process capability context for comparing process performance to specification limits.
• IRS Publication 583, Starting a Business and Keeping Records, business recordkeeping guidance.
• Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act, 15 U.S.C. 7001, federal electronic-record and electronic-signature baseline.

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Verify machining specifications, customer quality requirements, OSHA obligations, insurance limits, customer purchase-order terms, tax records, and legal requirements with the appropriate engineer, quality lead, safety adviser, attorney, insurance adviser, or CPA before acting.