A cost estimate, in German Kostenvoranschlag, states the costs you expect for a job. It is an estimate, not a fixed price. German law does not prescribe any content. To keep it from causing a dispute later, six things belong in it: the heading "Kostenvoranschlag", the work, the estimated items, the total including VAT, the sentence saying it is an estimate, and a statement on whether the estimate itself costs anything. The sample in this article contains all six.
This article explains the German rules in the Civil Code (BGB). They apply to you if you work for customers in Germany, including when your business is based abroad.
Contents
- Sample: cost estimate to copy
- What goes into the cost estimate
- Sentences that protect you from disputes
- Cost estimate or quote: which one to write
- May you charge for the cost estimate?
- If it gets more expensive than estimated
- Gross or net?
- After the go-ahead: from cost estimate to invoice
- Frequently asked questions
Sample: cost estimate to copy
Copy the sample and replace the names, items and prices with your own. The example shows Aylin Kaya, a master electrician in Kassel. She has inspected the Nowak family's kitchen. How many cables need replacing she will only see once the wall is open.
Cost estimate (Kostenvoranschlag) No. KV-2026-041
Elektro Kaya, Aylin Kaya, Wilhelmshöher Allee 12, 34117 Kassel To: Nowak family, Goethestraße 8, 34119 Kassel Date: 29 September 2026 · Inspection on 24 September 2026
Work: Renewal of the electrical installation in the kitchen, ground floor
| Item | Description | Quantity | Unit price | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Test and measure existing cables | 3 hrs | €68.00 | €204.00 |
| 2 | Lay new cables, cut and close wall channels (estimated) | 14 hrs | €68.00 | €952.00 |
| 3 | Material: cable, boxes, 8 sockets, 2 switches (estimated) | lump sum | €480.00 | |
| 4 | Reconnect the cooker | 1 pc | €95.00 | €95.00 |
| Total net | €1,731.00 | |||
| VAT 19 % | €328.89 | |||
| Expected costs gross | €2,059.89 |
Optional item, not included in the total: Replacement of the distribution board if it no longer meets the rules: €650.00 net. We will only carry out this work with your consent.
Not included: Painting and tiling after the wall channels are closed.
Note: This cost estimate is an estimate of the expected costs based on the inspection. We invoice the actual work done. We give no guarantee for the amount of the costs. If it becomes apparent that the costs will be significantly higher, we will inform you before we continue. The prices are based on our material and hourly rates as of September 2026. This cost estimate is free of charge for you.
You do not have to rebuild a document like this in Word every time. With Easy Invoice, the quoting and invoicing software, customer and items come from your master data, the program assigns the number and calculates the total and VAT itself. The finished document goes to the customer as a PDF by email.
What goes into the cost estimate
No German law prescribes mandatory details for a cost estimate, unlike for an invoice. Each item in the table still has a purpose. It answers the questions that disputes are about later.
| Detail | Why you need it |
|---|---|
| Heading "Kostenvoranschlag" and its own number | Shows that you are estimating and not making a fixed-price offer. The number helps you match it to the job later |
| Your name and address, the customer's name and address | Makes clear who gave whom the estimate |
| Date and date of the inspection | Shows what you knew when you estimated |
| Description of the work | Sets out what the estimate covers. Most disputes are about what was included |
| Individual items with quantity and price | The customer sees where the costs arise. You see later which item went up |
| Marking of estimated items | Shows where the uncertainty lies |
| Optional items and exclusions | Work that may become necessary, and work that is not included |
| Total net, VAT, total gross | The customer knows the final amount to expect |
| Note that it is an estimate | The most important sentence, more on this in the next section |
| Statement on what the cost estimate costs | Without prior agreement you cannot charge anything for it |
A signature is not needed. A cost estimate by email or given orally also counts. In writing, however, you can prove in a dispute what you estimated.
Sentences that protect you from disputes
Five sentences turn a price list into a cost estimate. They are all in the sample and can be copied word for word.
- Estimate: "This cost estimate is an estimate of the expected costs. We invoice the actual work done."
- No guarantee: "We give no guarantee for the amount of the costs." German law ties in exactly here. The rules on cost estimates in § 649 BGB only apply if you have not guaranteed that the estimate is correct.
- Notice before extra costs: "If it becomes apparent that the costs will be significantly higher, we will inform you before we continue." You have this duty anyway. If it is in the estimate, the customer knows you will get in touch.
- Price basis: "The prices are based on our material and hourly rates as of September 2026." If prices rise before the start, it is clear where the difference comes from.
- Optional item: "We will only carry out this work with your consent." This keeps the expensive unknown out of the total, and the customer decides.
Never write "binding cost estimate" (verbindlicher Kostenvoranschlag). With this word you guarantee that the amount is correct. By its wording, the rule on cost estimates then no longer applies. In that case, expect to be bound to the amount like a fixed price. If you want to promise a fixed price, write a quote (Angebot).
Cost estimate or quote: which one to write
If you know the scope of the work for certain in advance, write a quote. If the effort only becomes clear during the work, write a cost estimate. The one criterion is: can you promise the price without guessing? There is no obligation to write a cost estimate at all.
| Quote (Angebot) | Cost estimate (Kostenvoranschlag) | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | fixed as soon as the customer accepts | estimated, the actual work is invoiced |
| Typical case | new socket, fitting a delivered appliance, maintenance | repair, renovating an old building, fault finding |
| If it gets more expensive | your risk | you report it, the customer may terminate |
A document full of fixed prices does not become an estimate just because "Kostenvoranschlag" is written above it. What counts is the content. How a quote is structured is explained in the article Writing quotes. How long a quote is binding is explained in Is a quote binding?.
May you charge for the cost estimate?
Yes, but only if you agreed on it with the customer beforehand. Without an agreement, a cost estimate is, in case of doubt, not to be paid for under § 632 (3) BGB. An invoice the customer knew nothing about in advance is therefore usually not enforceable.
So tell the customer the amount before the inspection and confirm it briefly by email. One sentence is enough:
"We charge 60 euros for the inspection and cost estimate. If you give us the job, we will deduct this amount from the invoice."
Many trade businesses in Germany work this way. The fee keeps away customers who only compare prices, and costs nothing for the customer who places the order. State once more in the cost estimate itself whether it is free or what it costs. In the sample, this sentence is at the very end of the note.
If it gets more expensive than estimated
As soon as it is foreseeable that the costs will be significantly above the cost estimate, you must inform the customer without delay. This is set out in § 649 (2) BGB. Do not wait until the invoice. Get in touch before you carry out the expensive work.
The law does not say when an overrun is significant. It gives no percentage. Figures that circulate in guides are rules of thumb from individual cases, not a fixed limit.
After your notice, the customer may terminate the contract. You then receive, under § 649 (1) and § 645 (1) BGB, the part of the payment that corresponds to the work done so far, plus your expenses to the extent they are not included in the payment. If the customer does not terminate, you continue and invoice the actual work.
A notice Aylin Kaya could send to the Nowak family:
"When opening the wall we found that the supply line to the fuse box also needs to be replaced. This will increase the costs by an expected 540 euros net. Please let us know by Thursday whether we should continue on this basis."
Send the notice by email or as a message. Then you can prove later that and when you informed the customer. More on the limits of an overrun is in Is a quote binding?.
Gross or net?
For private customers, show the total including VAT clearly. Private customers think in terms of the amount they finally transfer. If only the net amount is shown, your invoice later looks 19 percent more expensive than estimated. For business customers the net amount in the foreground is enough, because they reclaim the VAT as input tax. The split into net, VAT and gross as in the sample works for both.
Under the German small business scheme (§ 19 UStG) you do not charge VAT. Say so in the estimate, so the customer does not expect a surcharge. What belongs on the later invoice is explained in Invoice without VAT as a small business.
For private customers, separate labour costs and material, as in the items of the sample. In Germany the customer can deduct part of the labour costs from income tax and can see in advance what amount is involved. What details the invoice needs for this is explained in Tradesperson's invoice for private customers.
After the go-ahead: from cost estimate to invoice
If the customer agrees, confirm the order in writing and refer to the cost estimate by its number. This makes clear on what basis you are working. What this looks like is shown in the article Writing an order confirmation. In Easy Invoice, the quote becomes the order and later the invoice with one click. Items and prices carry over, you type nothing twice. For every invoice line you can see which quote it came from.
You invoice the actual work, not the estimate. If it turns out cheaper, the customer pays less. If the invoice differs, name the item and the reason. For larger jobs over several weeks you can invoice interim stages with a progress invoice. Easy Invoice creates the progress invoices and, at the end, the final invoice.
Keep the cost estimate together with the order, the notices about extra costs and the invoice. In a dispute, these are your records.
Frequently asked questions
Does a cost estimate cost money? Only if you agreed on it with the customer beforehand. Without an agreement it is, in case of doubt, free (§ 632 (3) BGB).
By how much may a cost estimate be exceeded? The law sets no fixed limit. A small overrun is allowed. For a significant overrun you must inform the customer beforehand, and the customer may terminate.
Is an oral cost estimate binding? An oral cost estimate also counts; legally it has the same effect as a written one. In a dispute, however, it is hard to prove what you said. So send the figures by email afterwards.
How long is a cost estimate valid? The law sets no period. State for which period your prices apply, for example: "This estimate applies to a start of work by the end of November 2026." If the work starts later, estimate again. In Easy Invoice the validity date appears on the quote automatically, and you can see open quotes with their expiry date at a glance.
What is the difference between a Kostenvoranschlag and an Angebot? Kostenvoranschlag, abbreviated KV or KVA, means cost estimate. An Angebot is usually a quote with a fixed price. Write the word out in the document so the customer does not confuse it with a quote.
Sources
- § 649 BGB, cost estimate (Kostenanschlag)
- § 632 BGB, remuneration (subsection 3)
- § 645 BGB, responsibility of the customer (subsection 1)
- § 19 UStG, small business scheme
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