Insights · Time
The real cost of doing quotes after dinner
It's not just the hours. It's the compounding cost across your week, your family, and your win rate.
01The wage tax
You wouldn't charge a client for 10pm hours. So why are you doing them for yourself? Every after-hours quote is billable-rate work being done at zero pay — often at 40% quality.
02The decision-fatigue tax
Late-night quotes miss things. Wrong material assumptions. Forgotten line items. Underquoted by mistake because the day was too long. This is where owners lose 5-10% margin — one bad estimate at 11pm at a time.
03The family tax
This one doesn't show up on the P&L, but it shows up everywhere else. Fixing the quoting flow gets you two nights a week back — that's what matters.
If this is the leak you recognised, twenty minutes with us finds out what it actually costs.
Before you ask.
Isn't after-hours work just part of running a business?
For emergencies, yes. For quoting, no. Quoting is a system problem, not a discipline problem.
