Moving Company Estimate Template
Weight against distance, packing and valuation — priced from a survey. Free PDF, no account.
A moving estimate is a bet on somebody else's inventory. The survey — whether it is a walkthrough, a video call or a form the customer filled in — produces a weight or a cubic footage, and everything else follows from it: crew size, truck, whether a shuttle is needed at the far end. What the estimate has to make clear is which kind of estimate it is. On an interstate move that is a regulated choice — binding, non-binding, or binding not-to-exceed, in the federal rules a mover works under — and a customer who does not know which they signed finds out on the tailgate. Within one state the same three words are usually used and it is the state's own regulator that defines them.
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ESTIMATE
Issued
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Issued by
Kestrel Moving & Storage
3510 East 46th Avenue 80216 Denver, CO United States surveys@kestrelmoving.example |
Bill to
Auberon Fitzwilliam
212 Aspen Court 82001 Cheyenne, WY United States a.fitzwilliam@example.com |
| Description | Qty | Rate | Tax | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Transportation — estimated 9,400 lb, 101 miles interstate Loading and unloading are in this charge; non-binding, and the final figure follows the certified scale ticket | 1 | $2,980.00 | — | $2,980.00 |
Packing materials and packing labour Kitchen and two wardrobes only; the rest packed by the customer | 1 | $690.00 | — | $690.00 |
Full value protection, 60,000 declared Alternative: released value at 0.60 per pound, at no charge | 1 | $480.00 | — | $480.00 |
Shuttle and long carry at destination — provisional Carried in case the trailer cannot reach the address; removed if it can | 1 | $350.00 | — | $350.00 |
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What this estimate commits you to
- How long it stands
- Thirty days, and not across a peak date — a summer month-end weekend is priced when it is booked, because the crews for it are gone six weeks out.
- What it does not cover
- Anything we may not legally carry: fuel, propane, aerosols, paint, ammunition, live plants and perishables — plus disassembly of items requiring a technician, such as a piano's action, a hot tub or a wall-mounted safe.
- What would change the price
- The survey against the truck. Weight or volume over the inventory surveyed, a long carry from door to truck, a shuttle where the trailer cannot reach the address, stairs and elevator waiting time, and any item that needs a crate built around it.
- How the client accepts it
- Sign this estimate and the order for service to hold the date; the tariff and the valuation option chosen on that form are what the bill of lading is written from on moving day.
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What to put on a moving company estimate
- Which kind of estimate this is — binding, non-binding, or not-to-exceed — named in those words
- The inventory the estimate was surveyed from, and that items added later change the weight
- Whether the move is interstate or within one state, since that decides whose rules the document is written under
- How the job is priced — hourly crew and truck, or weight and distance — with only one of the two on the estimate
- Valuation coverage: released value against full value protection, and what each costs
- Access at both addresses: stairs, elevator, parking permit, and the distance from door to truck
Questions
What is the difference between a binding and a non-binding moving estimate?
A binding estimate is the price whatever the shipment weighs. A non-binding one is a projection, and the final bill follows the certified scale ticket — which is why a customer must be told which one they are signing, and why the federal rules for interstate moves limit how much more can be collected at delivery on a non-binding one.
Should a move be priced by the hour or by the weight?
One or the other, never both. A local move is normally crew-and-truck by the hour; a longer or interstate one is normally weight against distance, and that transportation charge already contains the loading and the unloading. An estimate carrying an hourly crew line underneath a weight-based charge is billing the same work twice, and a customer who has moved before will say so.
What does released value actually cover?
Sixty cents a pound, on interstate moves, and most states mirror it — which sounds like coverage and is not: it pays a few dollars for a television. The moment to explain that is while the customer is choosing between it and full value protection, not while they are filing a claim.
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