Glass quoting when hardware moves: price each part, then date it.
You measured the shower on Monday and priced it from last month's list. By the time they say yes, the hinges cost more. Who eats that?
Between the measure and the yes
A glass quote is never one price.
The detail
It's glass cut to size, hardware in a finish, metal for the frame, and an install crew, bought from suppliers who change their prices on their own schedule. The homeowner with a cracked patio door, or the general contractor with a storefront, can take weeks to decide. The quote has to say what happens in between.
What a glass quote carries, line by line
| Line | What it says |
|---|---|
| Glass | Type and thickness (clear or low-iron, tempered or laminated), the sizes from the measure, and the edge work. |
| Sealed units | The make-up for each unit: the Low-E coating, argon fill, spacer, and tempered glass where it's needed, matched to the stamp in the old glass. |
| Hardware | Hinges, clamps, handles and channel, by count and finish. Its own line, because it moves on its own. |
| Frame and metal | Aluminum framing, trim or the door frame, and its finish. |
| Install | The crew, the floor and the stairs, and taking away the old glass. |
| Final measure | Glass is cut from a final measure, not the first look. A size change re-prices it. |
| Price holds until | A date, not "subject to change". A yes before that date locks the price. After it, you re-price before anything is ordered. |
| If a price moves first | If a supplier's price moves before the customer's yes, the quote is re-priced, for your yes first. After a yes inside the hold date, the price is the price: the deposit goes in and the order is drafted the same day. On commercial work, an escalation clause goes on the quote itself. |
| GST | GST on its own line, at 5% in Alberta1. |
| Deposit and balance | The deposit you take before ordering custom glass, the balance, and when the balance is due. |
| Warranty | Your warranty on the work, and the maker's on the glass and hardware, with how long each lasts. |
| Not included | What the price leaves out: permits, trim painting, rot found behind the frame, after-hours board-ups. |
What Alberta allows when a bill runs over an estimate has its own page, Quote or estimate; this one doesn't restate it.
The glass and the metal didn't move together
If you'd rather run the quoting yourself
There are quoting apps built for glass shops.
The detail
Smart Glazier, for one, says its software sends quotes by text or email with hardware markups and install fees, and sends purchase orders to your glass and hardware suppliers3. Whichever you use, the quote still needs the lines above, and someone still has to re-price it when a supplier does.
What Otto never does with a price
- Every quote, and every re-price, waits for your yes.
The detail
Otto flags the lines that changed since your last order.
- It never orders glass or hardware. A purchase order spends your money.
- It never agrees to keep last month's number, or splits the difference with a customer.
- Install times go out only after you mark the glass received.
Your Glass Co.
7:20 am Example
Morning. Hardware moved again; two quotes need a look.
Done overnight
- Flagged the hinge and clamp prices that changed since your last order.
- Answered the Lindqvists: their re-priced shower quote is with you for a yes.
Waiting for your yes
The Lindqvist frameless shower quote, re-priced with this week's hardware.
Look first
Glass unchanged. Hinges and clamps up since your last order. Price holds 14 days.
The Park Street storefront quote is past its hold date. Re-price it before the contractor signs?
Sources
- GST/HST provincial rates table, Canada Revenue Agency. Read 2026-10-27.
- Industrial Product Price Index, not seasonally adjusted (The Daily, Table 1), Statistics Canada, 2026-10-22. Read 2026-10-27.
- Smart Glazier Business: glass business management software, Smart Glazier. Read 2026-10-27.
Checked on 2026-10-27.
