Quote book

Definition

The prices a shop is currently honoring, and the material cost they were set against.

Why It Matters

A machine shop's revenue is priced before it is made, sometimes months before, and the cost of the steel or aluminum moves in between. Materials and payroll together take about two thirds of every dollar in this trade, so a quote written against a stale material price is a job the shop will lose money completing. The book is also a commitment: customers hold shops to quoted prices long after they were given. Ask when prices were last reset, against what cost, who does the resetting, and how many open quotes are outstanding.