Guides
Florist quote template: structure, wording and sample prices
A florist quote template needs stem cost, labor, delivery and waste lines before it needs a signature, so the price survives the week it was written.
What to take away
- Price a bouquet from stem cost per bunch, not from the retail number on a competitor's website.
- Every quote needs four cost linesstems, labor, delivery and expected waste.
- A delivery window is a promise you can keep or break; put it in writing on the quote.
- Quote wording must match what you can actually deliver, because advertising claims have to be truthful and supported.
- Name the deposit, the cancellation terms and the substitution rule before the customer pays.
A florist quote template is only as good as the numbers under the design description. Price the work from what it costs to build, not from how the finished arrangement looks.
The customer sees roses. You paid for roses, ribbon, foam and a cooler running overnight. You also paid for a van and forty minutes of somebody's hands.
What a florist quote template has to contain
Twelve fields cover almost every order a retail shop writes. Skip one and you will be renegotiating after the flowers are cut.
Twelve fields every florist quote needs
- Customer and occasion details
- Stems and variety
- Stem count and bunch size
- Container and mechanics
- Labor hours
- Delivery window
- Substitution rule
- Deposit and balance due
- Customer and occasion.Name, phone, delivery address, and the event date. A wedding quote and a birthday quote carry different risk.
- Stems and variety.Rose, lisianthus, ranunculus, eucalyptus. Variety drives cost more than color does.
- Stem count and bunch size."Two dozen roses" and "a large arrangement" are not the same order.
- Container and mechanics.Vase, foam, wire, ribbon, card. These are small lines that add up fast.
- Labor hours.Design time, processing time, and setup time if the order is on site.
- Delivery window.The two-hour block you will actually hit, not the block the customer asked for.
- Substitution rule.What you will swap when a variety does not arrive, and who approves the swap.
- Deposit and balance due.Amount, date, and accepted payment methods.
- Cancellation and change deadline.The date after which stems are already ordered.
- Quote expiration.Wholesale prices move; a quote without an expiry date is a promise you may not be able to keep.
- Setup and teardown.Whether you strike the venue or the customer does.
- Approval line.Signature, date, and the name of the person authorized to change the order.
Keep the deposit language separate from the design description. A customer reading a quote should find the price, the delivery window and the cancellation date without hunting.
Floral software writes most of these fields for you. Details Flowers Software builds a recipe with a per-stem cost and turns it into a proposal. Curate produces floral-specific quotes with stem-level pricing and a signature block.
HoneyBook and Dubsado handle proposals, e-signature and deposits for shops that draft in Google Docs or Canva.
Sample prices and how to build them
These are illustrative figures for a mid-size shop, not market rates. Substitute your own stem cost, wage and delivery charge.
Sample florist quote figures
- $85flat rate per wrapped bouquet
- $60/hrtime-based billing, two-hour minimum
- $15city delivery
- 8-12%waste allowance of stem cost
| Line | Example figure | How it is built |
|---|---|---|
| Flat rate per order | $85 for a wrapped bouquet | Stem cost plus 30 minutes of labor plus a share of cooler and van cost |
| Time-based billing with a floor | $60 per hour, two-hour minimum | Shop rate covering design time, setup and travel |
| Delivery inside the city | $15 | Fuel, driver time, and a share of van maintenance |
| Delivery outside the city | $15 plus $1.10 per kilometer | Same, with distance added |
| Wedding and event work | Deposit of 30 percent at booking | Covers stem orders placed before the event |
| Waste allowance | 8 to 12 percent of stem cost | Wilted stock, broken stems, unsold holiday inventory |
Typical stem costs per unit
- Hybrid tea rose$0.50-$1.50
- Peony$4-$8
- Lisianthus$12-$22
- Eucalyptus$8-$14
Wholesale stem costs sit under every line in that table. Availability lists from Mayesh Wholesale Florist, Kennicott Brothers and Florabundance show what the market charges that week. FiftyFlowers sells to consumers and publishes per-stem prices, which shows what your retail buyer sees.
Walk-in markets work when you need stems today. The Los Angeles Flower District, the San Francisco Flower Mart and New York's 28th Street Flower District sell by the bunch early in the morning.
The waste line is the one most shops leave out. A bunch of roses that arrives warm and opens early is a cost you already paid. If your waste runs higher than your allowance, the fix is in the cooler and the ordering schedule, not in the quote.
For a fuller method on setting the shop rate behind these numbers, see how to price florist services for a fair margin. The market you serve sets what that rate can carry, which is why the best markets for a florist business is worth reading before you set a flat rate for a new area.
Wording that holds up
Quote wording does two jobs: it tells the customer what they get, and it protects you when a variety does not arrive. Both are done in plain sentences.
Quote wording: clear vs vague
Clear wording
- Variety
- 24 roses, glass vase
- Substitution
- equal value, confirm by text
- Deposit
- 30% reserves date
- Expiration
- valid 14 days
Vague wording
- Variety
- premium blooms
- Substitution
- best available
- Deposit
- deposit required
- Expiration
- prices may change
- "This quote covers 24 roses, a glass vase, ribbon and a card, delivered between 10 a.m. and noon on Saturday."
- "If a listed variety is unavailable, we will substitute a flower of equal or greater value and confirm the change by text before delivery."
- "A 30 percent deposit reserves the date. The balance is due on delivery."
- "Changes to this order are accepted until 5 p.m. on the Wednesday before delivery."
- "Setup at the venue is included; teardown of vases and rental items is not, and those items are collected on the Monday after the event."
- "This quote is valid for 14 days from the date above, because wholesale prices change with each market."
Avoid "premium," "luxury" and "fresh from the farm" unless you can point to what they mean for that order. The Federal Trade Commission's guide to advertising claims for small business is the reference here: claims have to be truthful and supported, and endorsements have to reflect real experience.
Staffing, sourcing and the cross-border line
Floral designers order stems, process them and arrange the work. They also price it, set up retail displays and keep the flowers alive in the cooler.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics describes the role at Floral Designers, including how holiday demand shapes schedules. That matters for quoting because your labor line is not constant across the year.
Sourcing has its own paperwork. Imported stems clear through the Canada Border Services Agency, and plant health requirements sit with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. Do not guess at a directive. Ask a licensed customs broker and check the current CFIA guidance for the species you are bringing in.
Keep records that show income, expenses and the documents behind them. The IRS explains what a small business should retain in What kind of records should I keep?. That file is also what you hand a lender or an insurer when they ask how the shop is doing.
Employment standards for seasonal hires, tax treatment of deposits, and licensing for a retail premises are set by your province or state. Confirm each with the relevant office before you quote a price that assumes a wage you have not verified.
Common questions
What is the single most common mistake in a florist quote?
Pricing from the finished arrangement instead of from stem cost, labor, delivery and waste. The arrangement looks like the product, but the cost is in the cooler, the van and the hands.
Should a florist quote include a substitution clause?
Yes. Wholesale availability changes weekly, and a clause that lets you swap a variety of equal or greater value keeps the order moving without a phone call at 6 a.m.
How long should a quote stay valid?
Long enough to cover your next wholesale order, usually seven to fourteen days for retail work. Wedding and event quotes often hold longer, but the deposit is what locks the price.
Does a florist need different quotes for weddings and everyday orders?
They should be separate documents. A wedding quote carries setup, teardown, a deposit schedule and a change deadline that a birthday bouquet does not need.
