Reading your check
What the numbers on your quote check actually mean.
Every check shows your quoted total, a typical local price range, how much evidence we have, and notes on each item. This page explains where they come from and what they can and cannot tell you.
The four things your check tells you
Your total, typical local prices, the evidence behind them and each item explained.
1 · Quoted total
Added up from the lines you entered, or read from the quote you uploaded. If VAT is not included, the check says so rather than quietly comparing unequal totals.
2 · Typical local price range
The band of typical prices for that work in your part of the UK, including VAT. Your total is placed on that range, above it or below it.
3 · Evidence level
A clear note on how much information supports the range — from no comparison at all to a range grounded in real quotes checked here.
4 · Line-by-line notes
How each item compares with its own range, what may be missing from the quote, and short questions worth asking the person who wrote it.
The typical local price range
Our starting estimate, updated with real quotes as they arrive.
Every range starts with our estimate for that type of work, adjusted for typical costs in your region and shown including VAT. As people check real quotes for the same work in your area, those genuine figures are blended in — with names and company details left out. Your result always tells you which stage the range is at.
A quote above the range is not proof of overcharging, and one below is not proof of a bargain. It is a reason to ask why the price is different.
Scaffolding
Matched lines
Which of your lines we could compare, and which we could not.
Your result counts how many items matched work we have price data for — for example, “6 of 7 items matched work we have price data for”. A matched item gets its own typical range, and the total comparison is built from those matches.
A line we could not match gets no range and does not count for or against the comparison — the wording may be unusual, or describe work priced another way. It is still shown, with its amount, so nothing in your quote disappears. Separately, if a cost that is usual for the job looks absent altogether, the check flags it as possibly missing.
Blended quotes
Real quotes, checked here, with all names removed.
When someone checks a genuine quote on TallyBrick, its figures can help the next person’s range. Nothing identifying travels with it — no names, no companies, no addresses. Here is exactly what your result says at each stage:
The evidence level
How much information supports the range, in four clear steps.
The level is based only on real quotes checked here and how much of your quote we could match — never on anything we have invented.
None
No comparison at all
We do not have enough examples of this work in your area yet, so we cannot compare the total. The line-by-line notes and questions still appear, and they still help.
Limited
Fewer than 5 real quotes
The range is mostly our starting estimate for this work, adjusted for your area. Treat it as a rough guide for asking questions rather than a price.
Moderate
5 to 14 real quotes
The range now includes genuine quotes checked here, so it starts to reflect what people were quoted near you.
Stronger
15 or more real quotes, and at least half your lines matched
The comparison uses at least 15 real quotes, and we could match at least half the items in your quote with work we have price data for.
What a result does not mean
A check gives you information and questions. It never gives a verdict.
A quote above the range is not automatically wrong — better materials, difficult access, a short-notice start and a hundred other honest reasons can put it there. A quote below the range is not automatically a bargain — check VAT, materials and what has been left out. A typical price range is not a guarantee, a valuation or a judgement on the person who wrote the quote.
The numbers show you which questions are worth asking and help you ask them with confidence.
TallyBrick gives you information and comparisons, not a verdict. A typical price range is not a guarantee, and a quote above or below it is not automatically wrong. The decision stays yours.
Check your own quote.
It is free, takes a few minutes, and your quote stays private. Every result explains its own evidence, in the same plain terms as this page.