“We stand behind our work” is a sentiment, not a warranty. It is also the reason a customer calls three years later expecting a free visit for something you never intended to cover. Written terms protect both of you, and they close jobs.
Two warranties, not one
Customers routinely blur these, so separate them explicitly:
- Manufacturer warranty covers the equipment and comes from the manufacturer. You do not control its length or its terms, and it usually excludes labour.
- Your labour warranty covers your installation. This is the one you decide, and it is the one that matters when something fails in year two.
The classic unhappy call is a part covered under a ten-year manufacturer warranty that takes two hours to fit, with no labour cover. Say in advance who pays for those two hours.
How long to offer
One year on labour is the common floor. Two years is a genuine differentiator and costs less than people expect, because installation faults almost always show up in the first few months.
Longer, on specific work, can be a strong selling point — a ten-year workmanship warranty on a roof, for instance. Only offer it on work where you control the variables and your process is consistent.
What to exclude, plainly
- Normal wear and consumables — filters, belts, batteries.
- Damage from lack of maintenance. This is why maintenance plans pair well with longer warranties.
- Work altered or repaired by someone else afterwards.
- Pre-existing conditions you flagged and the customer declined to fix.
- Acts of God, impact damage, abuse.
- Customer-supplied materials — never warrant something you did not buy.
That last one deserves its own sentence on the quote. Fitting a homeowner’s own water heater is a reasonable thing to do; warranting it is not.
Say it on the estimate, not the invoice
Warranty terms belong on the document the customer signs before the work, where they are part of the value. On the invoice afterwards they look like you are limiting something after the fact.
Three lines is enough: what is covered, for how long, and what is not. If it needs a page, nobody will read it and you have protected nothing.
Honour it quickly, or do not offer it
A warranty call handled same-week generates referrals. The same call dodged for a fortnight generates a review that costs you jobs for years. The cost of honouring it is almost always smaller than the cost of the review, and it is not close.
Keep the terms on every quote
Toolbelt estimates carry your standard terms through to the signed document, so the warranty is part of what the customer accepted rather than something you have to remember to mention. Three free estimates, no card.
See also payment terms, contractor insurance, and responding to a bad review.
General information, not legal advice — warranty rules vary by state and some trades carry statutory minimums.