Cabinet maker quote follow-up: keeping Perth kitchen and joinery quotes alive from measure to manufacture

The money. A Perth cabinet maker puts installed cabinetry for a standard family kitchen at $12,000 to $22,000, and a larger kitchen with a pantry or butler’s pantry at $20,000 to $35,000 or more.[1] A cost-guide site puts custom cabinetry from a cabinet maker at $12,600 to $36,750, $19,950 typical.[2] That is a real decision for most households, and nobody makes it in a day.

The steps. Each one is a place the quote can go quiet.

• The measure. You have been in the house and seen the room. The client has seen you. It is the warmest the lead will be until the quote lands, so say when the quote is coming.
• The design and quote. The client now has a number and a drawing, and a dozen questions they will not ring you about: what is an allowance, what happens with the old kitchen, when could it be in.
• The benchtop. Stone, laminate or something else changes the price and often the timing. A client who has not decided on the benchtop has not decided on the kitchen.
• Comparing quotes. The Cabinet Makers Association of WA tells homeowners to get a detailed plan and specification so the quotes they collect are for exactly the same work, and warns that some quotes come in lower on lower-end specifications.[4] It also says a quote considerably lower than the rest should be discounted, since materials are usually around half the cost.[5]
• The flat-pack anchor. Somewhere in that comparison is a flat-pack price, and it is lower. More on that below.
• Selections, then manufacture. One Perth kitchen maker allows about 2 weeks for selections and about 5 for manufacture.[3] Another puts manufacture at 2 to 4 weeks after design approval, then 2 to 5 days to install.[1] So a client who wants the kitchen in before Christmas or before guests arrive is working backwards from your factory slot, whether they know it or not.

These are cabinet maker quote follow-up templates written for Australian rules. Words in brackets are yours to fill. They follow the SMS compliance guide: every message names the business, and anything that promotes, such as a slot deadline or a price hold, carries "Reply STOP to opt out". Opt-outs have to be actioned within five business days, in every tool that holds the number.[14] A factual check on a quote the client asked for is closer to a service message, so templates 1 and 2 leave STOP off. Add a sales line to them and they need it. If in doubt, add it.

1. Day 2, SMS:
Hi [first name], [your name] from [business name]. Your kitchen design and quote went out [day]. Did it come through OK? Happy to talk through the benchtop options on a quick call.

2. Day 7, email. Subject: Your kitchen quote, and the questions people ask next
Hi [first name], the quote and drawing are attached again in case they got buried. A few things people ask at this point:
Benchtop: the quote allows for [laminate / stone]. Changing to [other] is about $[amount] more or less.
Timing: once selections are done, we manufacture in about [x] weeks and install in [x] days.
Deposit: [x]% on signing, which is $[amount], with the balance [at delivery / on completion].
Reply with any question, or pick a time for a call: [link]. If you would rather not hear from us about this, just reply and say so.
[Your name], [business name], [phone]

3. Day 14, SMS:
Hi [first name], [business name] here. If you are comparing kitchen quotes, it is worth checking each one has the same board, doors, hardware brand and benchtop, and whether installation is included. Happy to go through ours line by line. Reply STOP to opt out.

4. After the selections meeting, email. Subject: Your selections and final price
Hi [first name], thanks for coming in. Attached: your selections ([board], [door profile], [handles], [benchtop]) and the final price of $[amount]. That fits our [month] manufacture slot, with installation the week of [date]. The slot is held for you until [date]. Any changes, reply here or call [phone].
[Your name], [business name]. Reply STOP or unsubscribe here: [link].

5. Before the slot fills, SMS:
Hi [first name], [your name] from [business name]. Our [month] manufacture slot closes [date]. After that the next install date is [later month]. Want me to hold it for you? Reply STOP to opt out.

Only send template 5 when the slot really does close. Never send any of them with the brackets left in.

"We could get it from IKEA or Kaboodle for half that." Sometimes they can. A Perth cabinet maker puts flat-pack or assembled cabinets at roughly $300 to $900 per linear metre for boxes and standard doors, with assembly and installation on top, against about $1,200 to $2,200 per linear metre installed for custom melamine or thermofoil.[1] A cost-guide site puts a whole budget renovation built on flat-pack cabinetry (it names kaboodle, IKEA Metod and Kinsman) at $12,600 to $26,250, including a laminate benchtop and entry-level appliances.[2] Do not pretend the gap is not there. Help the client see what is in it.

• Agree first. "Yes, flat-pack is usually cheaper to buy." A client who hears you admit that trusts the rest of what you say.
• Compare what each price includes. Who measures, who assembles, who installs, who templates and fits the benchtop, and who comes back if a door does not line up. The flat-pack figure often covers the boxes and doors only.[1]
• Compare the same specification. The association’s advice to homeowners is the same advice that helps you: the same board, the same hardware, the same work.[4]
• Say what custom means. Made to measure for that room, in your workshop. That is also why WA treats it differently for deposits: the 20% exception covers custom-made cabinets, not off-the-shelf ones.[6][7]
• If flat-pack really suits them, say so. A rental, a tight budget, a simple straight run. Point them to it, and ask whether you can quote the robes or the laundry later. That is how you get the next job.

Do not quote flat-pack prices you have not checked, and do not run down a named brand. Stick to what is in your price and what is in theirs.

Under the Home Building Contracts Act, a "builder" includes cabinet makers, and home-building work includes cabinetry.[6][8] Three numbers are worth knowing before you send the day 7 email.

• The range. The Act covers home building work contracts from $7,500 to $500,000. Outside that range there is no statutory deposit limit.[8] A small vanity or laundry job can fall under $7,500.
• The usual cap is 6.5%. That is the most a builder or tradesperson can ask before work starts on a covered contract.[8]
• The cabinetry exception is 20%. Where the contract is for cabinetry work and the off-site work is worth more than 50% of the total, the deposit can be up to 20%. Cabinetry work means making and installing kitchen, bathroom, laundry and other custom-made cabinets and fitments, or refurbishing and repairing fitted ones. It does not include buying and installing off-the-shelf cabinets.[6][7] On a $20,000 kitchen that is $4,000 rather than $1,300.

The notice. Before the client signs, you give them the Notice for the homeowner, and the contract has to be in writing and signed by both of you.[8] The notice was amended in 2020 to show the cabinetry exception, so use the current version.[6][7]

Is this still current? Yes, as far as we can confirm. The 20% rule came in with the 2020 amendment regulations described in Industry Bulletin 130.[6] It is regulation 3A of the Home Building Contracts Regulations 1992 in the official version as at 1 September 2025[7], and Building and Energy’s homeowner page, updated in September 2026, still states both the 6.5% cap and the 20% exception.[8] The Act is under review, with final recommendations due to government from September 2026,[9] so check the Building and Energy page before you rely on these figures.

Insurance. Home indemnity insurance is for work that needs a building permit and is worth $20,000 or more, so the association notes it is not required for stand-alone cabinet making contracts.[10] Do not promise a client cover you do not hold.

Put the deposit in the day 7 email, not at signing. A client who reads it in week one trusts the rest of what you sent.

A client who loves their new kitchen is the easiest quote you will ever win for the robes. A Perth wardrobe maker puts built-in wardrobes at $2,000 to $12,000 or more, with three bays from $5,419.[11] That is a real job, from someone who already has your number.

• Be careful what you promote. Consent can be inferred from an existing relationship only where the promotion is directly related to it.[13] A check-up on the kitchen you made fits. Wardrobes, a laundry or a vanity may or may not, and that is a judgement you do not want to defend.
• So ask at handover. One line on the handover sheet ("Happy to hear from [business name] about robes, laundry and other cabinetry") turns a grey area into express consent, which is what the ACMA prefers.[13]
• Time it. A message a few months after handover, once they have lived with the kitchen, lands better than one in week two.

For example: Hi [first name], [business name] here. Hope the kitchen is treating you well. You mentioned the robes in the main bedroom might be next. Want us to measure while our [month] diary is open? Reply STOP to opt out.

The customer reactivation guide covers pulling the list out of your job software and the consent rule in full.

Plenty of Perth cabinetry comes through builders and renovators rather than straight from the homeowner. Different job, different follow-up.

• Do not follow up the homeowner directly. They are the builder’s client, and the price you gave went to the builder. Going around them is the quickest way to stop getting their work.
• Follow up the person who asked. The estimator or the supervisor: did the price arrive, does it need anything changed, and when do the client’s selections close.
• If the homeowner rings you, help them, and copy the builder on anything that changes the price or the timing.
• Keep homeowners from builder jobs off your marketing list unless they ask to be on it.

Everything above works with a phone, an email account and a spreadsheet. If you would rather it happened without you, we build and run it: the day 2, day 7 and day 14 follow-up triggered from your quoting tool, the selections and slot messages, and the robes-and-laundry message to past clients who said yes at handover, all in your voice with your business name and a working STOP. We do not sell leads; we follow up the ones you already have. Setup is $999 for the first three clients and $1,500 after that, then $197 a month, and the first 8 booked estimates are free. We do not have an Australian client to show you yet, so there is no case study here. The details are on the renovators page, or book a half-hour call.