Overview
Commercial refrigeration projects are sold as systems, and the system has a lifecycle
Commercial refrigeration projects are the bigger end of the trade. A supermarket aisle re-fit, a butcher's full retail counter and back-of-house cold storage, a brewery's cellar plant, a pharmacy's cold chain. These are not single-fridge jobs; they are systems with multiple cases, condensing units (often roof-mounted in a central pack), pipework runs in tens of metres, electrical infrastructure, and a controls layer that monitors every case temperature. The customer is paying for a system that has to run for ten to fifteen years with planned maintenance, and the quote needs to show all of it: the install, the commissioning, the controls, and the service contract that protects the lifecycle.
QuoteGenio gives commercial refrigeration contractors a quoting shape that fits the project size. Survey and design as the first line, cases or cold rooms by spec and quantity, condensing unit or pack by capacity, pipework and insulation by metre, electrical distribution, controls and monitoring as a named line, commissioning with leak test and pull-down records, and the planned maintenance contract on a separate record. Send via WhatsApp or email to the operations and procurement contacts, take staged deposits at design and equipment order, raise progress invoices through delivery, install, and commissioning, and the final invoice opens the maintenance contract on the same record.
Who it is for
Who uses QuoteGenio
Built for every type of commercial refrigeration installation and service business.
The problem
The quoting headaches every commercial refrigeration engineer knows
Supermarket and convenience store work moves on tight tender timelines. Slow or unclear quotes lose multi-store rollouts to faster, more polished competitors.
Tenders need same-week turnaround
Store managers and procurement teams want priced proposals within days. Office quoting after a long day on-site is too slow for the rollout calendar.
Spec hidden in messy quotes
Pack systems, display cabinets, and controls are technical. Quotes that bury the spec in plain text cost you the order against suppliers with cleaner proposals.
Slow quotes get value-engineered
When your quote takes a week, procurement uses your number to push competitors lower. Fast quotes get shortlisted, slow ones get shopped.
The fix
QuoteGenio makes it simple
A faster, cleaner quoting workflow that turns site visits into priced proposals before procurement has finished their site walk.
The payoff
What you get with QuoteGenio
The everyday wins that add up across a year of quoting and invoicing.
Built for commercial refrigeration
Line items for multi-deck cabinets, integral and remote display cases, condensing units, pack systems, refrigerant per kg, controls, and commissioning.
Works from your phone
Send the quote from the shop floor during the store walk. No office trip, no missed tender deadline.
Quote in under 2 minutes
Templates for common cabinet types and store layouts mean you adjust the cabinet count and refrigerant load, then send.
Track payments easily
See which retail groups, supermarkets, and convenience chains owe what. Chase with one tap, no spreadsheet required.
Built for your trade
Quoting calibrated to how commercial refrigeration actually work
Pick your trade in Settings and the entire quote flow switches to fit. Line item presets, compliance fields, on-the-quote calculators, and per-m² / after-hours pricing all change to match your industry.
Trade-specific line items
Quick add picker pre-fills the common items your trade quotes. Skip the blank rows.
Brand-specific catalogues
Pylontech, Hikvision, Canadian Solar, Sunsynk and others pre-named. Pick the brand, the description writes itself.
Compliance fields built in
IOPSA, ECASA, PIRB, PSIRA, NHBRC, SAQCC. Set once. Every quote prints them under FROM.
Registration expiry alerts
Dashboard notification 60 days before your PSIRA, CoC or any dated registration lapses.
Per-m² / hour / day billing
Unit selector on every line item: m², hr, linear m, days. Stop doing the maths externally.
After-hours and emergency
1.5× and 2× multipliers as a one-tap toggle. Customer sees the breakdown on the quote.
Quote-flow calculators
Solar size, battery backup, cable run cost. Compute on the spot, drop straight onto the quote.
Staged payments
Deposit on acceptance + balance on completion as two separate amounts on the quote PDF.
Scope-of-work checklist
Structured Included / Not included lists. Client acceptance = signing the scope.
Site-survey mode
Log a location per line item: camera positions, fixtures by room, sensors by zone.
Regional rate hints
Pricing ranges per item per currency shown as you quote.
Free on every plan
All of the above included on the free plan. Premium is for capacity, not the trade tooling.
Why QuoteGenio
Why Commercial Refrigeration choose QuoteGenio
The tools that matter most when you are quoting on-site, under pressure, and between jobs.
Quote from your phone
Most Commercial Refrigeration build and send quotes directly from the job site. No laptop, no office, no delays.
Win more jobs, faster
The first professional quote a client receives usually wins. Respond in minutes, not hours.
Quote to invoice in one click
When the job is accepted, convert to an invoice instantly. No retyping, no double entry.
Pricing guide
Typical Commercial Refrigeration job pricing
A rough guide to what commercial refrigeration engineers charge for common installs and service work. Pricing varies with refrigerant choice (HFC vs CO2 vs hydrocarbon), cabinet type, pipework length, and pack system size. Use these as a reference when building your own rate card, not as fixed numbers.
| Job | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Site survey and design (single store) | R3,223 - R7,933 |
| Integral multi-deck chiller cabinet (2.5m) | R69,413 - R123,953 |
| Remote multi-deck cabinet (2.5m, glass door) | R95,857 - R157,007 |
| Refrigerant pipework (per metre, insulated) | R1,074 - R2,314 |
| Pack system condensing unit (10kW chiller) | R140,480 - R272,696 |
| CO2 transcritical pack (small store) | R578,445 - R1,074,255 |
| Service contract (per cabinet, annual) | R4,628 - R10,743 |
Pricing converted from USD to ZAR at indicative rates. Rates vary significantly by country, region, currency, and market.
Call-out fees
Survey and design fees on commercial refrigeration cover load calculations, cabinet selection, pack sizing, and pipe routing. R3,223 to R7,933 is typical for a single store, scaling with store size. Charge it as a separate line and credit against the install if accepted. Free design devalues the engineering work and trains procurement to shop your design.
Hourly vs fixed pricing
Use fixed pricing for known scopes like cabinet supply and standard pack installs. Use hourly (R1,818 to R2,727 per hour) for fault-finding, leak detection, and out-of-hours emergency callouts. Quote refrigerant per kg with the type listed (R448A, R744 / CO2, R290) so price moves don't eat your margin.
See it in action
Example quote breakdown
Here's what a clean, itemised commercial refrigeration quote looks like. Every cost is visible: survey, cabinet model, pipework per metre, refrigerant per kg, controls, and labour. Transparent quotes win the store rollout because procurement can match your line items against the technical brief.
Try it yourself
Job size
Region
Sample quote
Multi-deck chiller cabinet replacement, convenience store
Site survey and design
Remote multi-deck chiller cabinet, 2.5m
Refrigerant pipework, insulated (per metre)
Refrigerant R448A (per kg)
Controls, electrics, and alarm wiring
Labour (install, vacuum, gas, commission, handover)
| Description | Qty | Rate | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Site survey and design | 1 | R4,875 | R4,875 |
| Remote multi-deck chiller cabinet, 2.5m | 1 | R112,384 | R112,384 |
| Refrigerant pipework, insulated (per metre) | 12 | R1,405 | R16,858 |
| Refrigerant R448A (per kg) | 4 | R2,396 | R9,586 |
| Controls, electrics, and alarm wiring | 1 | R14,048 | R14,048 |
| Labour (install, vacuum, gas, commission, handover) | 12 | R2,149 / hr | R25,782 |
| Subtotal | R183,532 | ||
| Tax (10%) | R18,353 | ||
| Total incl. tax | R201,886 | ||
Totals recalculate as you change the controls above. Tax rate inferred from the sample quote.
Items often forgotten
Refrigerant recovery from the old cabinet, certified disposal of any oil or HFC residue, the alarm sensor for stock protection, the electrical isolator and DB sub-circuit, the commissioning report with pressures and superheat, and the trip back for store handover training. Add these to your template once and they stop disappearing from your margin.
Peer snapshot
How Commercial Refrigeration actually use QuoteGenio
Indicative activity for Commercial Refrigeration on the platform. Use it as a benchmark for how often to quote and how fast to respond.
30
Quotes sent per month
42%
Average quote acceptance
2 min
Median time to send quote
R201,886
Typical quote value
Figures are indicative platform averages for this trade segment.
Start quoting Commercial Refrigeration jobs like this, free
Build your first quote in under 2 minutes. No credit card, no setup fee, no contract.
Avoid these
Common quoting mistakes
We talk to a lot of commercial refrigeration engineers. The same scoping and tender mistakes come up on every supermarket and convenience store rollout. Fix these and you'll protect your margin against aggressive procurement.
Mistake: Quoting refrigerant as a fixed allowance
Better: Always quote refrigerant per kg with the type listed. R448A, R744 (CO2), and R290 differ wildly in price and a fixed allowance burns you when the actual charge runs over.
Mistake: Bundling pack system into one line
Better: List the condensing unit, oil separator, controls, and alarms separately. Procurement compares line for line and a vague pack price loses to a competitor with detailed itemisation.
Mistake: No allowance for refrigerant recovery
Better: Recovery and certified disposal from the old system is regulated work with real cost. List it as a separate line so the client understands they're paying for compliance, not just install labour.
Mistake: Free design on multi-store rollouts
Better: Charge design per store. On a 30-store rollout, free design adds up to a small fortune in unpaid engineering. Credit it back per store on order, but never give it free.
Mistake: No commissioning and handover line
Better: Pull-down test, controls programming, and store team handover training are real work. Quote them as a separate line so the client sees what they're paying for beyond just installing the cabinet.
Mistake: Verbal sign-off on phased work
Better: Multi-store rollouts often phase by store. Get each phase accepted online before you mobilise. Email confirmations from procurement aren't always honoured when invoicing.
Mistake: No expiry on the quote
Better: Set a 30 or 60 day validity. Refrigerant prices, copper, and cabinet costs move with import rates. You don't want to honour a six-month-old quote on a slow-moving rollout at a loss.
Mistake: No follow-up after sending the quote
Better: Most quotes that don't close, don't close because nobody followed up. Send a polite check-in 48 hours after the quote lands, and a second nudge at day 7. Two of every three accepted quotes get there because someone followed up.
Step by step
How to quote commercial refrigeration jobs
Walk every aisle before you price. Count cabinets by type (integral multi-deck, remote multi-deck, glass-door, butchery, deli, frozen island) and measure each in linear metres. For remote cases, survey the pipe route back to the pack plant: length, lift, penetrations, fire compartments, and bracket spacing all drive copper cost. On pack system jobs, measure plant room space, check the existing DB and three-phase supply, note roof access for gas coolers on CO2 transcritical, and review the store trading hours for phased install windows. This groundwork is what lets you price a rollout accurately instead of guessing and absorbing the variance store by store.
Itemise cabinets individually with model and kW shown, refrigerant pipework per metre insulated, refrigerant per kg with the type listed (R448A, R744 CO2, R290), controls and alarm wiring, the pack system broken down into condensing unit, oil separator, controls and alarms, and commissioning with store handover training. List refrigerant recovery and certified disposal from old equipment as a separate regulated line. Include the electrical isolator and DB sub-circuit, the temperature alarm with SMS or app alerts at $ 250 to $ 600 per cabinet, the alarm sensor for stock protection, and the commissioning certificate with pressures, superheat and pull-down data. Never bundle the pack into one lump, because procurement compares line for line.
Set a 30 or 60 day validity on rollout quotes. Refrigerant, copper and cabinet prices all move with import rates and a six-month-old quote on a slow-rolling programme will cost you. Charge a design fee per store ($ 195 to $ 480) and credit back on order, because free design on a 30-store rollout adds up to a fortune in unpaid engineering and trains procurement to shop your work. Quote after-hours callouts at 1.5x to 2x the daytime rate and get WhatsApp acceptance before mobilising. On phased rollouts, get each store accepted online before you mobilise, because verbal sign-off from procurement does not survive the invoicing cycle.
Send the quote before the store manager finishes their walk-around. Procurement teams use slow quotes to value-engineer your competitors lower, so same-day pricing is the difference between being shortlisted and being shopped. Build the quote on your phone during the store visit, share via WhatsApp or email within the hour, and build a standard store template that you duplicate per site with cabinet count, pipework and labour adjusted. Any field-discovered variation (extra pipe metres, fire collar, upgraded alarm) goes on a written variation with the store or procurement contact's acceptance before install, never on the final invoice.
FAQ
Common questions from commercial refrigeration engineers
Everything you need to know before getting started.
Yes. Add a line item for the refrigerant type with a per-kg rate and the kilograms charged as the quantity. QuoteGenio totals it automatically.
Yes. Build the quote on your phone during the store walk and share the link via WhatsApp with the store manager or procurement contact. They get a branded document immediately.
Build a template quote for the standard store, then duplicate per site and adjust cabinet count, pipework, and labour. You can group line items by store with notes per section.
Yes. Every quote has a unique public link. Procurement and store managers can accept on their phone with one tap. No signup required.
Yes. Convert any accepted quote to an invoice with one click. Line items carry over, so there's no re-entry between tender award and billing.
Yes. The free plan gives you 5 quotes and 2 invoices per month with no credit card required. Upgrade to Premium for unlimited quotes, invoices, statements, and reports.
Yes, always. CO2 transcritical packs cost 1.5x to 2x equivalent HFC packs and require different controls, gas coolers, and skilled commissioning. Where the client is open to either, present both as separate quote options with clear running cost and refrigerant compliance benefits, so they can make an informed decision.
Quote recovery and certified disposal as a separate line, sized by kg of refrigerant in the old system. Recovery is regulated work and the cylinders, certification, and time have real cost. Hiding it in labour looks evasive to procurement teams who understand compliance.
Yes, particularly on chilled meat, dairy, and frozen cabinets where stock loss runs into thousands per cabinet per failure. List the alarm with SMS or app alerts as a separate line, around R4,132 to R9,916 depending on connectivity. Store managers say yes immediately because they understand the stock risk.
Quote a higher call-out fee (1.5x to 2x daytime rate) and an uplifted hourly rate after hours, weekends, and public holidays. Send the quote via WhatsApp before mobilising and get acceptance in writing. Stock losses make stores quick to say yes, but procurement can dispute later if it's only verbal.
Still have questions? We would rather answer them now than after you have signed up.
Explore more
Related trades in HVAC & Refrigeration
QuoteGenio is built for a whole family of trades. Explore other pages that might fit how you work.
Reviews
Trusted by tradespeople
Real feedback from people who quote for a living.
"Saves me about 3 hours every week. I would still be sending WhatsApp images of handwritten quotes if I had not found QuoteGenio."
James van der Merwe
Plumber · Johannesburg
"The biggest win for me is speed. I can quote while I am still with the client and not worry about doing it later."
Jason Naicker
Electrician · New Delhi
"Solar is a long sales cycle. The quote activity tracking lets me see who has re-opened a quote so I know when to follow up. Very useful."
Hannah Clarke
Solar Installer · Manchester
Guides
Guides for Commercial Refrigeration
Practical advice to help you quote better, get paid faster, and grow your business.
Free forever plan
Start quoting faster. Win more jobs.
Create professional quotes in minutes, send instantly, and stay on top of your work without the admin slowing you down.
Free to start. No credit card required.