Start with what the customer needs to know.
An estimate is still being prepared. The office knows why, but the customer only sees silence. Sending “we’re working on it” may acknowledge the wait without answering the useful question: is the business doing something, or does the customer need to act?
Check the current record before drafting. Read the latest customer response, the last commitment your team made and what has actually happened since. Select the facts that help the customer understand their request. Internal discussion, unconfirmed causes and staff commentary do not belong in the update.
This is a guide to routine progress messages, not a sending schedule. Use the contact route and check-in arrangements agreed for that request. An update can explain that an answer is pending; it cannot manufacture progress or authorize a new promise.
Name the open decision before writing the message.
“Waiting” is incomplete. Identify what is waiting, who has accepted the next action and whether the customer needs to do anything. If nobody owns the action yet, resolve that with the team before writing that someone is handling it.
On a small screen, swipe or scroll sideways to read the full table.
| Current situation | What the update should explain | What to avoid |
|---|---|---|
| The business owes an answer | The specific decision still open and the accepted next action. | Asking the customer to follow up again. |
| An agreed customer detail is missing | The smallest missing detail and the step it affects. | Blame, repeated requests or implying all work has stopped. |
| A promised update is due, with no new answer | That the answer is still pending and what the team has actually checked. | Invented activity, completion percentages or a new finish date. |
A check-in time is a commitment to communicate. It is not automatically the date an estimate, decision or job will be finished.
Example: the customer is waiting on the business.
Fictional situation: A customer asks to add the hallway to a room-painting estimate. The office received the change, and the estimator accepted the revision review. The customer and office agreed to an email update Wednesday by 3 p.m. Central and, if the revision remained open, another Friday by noon Central. Wednesday arrives without an approved revised estimate.
We have your request to include the hallway. Our estimator is reviewing that change; the revised scope and price are not confirmed yet. You do not need to send anything else at this point. As agreed, our office will email you again by noon Central on Friday, even if the revision is still pending.
This update acknowledges the change without pretending it is approved. The office owns the communication; the estimator owns the review. Both times come from this fictional agreement, not a recommended deadline for every business.
Example: one agreed customer input is still needed.
Fictional situation: A customer and repair team agreed that the customer would confirm whether their estimate request includes one gate or two. The office has checked the latest messages and has not received that answer. They agreed to review the request together Thursday at 10 a.m. Central. The office can retain the existing request while the gate count remains unresolved.
We have the repair details you already sent. To prepare the right estimate, we still need to confirm whether you want one gate or both included. Please reply with that choice when you can. Our agreed check-in is Thursday at 10 a.m. Central; the final scope and price remain open.
Ask for the missing decision, not the whole intake again. If the answer has already arrived elsewhere, reconcile the record before requesting it again. If the customer changes the request instead, update the next action rather than treating the old question as a continuing obligation.
Example: there is no new answer at the promised check-in.
Fictional situation: A customer wants to move an appointment. The office has accepted the availability check, but no replacement time is confirmed. The existing appointment remains unchanged under their agreed process. The office promised an update Tuesday by 4 p.m. Central, with a further check-in Wednesday by noon Central if needed. Those commitments were agreed before this draft.
I’m sending the update we agreed for today. We have not confirmed a replacement appointment time. Your existing appointment remains unchanged, and our office is still responsible for checking the request. We will update you by noon Central tomorrow as agreed; that is a check-in time, not confirmation of a new appointment.
A truthful no-change update can be short. Do not add “nearly finished” to soften it. If an agreed commitment can no longer be met, explain the verified situation and arrange a realistic next check-in; do not silently substitute another deadline.
Keep the draft separate from the work and the send.
Download the blank customer progress-update worksheet (CSV). Use one row per proposed update. Keep source references and operational details in your approved workspace; the customer-facing draft should contain only the relevant, verified information.
On a small screen, swipe or scroll sideways to read the full table.
| Internal record | Customer-facing meaning |
|---|---|
| Estimate revision awaits the assigned reviewer; source note and owner recorded. | The revised estimate is not yet confirmed; the team is reviewing the requested change. |
| A colleague suspects a delay, but the cause is unverified. | Leave out the theory. State the confirmed pending decision. |
| Draft reviewed; no communication recorded. | The customer has not yet been shown to have received an update. |
Before an authorized person sends anything, check the recipient, latest reply, agreed route, relevant contact restrictions and every promise. Record the actual communication separately from draft approval. A queued message is not proof of delivery.
Afterward, keep the next owner and check-in current. A well-written update supports the work; it does not complete the estimate, resolve the booking request or replace the action your team still owes.