How to write a task that gets good offers (and accurate prices)
Vague tasks get vague offers, and vague offers turn into arguments on the day. Ten minutes of detail changes both the price and who applies.
What to include, always
What exactly needs doing. Not "help with garden" but "cut back a 12-metre overgrown hedge to shoulder height and take the cuttings away".
Measurements and quantities. Sizes, weights, how many items, which floor.
Access. Which floor, is there a lift, is there parking, is it a permit zone, are there stairs, will you be there.
What you have and what they need to bring. Tools, materials, a drill, a ladder, a van, dust sheets.
Photos. The single biggest improvement to quote accuracy. Take three: the whole space, the specific thing, and anything awkward.
Timing. A real date, or genuine flexibility. "ASAP" reads as "will be difficult about timing".
The budget question
Put a real number in. Posters who leave it blank or lowball get fewer offers and worse ones.
A useful method: look at the typical range on the cost guide for that job, pick the middle, and say what would make you pay the top of it. Taskers pricing against a sensible budget quote sensibly.
A template you can copy
Title: Assemble IKEA PAX wardrobe (2 frames, 4 doors), Leyton E10
What: Two PAX frames (236cm) with four hinged doors and internal drawers, flat-packed and already delivered to the room. Boxes are in the bedroom on the first floor.
Access: First-floor flat, no lift, 14 stairs. Free parking on the street after 10am, no permit needed.
You'll need: Your own drill and standard tools. I have a stepladder. Old packaging to be taken to the bins downstairs.
When: Any weekday this week, morning preferred.
Budget: £120
A task written like that gets accurate fixed prices, and nobody arrives to a surprise.
Before you accept
- Check the completion rate, not just the star rating. It shows no-shows in a way stars do not.
- Read the offer message: did they engage with your actual job?
- Ask a question in public, or message the tasker privately, and see how fast and how well they answer. On Taskerama you can do both before you hire.
- Check the badges if the work is regulated: electrics, waste removal, anything around children.
- Check the total. On Taskerama the booking fee is shown on every offer, so the price you accept is the price you pay.
After you accept
Keep the conversation and the payment on the platform. On Taskerama your payment is held until you confirm the job is done, refunds go back to your card, and if something goes wrong the payment stays on hold while a dispute is reviewed. Paying off-platform throws all of that away, and it is the most common thread in complaints about every marketplace in this category.
Ready? Post your task free. It takes two minutes and you pay nothing unless you hire.
Related guides
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- 12 questions to ask a tradesman before hiring (and what the answers tell you)A practical checklist of questions to ask before you agree a price, what a good answer sounds like, what a bad one is really telling you, and where to ask them.
- How to find a good handyman in the UK (2026)The safest way to find a handyman, the four questions that reveal competence in thirty seconds, the red flags to walk away from, and the jobs a handyman legally cannot touch.
- How to avoid tradesman scams in the UK (2026)Cold callers, upfront deposits, cash-only pressure, off-platform payment requests and fake reviews: the patterns behind almost every rogue trader case, how to stop each one, and what to do if it happens.
Prices and rules change. If something here is out of date, tell us and we will fix it. How we research and check these guides.