Guides
Massage therapy quote template: what to include
A massage therapy quote template lists the therapist, session, address, schedule, money and terms — plus itemized travel, setup and deposit lines.
What to take away
- A massage therapy quote template records who is treating whom, for how long, at what address, and on what terms.
- The fillable form below is the template itselfsix blocks — therapist, session, address, schedule, money and terms — with a blank for every value the practice sets.
- Every therapist named on it must hold a current licence, and the quote should carry the licence number and the state board that issued it.
- Travel, setup and parking are itemized lines, not a rounding-up of the session fee.
- The deposit and cancellation clause is the part that protects the schedule, so write it before the first booking.
- Keep the intake record and the payment record separate; one is clinical, the other is bookkeeping.
A quote is the document that stops a booking becoming an argument. It fixes the session length, the address, the therapist and the money before anyone sets up a table.
It is not a treatment plan and it is not a contract for a medical outcome. Those belong to the therapist and the client, in the room, under the rules of the state that licenses the therapist.
What the quote has to name
Six things, in this order, because the client reads top to bottom.
Six things a quote must name
- Therapistname, licence number, issuing board
- Sessionmodality, hands-on minutes, intake timing
- Addressroom, floor, lift, who brings table
- Schedulearrival, setup, start, finish, pack-down
- Moneyfee, travel, deposit, balance, tip
- Termschange deadline, cancellation, deposit outcome
- The therapist.Name the person, their licence number and the state board that issued it. A client booking a specific pair of hands is buying that person, not the practice.
- The session.Modality as the client would describe it, minutes of hands-on time, and whether intake and turnover sit inside or outside that window.
- The address.Room number, floor, lift access, and whether the practice brings the table or the client's site supplies one.
- The schedule.Arrival, setup, start, finish, pack-down, and the hard stop if the room is booked after you.
- The money.Session fee, travel, deposit, balance due date, and how a tip is handled.
- The terms.Change deadline, cancellation window, and what happens to the deposit in each case.
Anything the practice will not do belongs on the same page. A quote that lists only what is included invites the client to assume the rest.
Massage therapy quote template: the fillable form
Copy this onto the practice's letterhead and fill every bracket before the quote goes out. Blanks are the point: the amounts are the practice's own, and the fixed order keeps every booking quoted the same way.
Therapist. Name: [full name]. Licence number: [number]. Issuing board: [state board]. Licence current to: [renewal date]. Session. Modality: [in the client's words]. Hands-on minutes: [minutes]. Intake: [inside or outside the hands-on window]. Turnover: [minutes]. Address. [street, floor, room]. Access: [lift, stairs, parking, doorway]. Table, linens and screens supplied by: [practice or client site]. Schedule. Arrival [time]. Setup [minutes]. Start [time]. Finish [time]. Pack-down [minutes]. Hard stop [time or none]. Money. Session fee [amount]. Travel, distance and drive time, one way [amount]. Parking, tolls and congestion [at cost]. Setup and pack-down [amount]. Deposit [amount], due [date]. Balance [amount], due [date]. Accepted payment methods: [list]. Gratuity: [expected, optional, or already in the fee]. Terms. Change deadline [hours before start]. Cancellation at [notice period] → deposit [refunded, credited or forfeited]. Not included: [list].
Sample clause for the deposit line: "A deposit of [amount] holds your slot and is due [date]. Move or cancel with more than [hours] notice and the deposit is refunded or carried to the new date. Cancel inside [hours] and the deposit is forfeited or credited at the practice's discretion. Travel already purchased or a room already paid for is not refundable."
Therapist qualifications and the licensing line
Massage licensing is set by each state, and there is no national massage licence in the United States. The requirements differ on hours, exams and renewal, and where the state licenses the work the licence comes from a named board: Florida's Board of Massage Therapy in the Department of Health, the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, and the New York State Education Department's Office of the Professions are three examples. Each board publishes a licence lookup, and the practice should confirm the number is current in that register before the therapist is scheduled, then carry the number and the board's name on the quote.
Scope of practice is also state law. What a therapist may do, and what needs a referral or a doctor's order, is set by the state practice act and the board's rules under it — Florida's Massage Practice act, Chapter 480 of the Florida Statutes, is one example. Name the board that governs the address and the act it works under; do not restate one state's rule as if it were national.
For duties, settings and the physical demands of the work, the Occupational Outlook Handbook entry for massage therapists from the Bureau of Labor Statistics is the reference to hand a new hire. The BLS occupational outlook summarizes the same ground, and the handbook is public domain, so it can be printed for onboarding.
Intake, informed choice and privacy limits
Intake happens before the first session, and the quote should say so. The client needs to know what will be asked — health history, current medications, injuries, surgeries, allergies, pregnancy, areas to avoid, pressure preference and an emergency contact — that they can decline any part of the session, and that they can stop at any point.
Keep the intake record separate from the quote and the invoice. Health information collected for treatment does not belong in a document that gets emailed to a bookkeeper.
Privacy duties depend on the setting and the state. The HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules reach a practice that transmits health information electronically for a covered transaction such as insurance billing, while a cash-pay practice that never bills may sit outside them — but the state's medical records law and the board's rules still cover the intake file. Say where the record is stored, who can open it, and what the practice will not put in a quote or a confirmation text.
Travel and setup, itemized
Mobile work is where quotes lose money. Put each cost on its own line so the client can see what they are buying and the practice can see what it is absorbing.
- Distance and drive time, one way, priced at the practice's own per-mile and hourly figures and written on the quote.
- Parking, tolls and congestion charges at cost, with the receipt attached.
- Setup and pack-down minutes, billed or included, stated plainly.
- Table, chair, linens and screens, and who supplies them.
- Waiting time after the agreed start, in blocks.
- Overnight or second-location work, quoted separately.
A run formed to the wrong length is a return trip with a trailer. The same is true of a mobile booking quoted without its setup time.
Deposit, cancellation and the tip line
A deposit holds a slot. State the amount, when it is due, and which payment methods count as paid.
The cancellation clause should say what the practice has already committed: the therapist's hours, a room booking, a travel purchase. Then say what the client gets back at each notice period.
Tips and mandatory service charges are treated differently for reporting. IRS Publication 531, Reporting Tip Income, sets out the distinction, and a CPA should confirm how it applies to the practice's own payroll.
Keep the paper trail that supports every line. IRS Publication 583, Starting a Business and Keeping Records, explains what has to be retained and why: the IRS generally expects business records kept for at least three years after a return is filed, and a state board or state records rule may require the intake file to be held longer. Keep the clinical record and the bookkeeping record separate so each can be retired on its own schedule.
Line-by-line basis for a 90-minute mobile booking
Worked example: 90-minute mobile booking
| Line | Basis | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Session fee | Fixed price per session | 90 minutes hands-on, one therapist |
| Intake | Included | 15 minutes, before the first session only |
| Travel | Per mile, one way | Plus drive time at the therapist's hourly rate |
| Parking | At cost | Receipt attached to the invoice |
| Setup | Flat fee | Table, linens, screens, 20 minutes each way |
| Deposit | Percentage of session fee | Due at booking, applied to the balance |
| Balance | Session fee plus travel and setup | Due on the day, card or transfer |
| Tip | Optional | Not assumed in the quote total |
The fixed-price-per-session row is the one a client with a recurring need will compare against the next practice they call. Set it from the practice's own numbers, which is what the pricing guide for a fair margin works through.
Where the session fee comes from
The quote carries a number the practice has to be able to defend. That number comes out of the massage therapy pricing and profit guide, not out of the template.
Before the first quote goes out, run the margin and break-even math on the room, the therapist's paid hours and the on-costs. A quote that wins the work at a loss is still a loss.
Where the booking is a series rather than a single session, the packages and pricing tiers decide what is actually being quoted.
Common questions
What has to be on a massage therapy quote?
The therapist's name, licence number and the board that issued it. The session length and modality. The address. The schedule. The fee with travel and setup itemized. The deposit and cancellation terms. How a tip is handled. Anything the practice will not do should be listed too.
Can a quote promise a treatment outcome?
No. A quote prices time and logistics. What happens in the room is between the client and the licensed therapist, under the scope of practice the state board sets.
How should a deposit be described?
As an amount that holds the slot, with the notice periods that trigger a refund or a forfeit written next to it. Keep it separate from the session fee on the invoice so the balance stays clear.
Who confirms how tips and service charges are reported?
The employer reports the tips it receives on its quarterly payroll return and the year-end W-2, following IRS Publication 531, Reporting Tip Income. A CPA confirms how that applies to the practice's own payroll setup, and the quote should say whether a gratuity is expected, optional or already built into the fee.
