Wat die herstelkwotasie betref, bevat dit die arbeidskoste.

It means As far as the repair quote is concerned or Regarding the repair quote.

This is a very common Afrikaans structure:

• wat X betref = as far as X is concerned / regarding X

So in your sentence:

• Wat die herstelkwotasie betref = Regarding the repair quote

Even though wat often means what, in this fixed expression it is part of the phrase wat ... betref.

Not really in this sentence. On its own, wat can mean what or that/which, depending on context. But here it appears in the set phrase wat ... betref.

So you should learn wat ... betref as a whole expression rather than translating each word separately.

Examples:

• Wat my betref, is dit reg. = As far as I’m concerned, it’s fine.
• Wat die prys betref, is dit duur. = As for the price, it’s expensive.

Betref means concerns or relates to.

So:

• Dit betref die kontrak. = It concerns the contract.

In the expression wat X betref, it gives the idea of with regard to X or as for X.

It is a compound noun:

• herstel = repair
• kwotasie = quotation / quote / estimate

So:

• herstelkwotasie = repair quote / repair estimate

Afrikaans, like Dutch and German, often joins nouns together into one long word.

Other examples:

• motorherstel = car repair
• arbeidskoste = labour costs

Because Afrikaans often uses compound nouns instead of a noun phrase with for or of.

English:

• repair quote
• labour costs
• car door

Afrikaans:

• herstelkwotasie
• arbeidskoste
• motordeur

So instead of building the phrase with extra words, Afrikaans frequently combines the ideas into a single noun.

This is because Afrikaans follows the verb-second rule in main clauses.

The sentence begins with a fronted phrase:

• Wat die herstelkwotasie betref

Once that phrase comes first, the finite verb must come next:

• bevat

Then the subject follows:

• dit

So the order is:

• Wat die herstelkwotasie betref, bevat dit die arbeidskoste.

If you started directly with the subject, you would get:

• Dit bevat die arbeidskoste.

Both are grammatical, but the original sentence emphasizes regarding the repair quote.

Dit refers back to die herstelkwotasie.

So the meaning is:

• As for the repair quote, it includes the labour costs.

Afrikaans often uses dit just like English uses it to refer back to something already mentioned.

Bevat means contains or includes.

In Afrikaans, verbs usually do not change form the way they do in English. So you use bevat with different subjects:

• Ek bevat — not natural semantically, but grammatically the verb form stays the same
• Jy bevat
• Hy/Sy/Dit bevat
• Ons bevat
• Hulle bevat

A more natural example:

• Die dokument bevat die besonderhede. = The document contains the details.
• Die kwotasies bevat die belasting. = The quotes include the tax.

So unlike English contain/contains, Afrikaans keeps the same verb form.

Arbeidskoste means labour costs or labor costs.

It is also a compound noun:

• arbeid = labour / labor
• koste = costs

So:

• arbeidskoste = labour costs

Depending on context, it can refer to the cost of workers’ time, service charges, installation labour, repair labour, and so on.

Because the sentence is referring to specific labour costs: the labour costs connected with that repair quote.

• die arbeidskoste = the labour costs

Afrikaans uses die as the definite article for both singular and plural nouns.

Examples:

• die motor = the car
• die motors = the cars
• die koste = the costs

So die does not tell you singular versus plural by itself; the noun does that.

In meaning, it is usually treated as plural in English: labour costs.

But in Afrikaans, many cost-related words can behave a little differently from what an English speaker expects, because the noun itself may represent a collective concept. In this sentence, the important thing is simply that arbeidskoste means the labour costs.

You do not need to change the verb because bevat stays the same anyway.

Yes. That is a simpler and very natural sentence.

• Die herstelkwotasie bevat die arbeidskoste. = The repair quote includes the labour costs.

The original version:

• Wat die herstelkwotasie betref, bevat dit die arbeidskoste.

is a bit more topical or formal in tone, because it sets up the topic first: as for the repair quote...

Yes, it is normal to use a comma there because Wat die herstelkwotasie betref is an introductory phrase.

So this is standard:

• Wat die herstelkwotasie betref, bevat dit die arbeidskoste.

The comma helps show that the first part is a framing expression: regarding the repair quote.

It sounds fairly neutral to slightly formal, especially because of Wat ... betref.

In everyday speech, people might also say:

• Die herstelkwotasie sluit die arbeidskoste in.
• Die herstelkwotasie bevat die arbeidskoste.

These may sound a little more direct.

So:

• Wat die herstelkwotasie betref... = a bit more structured/formal
• Die herstelkwotasie bevat... = simpler and more direct

Yes, often.

You could say:

• Die herstelkwotasie sluit die arbeidskoste in.

This means:

• The repair quote includes the labour costs.

Both are correct:

• bevat = contains / includes
• sluit ... in = includes

In many contexts, sluit ... in sounds especially natural for things included in a price, package, quote, or offer.