How to write a quote: template, sample and what to include

A quote (also called a quotation or offer) is a written offer to supply defined goods or services at a fixed price, valid until a stated date. Every quote should name both parties, list each item with quantity, unit price and tax, show the total, and state the validity, payment terms, timeline, exclusions and how the client accepts.

A clear quote does two jobs: it makes it easy for the client to say yes, and it protects you if there is a disagreement later. Below you will find how a quote differs from an estimate and a proforma invoice, a checklist, a sample quote with the arithmetic checked and a follow-up schedule.

Quote vs estimate vs proforma invoice vs invoice

The four documents are often confused, but each one does a different job:

When an accepted quote becomes a contract, and what a proforma or an advance payment requires, differs from country to country, so check the rules with your accountant or a lawyer.

What to include in a quote: the checklist

Use the same structure for every quote, whether it has one line or forty:

1. 1Your business details: legal name, address, registration or tax number where required, contact person, phone and email.
2. 2Client details: company name, contact person, address and, for business clients, their tax number.
3. 3Quote number and date: a unique number lets both sides refer to the same version, especially after revisions.
4. 4Validity period: a clear expiry date, such as “valid until 30 September 2026”, rather than a vague “30 days”.
5. 5A clear description per line: what exactly you supply, with model, size or scope, so nobody has to guess.
6. 6Quantity and unit: hours, pieces, square metres, days or monthly licences.
7. 7Unit price: the price of one unit before tax.
8. 8Discounts: on their own line or in their own column, so the client sees what they save.
9. 9Taxes shown separately: the net amount, the tax rate and the tax amount, then the total.
10. 10Total: the amount the client will pay, with the currency.
11. 11Payment terms: the deposit, when the balance is due (for example 14 days from the invoice) and how to pay.
12. 12Delivery or timeline: start date, duration, delivery date or milestones.
13. 13What is excluded: work or costs that are not in the price, such as travel, permits or extra rounds of changes.
14. 14Terms and conditions: warranty, cancellation, changes to the scope and how they are priced.
15. 15How to accept: a signature and date on the quote, or a written confirmation by email that mentions the quote number.

What a business document must show by law differs by country. The list above is good practice; your accountant can tell you what is mandatory where you work.

A sample quote with line items and totals

Here is a sample quotation from an IT services company for an office network. Copy the structure and replace the lines with your own.

• From: your company name, address, tax number and contact person
• To: the client's company name, contact person, address and tax number
• Quote: Q-2026-041, dated 1 September 2026, valid until 30 September 2026
• Subject: office network installation for 12 workstations

• Payment terms: 30% deposit on acceptance (€663.48); the balance of €1,548.12 within 14 days of the final invoice, by bank transfer.
• Timeline: installation starts within 10 working days of the deposit and takes 2 days.
• Not included: building work for cable routes, the internet connection and work outside office hours.
• Acceptance: sign and date this quote, or reply by email confirming quote Q-2026-041.

Check the arithmetic before you send: 350 + 780 + 540 + 270 = 1,940; a 5% discount is 97, which leaves 1,843; tax at the example rate of 20% adds 368.60, for a total of 2,211.60. Apply the discount before tax, and use the tax rate that applies to your products in your country.

Pricing and presentation tips

• Lead with the outcome. Open with one or two sentences about what the client gets, for example “a working network for 12 workstations, installed in two days without closing your office”, and only then list the lines.
• Offer options. Basic, standard and premium versions let the client choose how much to spend instead of deciding between yes and no. Mark the option you recommend and say why.
• State your assumptions. “The price assumes the cable routes above the ceiling are accessible” protects you when conditions on site are different, and makes an extra charge easier to explain.
• Keep the validity short when costs move. If your material or supplier prices change often, 14 days protects your margin better than 60.
• Price from your target margin. Start from the margin you need, not from cost plus a habitual percentage: a 25% markup gives only a 20% margin. See margin vs markup.
• Make it easy to read. Keep it to one or two pages where you can, use your logo and colours, write plain words instead of internal codes, and put the total where the eye lands.
• Send it quickly. A quote that arrives while the conversation is still fresh is easier to accept than one that arrives a week later.

How to follow up on a quote

A quote without an answer is often not a no: the client is busy, comparing offers or waiting for someone else to approve. A simple schedule keeps it moving without being pushy:

1. 1Day 0, when you send it: ask who else is involved in the decision and when they plan to decide.
2. 2Day 2: a short check: “Did the quote arrive, and is anything unclear?”
3. 3Day 7: add something useful: answer a likely question, offer a 15-minute call or suggest a smaller first phase if budget is the issue.
4. 4A few days before expiry: remind them of the date: “The prices in quote Q-2026-041 are valid until 30 September. Shall I reserve installation dates for you?”
5. 5After expiry: close the loop politely, ask what decided it and offer to update the quote if the need is still there.

Keep every message short, mention the quote number and end with one clear question. “Just checking in” gives the client nothing to answer; a concrete question does.

Track your win rate

Win rate = accepted quotes ÷ quotes sent × 100

If you sent 40 quotes last quarter and 14 were accepted, your win rate is 14 ÷ 40 × 100 = 35%. Measure it by value as well: if the 40 quotes were worth €120,000 and the accepted ones €36,000, you won 30% of the value you quoted. Compare the rate by service, by salesperson and by quote size, and when it falls, look at price, speed and follow-up first.

From accepted quote to invoice and payment

When the client says yes:

1. 1Record the acceptance. Keep the signed quote or the confirming email and mark the quote as accepted, so nobody quotes the same job twice.
2. 2Ask for the deposit. If your terms include one, send a proforma invoice for the deposit, or an advance-payment invoice where your country requires one.
3. 3Deliver what you quoted. If the scope changes, confirm the change and its price in writing before you do the extra work.
4. 4Invoice from the quote. Copy the client, lines and prices from the accepted quote into the invoice, so the bill matches what was agreed, and deduct the deposit already paid.
5. 5Get paid. Send the invoice on the day the work is done, with a due date and payment details. See how to get paid faster.

Common mistakes when writing a quote

1. 1No expiry date. An open-ended quote can be accepted months later at prices you can no longer honour.
2. 2Vague descriptions. “Website work, €2,000” invites arguments; describe the scope and the number of revision rounds.
3. 3Tax hidden in the total. Business clients need the net amount, the tax and the total shown separately.
4. 4Arithmetic errors. A wrong total damages trust and is hard to correct once the client has accepted it.
5. 5No exclusions. Whatever you do not exclude, the client will assume is included.
6. 6No way to accept. Without a signature line or a clear “reply to confirm”, nobody knows whether the deal is on.
7. 7Send and forget. Without a follow-up plan, good quotes expire unanswered.
8. 8Retyping the quote into the invoice. Retyping creates differences between what was agreed and what is billed.

How Clientlly helps

In Clientlly you create business offers from reusable offer templates with your organisation's branding, and AI can draft the offer description for you. Each offer has a validity date, is flagged as it nears expiry and can be emailed to the client as a PDF with open tracking. You mark offers as accepted or rejected and turn an accepted offer into a draft invoice with the same client and lines, alongside proforma invoices, invoices and credit notes. See the documents module and invoicing.