Free Quotation Maker

How to make a quotation

Fill in the form and the preview shows the quote as your client will see it. It works as a free quote generator and online quotation maker, so there is nothing to install.

1. Add your business name, logo and contact details, then the client you are preparing the quote for.
2. Check the quote number (it starts with QUO), the date and the Valid until date. Quotes are valid for 30 days by default; change it to suit the job.
3. Describe each part of the work with a quantity and a price. Use the unit field for hours, days, square metres or items.
4. Add any tax you will charge and a discount if you offer one, then choose the currency and a style.
5. Write what is included and what is not in the Terms box, then download the PDF or print it.

Quote or estimate: which one to send

A quote is an offer to do a job for a stated price. Official consumer guidance from New Zealand describes quotes as generally a confirmed maximum price: once the client accepts, the price should not go up unless they agree to extra work or the scope changes.

An estimate is a best guess of what the job will cost, based on your experience, and the final price can be higher or lower. If you can measure the work and fix the price, send a quote. If parts of the job are unknown until you start, send an estimate with the estimate maker instead.

What a good quote includes

• who the quote is from and who it is for
• a quote number and the date it was issued
• a clear description of each part of the work, with quantities and prices
• taxes and discounts, and the total
• how long the price is valid
• what is included and excluded, the deposit if you ask for one, and the payment terms

The clearer the scope, the fewer surprises later. If the client asks for changes, update the quote and send a new version with the same number and a new date, so both of you know which one is current.

Turn an accepted quote into an invoice

When the client accepts, select Convert to invoice. The invoice keeps every item, tax, discount and the total from the quote, swaps the QUO prefix for INV while keeping the number, sets today as the issue date and adds a due date from your payment terms. The quote number is printed on the invoice as its reference, so your client can match the two.

After you are paid, the invoice can become a receipt the same way. One form covers the whole job, from the first price to the proof of payment.

Prices in any currency, taxes entered by you

Quote in the currency your client pays in. The quotation generator supports every ISO 4217 currency with its correct decimals and lets you choose 1,234.56 or 1.234,56 number formats and DD/MM/YYYY or MM/DD/YYYY dates.

Taxes are entered by you: type the tax name and the rate, such as VAT 20% or GST 15%. You can add two taxes, or a different rate on some lines. Prima Invoice does not decide which tax applies to your work; ask your tax office or accountant if you are not sure.

Send it your way

Download the quote as a PDF and attach it to an email or a chat message, or print it on A4 or US Letter. If you take deposits online, paste your own Stripe or PayPal payment link: the PDF shows a Pay online button and your client pays you directly. Your quote is saved in this browser only; export a JSON copy to keep it or to open it on another device.

Price the scope, not just the task

Most disputes about quotes start with an unclear scope. Before you type a single price, write down what the client asked for, what you will deliver, and what you will not do. Then turn each deliverable into a line: discovery workshop, two design concepts, three rounds of revisions, installation, training. Lines that match deliverables are easy for the client to approve or remove.

Use the unit field to show how you measured the work. Hours and days suit services, square metres or square feet suit floors and walls, and items suit products. If a part of the job is optional, quote it as a separate line and say so in the description, so the client can accept the core work without the extras.

Deposits, milestones and acceptance

Larger jobs often ask for a deposit before work starts and the balance on completion. Write the split in the Terms box, for example 30% deposit on acceptance, 70% on handover. When the client accepts, convert the quote into an invoice for the deposit amount by editing the lines on the invoice, and keep the original quote as the record of the full price.

Ask the client to confirm acceptance in writing, by email or a signed copy of the PDF. Under the New Zealand guidance cited above, once a quote is accepted the provider cannot charge more unless the client agrees to extra work or the scope changes during the job. Record any change as a new, dated version of the quote so there is a clear trail.

Quotes for overseas buyers and pro forma requests

Selling goods abroad sometimes calls for a pro forma invoice instead of a quote. The US International Trade Administration describes a pro forma invoice as a quote in an invoice format that a buyer may need to apply for an import licence, open a letter of credit or arrange a transfer of hard currency. If your buyer asks for one, check exactly which fields their bank or customs office needs.

For ordinary service work across borders, a quote in the buyer's currency is usually enough. Pick that currency from the ISO 4217 list, set the number format your client is used to, and state whether your prices include or exclude local taxes. Exchange rates move, so a shorter Valid until date protects you when you quote in a currency you do not earn in.

Make your quote easy to say yes to

Clients compare quotes side by side, often on a phone. Keep descriptions short and concrete, put the most important line first, and avoid internal jargon. Add your logo and a style that matches your brand: Classic and Minimal look calm and formal, Modern and Bold stand out in an inbox full of plain PDFs.

Close the quote with a next step in the notes, for example Reply to this email to book your start date. If you accept online deposits, a Pay online button from your own Stripe or PayPal link lets the client act straight away. The quotation maker reminds you to check that a Stripe link charges the right amount, because a fixed price link always charges its own price.

Common quoting mistakes

• Forgetting travel, delivery, permits or third-party fees, then absorbing them yourself.
• Offering unlimited revisions instead of a fixed number, which turns a profitable job into a loss.
• Leaving out an expiry date, so a client accepts an old price months later.
• Vague descriptions such as Website work that invite arguments about what was promised.
• Ignoring bank or conversion fees when the client pays in a different currency.
• Showing a price without tax when the client expects a total that includes it.

Each of these is easy to avoid with the form: separate lines for extras, a clear Valid until date, specific descriptions and your own tax rows.

Discounts that keep the job profitable

A discount can win a deal, but give it deliberately. Choose a percentage or a fixed amount; either way it is deducted before tax, so the tax is calculated on what the client actually pays. Popular reasons are early booking, a bundle of services, a repeat client or a non-profit rate. Saying why in the notes keeps the discount from becoming your new standard price.

Following up after you send a quote

Many quotes go unanswered simply because the client got busy. A polite follow-up a few days later, with the PDF attached again, often wins the job. Mention one benefit, answer a likely objection, and remind them when the price expires. If they decline, ask what would have changed their mind; the answer improves your next proposal.

Keep every quote you send, accepted or not. Exported JSON copies form a personal price library: reopen one, adjust it, and a new tailored quotation is ready almost instantly. Patterns in lost quotes tell you whether your rates, scope or presentation need work.

Quotes for creative and technical work

Designers, photographers, writers and developers sell time and also the right to use what they create. Say in the quote which usage is included, for example web and social media for one year, and price wider licences separately. In the United States, the Copyright Office explains that a work is protected the moment it is created and fixed in a tangible form, so who may use the result is worth settling before the work begins.

For software or design projects, name milestones such as wireframes, prototype, launch and support, and attach a price to each. Clients approve staged budgets more readily, and you are paid as value is delivered rather than waiting until the very end.