What every SA quotation should include
- Your details: business name, address, phone, email, and your VAT number if you are registered.
- The customer's details and the site address, which is often not where the bill goes.
- A quote number, so when they say "yes to the one you sent on Tuesday" you know which one.
- The date and a valid-until date. Material prices move, and 30 days is common.
- A clear description of the work, line by line, with quantities and prices.
- The total, with 15% VAT shown separately if you are VAT-registered. If you are not, show no VAT at all.
- The deposit you need before you buy materials, and when the balance is due.
- What is not included. This one line prevents most arguments at the end of a job.
How much deposit? It depends on how much you spend on materials up front. See how much deposit a tradesman should charge.
Quote, pro forma or invoice?
A quote is an offer: this is what the job will cost. Once the customer says yes, you can send a pro forma to collect the deposit, and an invoice when the work is done. They are different documents with different jobs, explained in quote vs invoice vs pro forma.
Template vs quoting from your phone
A Word or Excel quotation template works for the first few. Then you are retyping the customer's details, renumbering by hand, recalculating the VAT and the deposit, and later typing the whole thing again as an invoice. The faster path is software that numbers each quote, adds the VAT, works out the deposit, and turns the accepted quote into an invoice without retyping a line.
Skip the template, quote in about a minute
BlitzBooks builds branded, VAT-ready quotes on your phone, sends them to WhatsApp as a PDF, and converts an accepted quote into an invoice in one tap. Free for 7 days, cancel anytime.
Start free →Related
- Free invoice template: the invoice to send when the job is done.
- Markup and margin calculator: price the job so it actually makes money.
- VAT calculator: add or remove 15% VAT.
- Why quoting fast wins more jobs.