What is a price quotation (quote) and how do you prepare one?
A price quotation — commonly called a quote or sales quote — is a commercial document a seller sends to a prospective or existing customer setting out the exact products or services offered, their unit prices, any discounts and how long the offer remains valid. It turns an informal inquiry into a clear written proposal.
A price quotation (quote) is a written price proposal given to a customer before a sale is agreed, showing itemized products, quantities, prices and validity terms. Issuing a quote does not deduct stock or create a balance on the customer's account; inventory and balances update only when the quote becomes an invoice.
What details should every price quotation include?
A quotation is often the first formal document a customer receives from your business. Sending an itemized quote instead of a single lump-sum figure in a chat message builds trust, shows exactly what is included and prevents misunderstandings over scope or pack sizes.
Because supplier costs and exchange rates can shift, a good quote never leaves pricing open-ended; stating a clear expiration date protects your profit margin and encourages a timely decision. Every professional quote includes four key sections.
- Quote number, issue date, expiration (validity) date and contact details for both seller and customer.
- Clear description of each product or service, stock code (SKU), unit of measure and proposed quantity.
- Unit prices, line or document discounts, tax rate, tax amount and total quoted price.
- Estimated delivery lead time, payment terms and any notes or conditions specific to the offer.
Quote vs. proforma invoice vs. sales invoice
A price quote belongs to the negotiation stage: the customer is still comparing options and may ask to add items, change quantities or adjust terms. A proforma invoice comes after the customer agrees in principle and needs a preliminary bill to arrange an advance payment or internal purchase approval.
A sales invoice is the final billing document issued when the goods or services are delivered. Neither a quote nor a proforma invoice changes your physical stock levels or records a receivable on the customer's account; only a confirmed sales invoice updates stock and contact balances.
Creating and converting quotes in GiroPS
In GiroPS, you can build an itemized **Quote** in seconds from your product catalog, apply line or document discounts, generate a clean PDF and share it with your customer via WhatsApp or email. You can filter and track quotes by status—pending, approved or declined.
When the customer says yes, you never have to re-enter the items: with a single tap you can convert the approved quote into an **Order** for warehouse fulfillment or directly into a **Sales Invoice**, carrying over every product line, price and discount automatically.
Practical scenario
Example: from renovation material quote to sales invoice
A building supplies store prepares a quote for a design studio covering 120 m² of laminate flooring at 350 per m², 80 meters of skirting board at 60 per meter and installation labor, with a 5% document discount and a 10-day validity period. The owner shares the PDF quote via WhatsApp. While the customer reviews the offer, the store's stock count and customer balance remain untouched. Five days later, the studio approves the quote; the owner converts it into a sales invoice in GiroPS with one tap, deducting the materials from stock and posting the receivable to the customer's account.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does sending a price quote deduct items from my inventory?
No. A quote is purely an offer; your physical stock quantities and the customer's account balance remain unchanged until the quote is approved and converted into a confirmed invoice.
Why should I always put an expiration date on a quote?
Supplier purchase prices and currency rates change over time. Setting a validity period (such as 7 or 14 days) protects your business from being asked to honor outdated prices months later.
What if the customer wants to change quantities before accepting?
You can edit the existing quote in GiroPS to update the quantities or discounts and resend the PDF, or adjust the final numbers directly on the screen when converting the quote into an order or invoice.