Free quotation templates that read as an offer, not a bill
A quotation is an offer, and the mistake most small businesses make with one is turning it into something that looks like a demand for payment. Bank details, a due date and a declaration all belong on a tax invoice, not on a quote you email before you have won the work. These templates are the quotation version of the same layout in Excel, Word and PDF: items, rates, live tax formulas and a validity date, with none of the payment pressure.
What belongs on a quotation
A quotation needs the supplier and customer details, an itemised list with quantities and rates, a validity date, the tax breakup if the customer is registered, and the total. It also needs to make clear what is assumed and what is not, because a quote with unstated assumptions is how a project ends in a dispute about scope. Note the exclusions: no bank details, no declaration, no due date.
Quotation or estimate?
The two words describe the same document, and both rank for the same searches. "Estimate" is the more common term in construction, fabrication and repair work, where the scope of materials is often being priced rather than a fixed item being sold. "Quotation" is standard for goods and for professional services. Nothing changes in the layout, so these templates serve either name. A proforma invoice is a different document entirely — that one comes after the work is agreed.
How long a quotation stays valid
Thirty days is the usual default, and it is what these templates carry. Longer locks you into a price while your input costs can move, which quietly eats your margin on a job that runs long. Shorter pushes pressure onto the customer, who may simply send the request to someone else. If you price on a fixed basis, set the validity to whatever you can genuinely honour — and if your prices move with a commodity or an exchange rate, say so on the quote, because a quote with no expiry is an open-ended offer.
Should GST appear on a quotation?
Show it when you are registered and the customer is registered, because it is the number they will budget against and the number that will appear on the tax invoice. The Excel template calculates it for you, splitting GST into CGST and SGST for an intra-state supply and charging IGST for an inter-state one. Do not show tax to an unregistered customer or on an export — clear the tax cells and the total recalculates. What matters most is that the tax on the quotation matches the tax on the tax invoice you eventually raise, because a difference there is a question your accountant has to answer.
Why these templates carry no bank details
Because a quotation goes out before you have been paid for anything. Putting account details on a document you email to a stranger gives them everything they need to attempt a payment against a relationship that has not started, and it is a well-known social-engineering route. Payment details belong on the proforma invoice, where money is actually being requested, and on the tax invoice. The quotation template leaves that panel out for the same reason it leaves out the declaration.
Turning a quotation into a proforma and then an invoice
The three documents are the same commercial facts at three stages, so you rarely retype the work. Once the customer accepts the quote, raise a proforma invoice with the same lines to request the advance. On supply, raise the tax invoice with the same lines and the same tax breakup, adjusted for what the proforma already covered. Because the three templates here use identical columns and identical tax formulas, copying between them does not need any relabelling beyond the header and the particulars.
Printing and sending
The PDF is the format to send when you want a fixed copy that cannot change in transit, and it prints at A4 with 12mm margins. Use Word when the customer needs to insert their own purchase order number, and Excel when you expect to negotiate on the line items and want the totals to keep up. All three are generated in your browser, with no signup, no watermark and nothing uploaded.
Frequently asked questions
What should a quotation include?
A quotation is an offer, so it needs the supplier and customer details, an itemised list with quantities and rates, a validity date, the tax breakup if the customer is registered, and the total. It does not need bank details, a declaration or a due date, and it must not read as a demand for payment — a customer who sees account numbers on a quote is being asked to pay before winning the work.
Is a quotation the same as an estimate?
In practice, yes — the two words are used interchangeably for the same document, and "estimate" is the more common term for construction and services work while "quotation" is standard for goods. A proforma invoice is different again: it is issued after you have won the work, to request the advance.
How long should a quotation stay valid?
Thirty days is the usual default and is what these templates carry. Longer validity locks you into a price while input costs can move, and a shorter one pushes pressure onto the customer. If your business prices on a fixed basis, set it to whatever you can actually honour.
Should GST be shown on a quotation?
Show it when you are registered and the customer is registered, because it is the number they will budget against, and your Excel template calculates it for you. Do not show it for an unregistered customer or for an export — clear the tax cells and the total recalculates. What matters is that the tax on the quotation matches the tax on the tax invoice you eventually raise.
Does the quotation template calculate the totals?
In Excel, yes. The taxable value, CGST, SGST, discount and total are live formulas, so type your rates and the figures work themselves out. The Word and PDF versions are blank documents for you to type over, which is the right choice when a signed or printed copy is what you need to send.
Can I use a quotation as an invoice?
No. A quotation is an offer and is not a tax invoice, so it cannot carry an input tax credit and should not be used to bill. Once the work is agreed and you supply it, raise a proper tax invoice — the proforma template is the right document if you need to request the advance first.
Do I need an account to download a quotation template?
No. There is no signup step, and the file is generated on your device and handed to your browser as a download with no watermark.
Can I change the design of the quotation template?
Yes. Pick from five designs — Classic, Formal, Minimal, Mono and Compact — before downloading. Minimal is the quietest of the five, which suits a quote you are sending to a new client, and Formal is the most formal for a document you will sign. The design changes only the look: the quotation fields, the tax columns and the absence of bank details stay the same in all five.