How to write a quote

A quote customers accept states who you are, including your legal name and ABN, the customer and the job, a quote number, the issue and expiry dates, an itemised price with the GST shown and a total, what is included and excluded, the payment schedule, how variations are handled, and a line for the customer to accept. Once accepted it forms part of a binding contract, so every figure and exclusion should be something you would stand behind in a dispute.

What a quote must contain

Business Queensland’s guide to preparing a business quote gives a practical list: your legal entity and trading name, address, ABN, contact details and website; the quote date, number and expiry date; a line item breakdown of costs with the GST component and the total; items not included; payment terms; the expected time for completion; and a customer acceptance signature line. Consumer Affairs Victoria adds, for trades, that the customer should know whether the quote includes transport, time to collect materials, labour and apprentice costs and any call out, weekend or public holiday rates.

The quotation example from a fictional bathroom renovator follows that list closely. The letterhead carries the company name, address, phone, email and ABN. Beneath it sit the client, the site address, quote number QTE-2026-338, the issue date of 18 August 2026, a 30 day validity and a proposed start of 5 October.

The note on what a quotation is covers the definition; this guide is about writing one well.

Itemise by line, not one total

Price the job before you write the document. Business Queensland’s checklist for the work behind a quote is worth following: understand exactly what the customer wants, confirm you have the skills and availability, work out the true cost of materials, labour, taxes and a share of overheads, check that suppliers can deliver in time and at a price you can mark up, and ask whether winning this job would strain your cash flow. It also suggests allowing a buffer on labour in case the work takes longer, and charging additional costs and disbursements at cost plus a stated margin. Each of those decisions ends up as a line, an allowance or a term on the page.

A single number with “full bathroom renovation” beside it is quick to send and hard to accept, because the customer cannot see what they are paying for or compare it with another quote. Pricing by trade or stage is slower to write and far easier to agree to.

The example prices eight lines: demolition, plumbing, screeding and waterproofing, tiling, cabinetry, fixtures and fittings, electrical, and making good. Each line has a description, quantity, unit price and amount, and the table ends with a subtotal of $31,618.18, GST at 10% of $3,161.82 and a total of $34,780.00. When the customer asks to drop the mirrored cabinet, one line changes and everyone can see the effect.

For service work the lines become roles and hours. The rate card example shows how an hourly, day and weekly rate relate, which is the arithmetic a service quote relies on.

Inclusions, exclusions and allowances

The inclusions list answers “what am I getting”. The example lists six, including protection of surfaces, site cleaning, removal of trade waste, and a waterproofing certificate and an electrical certificate of safety.

Exclusions matter more, because they are what customers assume. The example excludes council permits and fees, rectification of unforeseen structural issues or pre existing defects, upgrades to specified items, and relocating plumbing or electrical points more than 500mm. It also treats the tiles as a provisional sum: an allowance is included in the price and adjusted once the customer chooses the tiles.

Business Queensland suggests listing accessories or services not included in the base quote, both to set expectations and because some become optional extras the customer wants.

Validity, payment and variations

Validity. Without an expiry date, Business Queensland warns, you may have to honour a quote that loses money when material costs rise. Thirty days is common for trade work; say it near the top and again near the acceptance line.

Payment. State the methods you accept and when each payment is due. The example takes 10% on acceptance ($3,478.00), 50% when tiling is complete ($17,390.00) and 40% at practical completion ($13,912.00), so the three amounts add back to the total. Check the rules for your state and industry before copying any deposit figure; domestic building work in particular has deposit limits, and the example’s own notes point out Victoria’s cap for larger contracts. The payment terms clause page covers how payment timing is usually worded.

Variations. Consumer Affairs Victoria says the customer should know before agreeing how changes to the quote or timeframe, delays and late payment fees will be handled. The example says any work not in the scope is a variation that is costed, approved and documented before it starts, with payment at the next progress stage.

Acceptance and follow up

End with a first person acceptance statement and a signature and date line for each side. The example reads: I, Alana Reid, accept this quotation and its terms and conditions for the works at 14 Selwyn Street, Hawthorn, and authorise the builder to commence as scheduled.

Business Queensland suggests following up 7 to 14 days after sending, and getting a signature or written confirmation before starting work or ordering materials. If the specification changes, send a revised quote with a new number rather than agreeing the change in conversation.

Once work is done, the quote’s lines become the invoice. The guide on quote vs invoice vs proforma invoice explains how the three documents relate, so that is not repeated here.

The contents at a glance

The table at the end of this article lists thirteen elements of a quote, each with example wording from the bathroom renovation quotation and the reason it is there. Check your own template against it; the rows most often missing are the expiry date, the exclusions and the variation rule.

Common mistakes

One line and a total. The customer cannot compare it and you cannot adjust it.

No expiry. A quote accepted six months later at last year’s price.

Exclusions left to conversation. “I assumed the permit was included” is the start of most quote disputes.

A deposit that breaks the rules. Some industries and states cap deposits; check before you set one.

Starting on a verbal yes. Get the acceptance signed or confirmed in writing first. For a service business with standard rates, a price list published alongside quotes answers many questions before they are asked.

Build it

A quote speaks for a sender, so a document here uses a letterhead for it; there are four letterhead styles: masthead, ledger, monogram and underline. Input fields are not used in documents, so every figure, date and name is written as content, and the totals should be checked by hand like any typed number. Documents do not print citations, so any rule the quote relies on is written into the terms as text.

The AI chat edits text only, which makes it useful for rewording an exclusion or a variation clause, while rows are added in the builder. For acceptance, a signature block party is one signer, each with a name, email and signing order. The page on data tables in a document shows the line item table, and the tutorial on creating a document with AI covers the first draft.