Business proposal
Business proposal example: a priced office fit out
A business proposal tells a buyer what you will deliver, when, for how much and on what terms, in the order they need to decide. This example is a furniture supplier quoting a 42 desk office fit out at $90,838 including GST, with two optional extras, a 30% deposit and a signature page for both companies.
The proposal, page by page
Every page as the client sees it and as it prints, pricing table included.
The pricing, line by line
- Height adjustable workstations
- 42 × $1,180.00
- Task chairs
- 42 × $465.00
- Acoustic desk screens
- 24 × $210.00
- Meeting room table and eight chairs
- 1 × $4,850.00
- Delivery, installation and waste removal
- 1 × $3,600.00
- Monitor arms (optional)
- 42 × $139.00
- Breakout lounge setting (optional)
- 1 × $5,200.00
- Tax
- $8,258.00
- Total
- $90,838.00
- Deposit due on acceptance
- $27,251.40
Section by section
- Cover
- The title, who it is prepared for, the site, the install dates and the job reference.
- About us
- Two sentences on who the supplier is and that its own installers do the work.
- Understanding your needs
- The move, the deadline and the four requirements from the brief, plus a note on the site measure.
- Our approach
- Three numbered steps: confirm and order, lay out the floor, install after hours.
- Deliverables
- The four things on the floor when the job is done, with quantities.
- Timeline
- Four dated milestones from acceptance on 24 October to installation on 7 and 8 December.
- Investment
- The pricing table: five required lines, two optional extras, GST at 10%, the total, the 30% deposit and the balance.
- Terms
- Eight numbered clauses: payment, lead time and changes, site access, exclusions, warranty, cancellation, ownership and validity.
- Next steps and acceptance
- How signing works in order, then two signature blocks, one for each company.
Why a business proposal is built in this order
A buyer reads a proposal to answer four questions: do they understand what we need, can they deliver it, what does it cost, and what am I agreeing to. This example answers them in that order. About us and the restated brief prove understanding on page two. The approach, deliverables and timeline prove delivery on page three. Price waits until page four, by which point the buyer knows exactly what the $90,838 buys. Terms come last because they only matter once the buyer wants to say yes. Business.gov.au gives the same advice for quotes: describe the work in enough detail that the customer can compare like with like, list what is excluded, and state how long the price holds. A proposal that leads with price invites the buyer to compare a number with another number. One that leads with the brief invites them to compare solutions.
How the money works on this proposal
Every line is priced excluding GST, and GST at 10% is added as one line under the subtotal, which is how most business buyers expect to see it because they claim the GST back. The two optional items are listed in the same table with their own prices but are not counted in the total until the client selects them. In the online version the client ticks monitor arms, changes the quantity from 42 to however many staff need one, and sees the total, the 30% deposit and the balance change at once. On acceptance a deposit invoice for 30% of the selected total is issued and due the same day, and a balance invoice is drafted for the rest, which Northgate issues on completion with 14 day terms as clause 1 says. The deposit is what pays for the manufacturing order, which is why the lead time in clause 2 runs from the day it arrives.
How to adapt this proposal
Keep the order and change the content. Rewrite Understanding your needs from your own meeting notes, in the buyer's words, and keep it to the three to five things they said mattered. Keep the exclusions clause even if it feels obvious, because the item a buyer assumes is included is the one that starts an argument. If your work is not product supply, replace the site measure note with whatever proves you understood the site or the system: a current state table, a list of the reports you reviewed, or the people you interviewed. Change the deposit to suit your cash flow; 30% suits a supplier who must pay a manufacturer before delivery, while a pure services firm might ask for less or none.
What makes this proposal work
The brief comes back in the client's words
Understanding your needs restates four things Tallis asked for, from sit stand desks after a staff survey to installation after 6 pm, and notes the site measure behind every desk position. The buyer can check the proposal answers their brief before they reach the price.
Exclusions are written down
The approach names the two 16 desk pods and the 10 desk pod, and clause 4 lists what is not included: data cabling, computers, phones, signage and artwork. That is where disputes on fit outs start, so the proposal settles it before anyone signs.
The client decides the total
Five required lines make the $82,580 subtotal. Monitor arms (42 at $139, quantity editable from 1 to 42) and a $5,200 lounge are optional, so the client ticks what they want online and the $27,251.40 deposit and the balance recalculate before signing.
Questions people ask
What should a business proposal include?
At minimum: a summary of the job, what the client asked for, exactly what you will deliver, what you will not, a timeline, an itemised price with tax shown, payment terms, how long the offer is valid and a way to accept. This example covers all of them in six A4 pages, cover included, with the price on page four after the approach and deliverables.
Should prices in a business proposal include GST?
For business buyers, show prices excluding GST with GST added as its own line, as this example does: subtotal $82,580, GST $8,258, total $90,838. Business customers registered for GST claim it back, so the figure they compare is the price before GST. For consumers, show GST inclusive prices, because that is what they pay.
How long should a business proposal be?
Long enough to answer the buyer's questions and no longer. Six pages suits a single project with one price, as here: a cover, a page on the brief, a page on the approach and timeline, a page of pricing, a page of terms and a signature page. A proposal for an ongoing service with several options can run longer, but each extra page should answer a question the buyer actually has.
Why ask for a deposit in a business proposal?
A deposit covers money you spend before the client receives anything. Northgate pays a manufacturer six weeks before installation, so it asks for 30% on acceptance and ties the lead time to the day the deposit arrives. A firm whose costs are mainly its own time can ask for a smaller deposit or none, and invoice in stages instead.
What is the difference between an optional item and a separate quote?
An optional item sits in the same pricing table with its own price, but only counts once the client selects it. That keeps every choice in one document and one total. A separate quote makes the client compare two documents and sign twice. Use optional items for add ons to one job; use a separate quote when the work is genuinely a different job.
Do both companies need to sign a business proposal?
Not always, but for a large order it is sensible. This proposal uses e-sign acceptance with countersigning: the client signs first after confirming a code sent to their email, then the supplier signs, and only then is the deposit invoice issued. A click to accept with a typed name and drawn signature also records acceptance, and suits smaller jobs.
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