Quote & Estimate Generator

How to make a quote or estimate

1. Pick Quote or Estimate at the top. The document title, total label and acceptance wording change to match.
2. Add your business details and logo. They carry over to every new quote, so you only type them once.
3. Fill in the client, project and expiry date. The price is valid for 30 days by default; the 14, 30 and 60 day buttons change it in one click.
4. Add line items. Mark extras as optional add-ons. They get their own subtotal, so the client can say yes to the core job and choose extras separately.
5. Set any discount, tax and deposit, check the live preview, then click Download PDF. Save the quote to your list to track it as sent, accepted or declined.

Quote vs estimate: which should you send?

A quote is a fixed price for a defined piece of work. Once the client accepts, that is the price unless the scope changes. An estimate is your best informed guess when you can't see everything up front, such as a repair where the wall hasn't been opened yet, or a software project that depends on someone else's system.

Send a quote when you can describe the deliverables precisely. Send an estimate when the effort depends on things you can't know yet, and say how far it can move. A common approach is to promise you will ask before going more than 10% over. The generator prints that line under the total when you choose Estimate, and you can change the percentage. Depending on where you work, an accepted quote can be treated as a binding agreement, so don't call something a quote unless you can stand behind the price.

What to include in a quote

• Who it is from and who it is for: your business name and contact details, any tax or registration number your clients need, and the client's name and company.
• A unique quote number and date, so you can refer to it in emails and carry it over to the invoice.
• Itemized work with quantity, unit, rate and amount. A breakdown shows where the money goes and lets the client drop a piece instead of haggling over the whole price.
• Scope and assumptions: what is included, what isn't, how many revisions, and what you need from the client. Most "I thought that was included" arguments start with a vague scope.
• Price, tax, deposit and when the balance is due.
• An expiry date and terms covering changes, cancellation and ownership.
• A way to accept, such as the signature block on this template or a reply confirming acceptance.

How to price a job

Most freelance quotes come down to time, costs and risk:

Price = (estimated hours × hourly rate) + direct costs + contingency

Worked example: a small website you expect to take 52 hours (8 for discovery, 20 for design, 24 for the build). At $85 an hour that is $4,420. Add a 10% contingency for the unknowns, $442, and the price is $4,862. Fold the contingency into the line items rather than listing it on its own; a line called "buffer" reads like padding. If 7.5% sales tax applies, the client pays $4,862 + $364.65 = $5,226.65.

A 50% deposit on that total is $2,613.325, which rounds to $2,613.33 and leaves a balance of $2,613.32. The generator rounds every amount to the cent this way, so the deposit and balance always add up exactly to the total.

Then sanity-check the number against the value to the client and what similar work sells for. If you don't know your rate yet, work it out with the freelance hourly rate calculator, and use the project cost estimator to break a bigger job into phases.

How long should a quote be valid?

Thirty days is a sensible default for most service work. Use 14 days when your costs or calendar move quickly, for example when material prices change often or you are nearly booked up. Use 60 days or more for larger projects where the client needs internal sign-off or a new budget. The expiry date stops you being held to an old price after your costs or availability have changed, and it gives the client a natural deadline to decide.

How deposits work

A deposit is paid when the client accepts and before you start. It confirms they are serious, covers upfront costs and protects the time you have reserved for them. Deposits between 25% and 50% are common for project work; on long projects, split the rest into milestone payments rather than leaving it all to the end. Say in your terms whether the deposit is refundable and when the balance is due. Some places regulate deposits for consumer and building work, so check the rules where you operate.

How to follow up on a quote

• Send the PDF with a short cover email that restates the total, deposit and expiry date. The Copy cover email button writes one for you.
• If you haven't heard back after three or four working days, follow up with a useful question ("Would it help to go through the optional items on a quick call?") rather than "Did you get my quote?"
• Follow up again about a week before the quote expires, and mention the date.
• If the client says it is too expensive, offer to reduce the scope or move items to optional instead of cutting your rate.
• Update the status in your saved list so you can see what is still waiting and how many of your decided quotes were accepted.

Common mistakes

• A single lump sum with no breakdown, which invites haggling over the whole price.
• No expiry date, so a client can come back months later expecting the old price.
• Unlimited revisions by omission. If the quote doesn't say how many rounds are included, the client will assume as many as it takes.
• Starting work on a verbal yes. Get written acceptance and the deposit first.

Frequently asked questions