A potential client asks “what will this cost?” before agreeing to anything. A contractor bids on a project where three others are bidding too. A supplier needs to confirm unit prices before the purchase order is raised. What all of these need is a quotation — a formal written offer that spells out exactly what’s included and for how much, before money changes hands or work begins.
Use the generator below. Set the heading to “Quotation” or “Price Quote”, fill in the line items, and download the PDF.
What goes into a good quotation
The basics: your business name and contact details, the client’s name, a unique quote number so you can reference it later, and the date issued. Then the line items, each with a description, quantity, unit rate, and total. Below that, the subtotal, any discount, GST if applicable, and the grand total.
Two things most people forget and shouldn’t: a validity period and payment terms. A validity period protects you. If a client comes back three months later and holds you to a price you quoted when material costs were different, you’re stuck unless the quote says “valid for 30 days from date of issue” or similar. Payment terms set the expectation up front — 50% advance, balance on delivery, or net-30, whatever you need.
GST on a quotation
A quotation isn’t a tax document. You can include GST breakdowns without a GSTIN on the quote itself, since it’s just showing the buyer what the final invoice will look like. That said, including your GSTIN on quotes looks professional and signals to the client’s accounts team that you’re GST-registered before they even have to ask.
If you’re billing an intra-state client, show CGST + SGST at half the rate each. Inter-state, show IGST at the full rate. The generator handles the split automatically once you pick the mode.
Quotation vs proforma invoice vs invoice
These three documents describe three different stages of the same transaction.
A quotation is an offer. Nothing is agreed yet. The client is comparing options. It lapses if not accepted within the validity period.
A proforma invoice comes after the client accepts the quote in principle. Quantities are confirmed, scope is fixed, the proforma mirrors what the final invoice will look like. It’s used to arrange advance payment or import clearances.
A tax invoice is the actual bill raised after work is done or goods are delivered. It’s a legal accounting document that triggers payment and GST obligations.
Sending a proper quotation first makes each of these transitions smoother. The proforma just copies the agreed numbers. The final invoice matches the proforma. No surprises for either side.
Converting a quotation to an invoice
Once the client accepts, you don’t create a new document from scratch. Take the same line items, change the heading to “Tax Invoice”, assign an invoice number, update the date, and add a payment due date. That’s it. The invoice generator produces the final version. Keep both the quote and invoice on file so there’s a clear record of what was agreed and what was billed.
Revision numbering
If the client comes back asking for a revised quote, don’t just resend the same document with different numbers. Change the quote number (Q-2026-001-R2 if the original was Q-2026-001), update the date, and add a note about what changed. When a project runs through three or four rounds of revision before sign-off, having revision numbers means everyone knows which version they’re looking at.
Related: proforma invoice for the next stage after the quote is accepted, and the GST invoice template for the final compliant billing document.