What should a quote for catalog products include?

A quote for catalog products should identify exactly what you will supply, how much the customer will pay and when and how they will receive it. A product name alone may not distinguish the required size, finish or pack quantity.

DoneQuote can help turn a customer's request into a draft using your product catalog. Before sending, check that you can supply the listed items at those prices and on those delivery terms.

How do you identify the products clearly?

Give each quoted product its own line. Include:

• Product code or part number: the identifier used in your catalog.
• Description: a name the buyer can recognize, plus the relevant size, finish or specification.
• Quantity and unit: pieces, packs, boxes or another clearly defined unit.
• Unit price and total: what one unit costs and the amount for the full quantity.

If a box contains ten pieces, write “box of 10.” That makes it clear whether a quantity of four means four pieces or forty.

If you propose a different product from the one requested, name it in the quote. Get the customer’s written approval before supplying it.

How do you show product quantities and prices?

For this fictional example, a buyer requests 40 black brackets and 20 zinc-finish mounting plates, delivered to their business. Your catalog sells the brackets in boxes of ten and the plates individually. The product codes and amounts are invented for illustration.

Add your company and customer details, the delivery address, a quote number and the issue date to your own document.

The order contains forty brackets and twenty plates. The delivery charge is part of the quoted total. State the tax treatment that applies to your sale; the example does not assume a particular jurisdiction.

If the customer has a negotiated price or qualifies for a quantity discount, check it before sending. The quote should show the price you are actually offering for this quantity.

Include delivery details and a date the price expires

Add the details the buyer needs to plan the order:

• Delivery location: the full delivery address or named collection point, written in the quote.
• Timing: when you expect to ship the order or when it should arrive. Say which date you mean.
• Conditions: anything the timing depends on, such as confirmation of stock or approval of a specification.
• Charges: state whether delivery and packaging are included in the product price or charged separately. Show separate charges in the total.
• Price expiration date: the last date the buyer can accept the quoted price and terms.
• Payment and acceptance: when payment is due and how the buyer confirms the order.

Confirm stock and delivery timing with the system or person responsible for them. An imported product list is not evidence that the items are available now.

What should you check before sending a product quote?

Compare the quote with the customer's request. Confirm the exact products, quantities, prices and destination. Identify any proposed change, such as a different finish, in the quote. Obtain the buyer’s written approval before supplying it.

In DoneQuote, import your product list, prepare the draft from the request and check the selected lines. Add delivery and other terms you have confirmed, then send the buyer an online quote they can review and approve.

For the drafting steps, read how AI helps you create a quote.