Quotation Meaning: Format, Example and Checklist

Illustration of quotation records connected to factory work.

A quotation is your written offer to supply specific goods or services at a stated price and on stated terms. It gives the buyer the quantity, price, delivery conditions and offer expiry. In Optiwise, you can turn an enquiry into a quotation, keep its revisions and follow the customer’s response in the same sales workflow.

What a quotation should include

Give the offer a quotation number, date and expiry date. Identify your customer, the delivery address, the items and their quantities. For a manufactured part, state the drawing revision, material, finish and inspection requirements that the price covers. Your customer should be able to tell exactly what you have priced.

Show the unit rate and line amount, then separate tooling, packing, freight and applicable taxes. State the payment terms and when the delivery period starts. If you need an approved drawing or an advance before starting work, put that condition beside the delivery promise.

A request for quotation, or RFQ, comes before this offer: the buyer asks suppliers for prices and terms. The supplier replies with a quotation. ERPNext’s quotation documentation also separates the offer’s items, prices, validity and terms. These fields help you explain the transaction; the terms still need to match the work you have agreed to do.

A manufacturing quotation example

This is an illustrative calculation, not a customer quote or a market price. Suppose you are quoting for 500 machined brackets to drawing BR-12, revision C.

The subtotal is ₹1,28,000. Resolve and show tax and freight before issuing the final offer.

An accompanying delivery term could read: “15 working days after written acceptance, receipt of the agreed advance and approval of drawing revision C.” Before sending it, check material availability, the fixture and the planned operations. The example does not establish your factory’s capacity or a suitable tax rate.

Keep a changed quantity tied to the right version

If the customer asks for 800 brackets instead of 500, recheck material, capacity and price before promising the same delivery date. In our sales workflow, quotation versioning keeps the changes and revision history together. Your sales team can see the customer’s earlier orders and dues at the enquiry stage, create the quotation and track its status and follow-up.

Use the configured commercial approval step when the new offer needs approval. Record the agreed quantity, terms and version before releasing the order. A buyer accepting the old price while sending a new drawing is a discrepancy to resolve, not a reason to overwrite the original offer.

Optiwise connects the sales information to factory work. Attachments can move into production, purchase and subcontracting workflows, so the teams doing the work have the relevant files. Our enquiry and quotation guide follows that wider process.

Quotation, invoice and order: which record do you need?

A quotation sets out your offer before the order is confirmed. An estimate gives an indicative cost while the scope may still change. A purchase order records what the buyer is ordering; your sales order records what you have agreed to fulfil. An invoice requests payment under the agreed billing terms.

Compare the customer’s purchase order with the accepted quotation. Check the part, drawing revision, quantity, price, delivery date and payment terms. Resolve any difference before handing the work to production. ERPNext’s sales-order documentation shows the same distinction between a confirmed order and the offer that precedes it.

Before you send the quotation

• Match the item, quantity and drawing revision to the latest customer request.
• Recalculate line amounts and show tax, freight and any one-time charges.
• Check material and capacity before confirming the delivery terms.
• Confirm the offer expiry, approval and version that the customer will receive.

Prepare your next quotation in Optiwise

Start with the customer enquiry, item details, quantities, price and terms. Create the quotation, keep each negotiated version and assign the next follow-up. Once the customer agrees, use the accepted requirements to plan the order with your sales and production teams.

Bring one enquiry and a revised quotation to your Optiwise demo. We will show you how to create the offer, follow its versions and keep the next sales action clear.