The main goal of any business is to attract new customers. 

To make the enterprise work successfully and bring profit, it must be competitive in the market. It's not enough to have only a quality product or good advertising to occupy top positions in the business. One of the modern ways to attract customers in business is to use a sales quote, or quotation, cpq system. 

A quote in business is a kind of statement that is convenient to use to promote a product, service, or the company itself. It is often used in marketing materials such as advertisements and brochures.

What is a Quote?

A quote, or quote form, is a special document that a company sends to a potential buyer. The quote must include the full price of the product or service being provided. The term "commercial offer" is sometimes used. However, proposals are something between quotes, bids and predictions. They are useful in complex projects with several solutions. 

Quotes can be used by any firm, from small and medium-sized business owners to large corporations. In addition to the price of a product or service, a commercial quote can contain information such as:

• cost of raw materials, goods;
• taxes;
• labor costs;
• additional factors that may affect the final price.

A good quote can influence the client's decision in favor of the business. 

You should also remember that a quotation has no legal force and does not bind the client to anything. But the information provided to the client should be accurate, so that in case the client makes a positive decision in favor of your company, there will be no price discrepancies and the invoice will not differ from the quote proposal template.

What are the Types of Professional Quotes?

Generally, business quotes can be divided into two categories based on quotation formats:

• estimated quotes;
• quotes with a detailed price breakdown.

Estimated quotes are extremely common and may contain entire packages of services without specifying the exact cost. First of all, it is due to a number of factors that are not always within the seller's control, such as changes in the cost of materials depending on the exchange rate, hiring additional staff, changes in the duration of the project, etc. In such a situation, the estimated quote shows the client only an approximate figure. The estimate will be more of a good reference point for the customer, but will not give an accurate idea of the total cost.

In cases where the services or products requested by the client have a fixed price, the quote should have a detailed price breakdown according to the quote template. For example, a company wants to purchase new software. The quote in such a case should have a detailed price breakdown for each individual item (installation, provisioning, support, etc.) as well as the full labor cost for the entire project. Partnering with a business software development company can streamline this process by providing comprehensive solutions and accurate cost assessments tailored to the specific needs of the project. Quotes can often act as an invoice and include specific payment options for the product.

What is a Request for Quotation?

"A Request for Quotes" (RFQ) is a document that is sent out to vendors, or can be placed on a vendor marketplace. The document usually contains a request for a specific project. A Request for Quotes is a handy tool that will help you evaluate a vendor before making a purchase. The RFQ contains detailed instructions for deadline and response design. 

The RFQ should also provide information on how responses will be evaluated.

How to Properly Write a Commercial Quotation?

Any commercial proposal must first of all meet certain requirements and be customized to the needs of potential customers (using service quote template). The structure of a commercial proposal usually consists of the following points:

1. Introduction - short statements about the company providing the product or service, description of the offer, possibly indicating the full price for the product, availability of discounts or special offers.
2. Customer and company details - accurate contact information about the company and the potential customer including addresses, phone numbers, etc. It is important to add the offer number and expiration date. Such detailing will limit the client's decision-making timeframe and simultaneously eliminate doubts about who exactly the quote was intended for.
3. Pricing. Earlier in the article, it was mentioned that the cost of a product or service may not be fixed in some cases and may depend on many factors. Since the price is what the client cares about in the first place, this section should be as clear and structured as possible. It is preferable to use a table format when designing a price list. Regardless of what is presented in the table (rough estimate in the form of an estimate, or a fixed market value) each item should be written in detail and show the client visual figures. Taxes, possible additional services and their price, all possible payment methods and terms can also be included in the pricing table.
4. Legal documentation. The legal documentation should be included at the end of every quotation. Provided that the potential client is able to approve the quote, it should include contractual details, warranty obligations for the product or service, and disclaimer information.

Despite the fact that little attention is paid to the use of quotes in business, their role in promoting the product is quite important. Quality codings can easily attract and hold the attention of potential customers, but ambiguous details or mistakes on the contrary can scare customers away.

A professionally composed quote template, created quickly and responding to a specific request is a bid for success and a thriving business.

The famous Pandadoc service can also help customers in creating various kinds of documents for business. There is no time to waste, you need to get acquainted with the program as soon as possible. Here you can find a large selection of templates and tools that are useful in your work. The portal has an intuitive interface even a beginner can cope with and the opportunity for each client to quickly understand all the proposals.