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Guide to Create a Quotation using Estimate Generator

In this digital era, there are many options to create quotations and estimates online. You can use online quotation software, Word or Excel quote format, quotation management software or you can print out any quotation format and write your quotation by hand.

Always consider two factors that can mainly affect your business while creating a quotation. First, how fast you can communicate with the customers. As mentioned before, sending quotations quickly can help you get ahead of your competition. So many businesses choose to use online quotation management systems like Refrens, to create sales quotations or estimates instantly and send them directly via email or even through WhatsApp.

Second, quotations sent with a specific quotation template using a quotation template can grow your business immensely. Creating beautifully designed quotations with proper templates, colours, and fonts can help you to acquire more clients and it also shows how professionally the business works.

Customers always try to shop for the perfect product to purchase via purchase order format and therefore they end up asking for quotations from several suppliers. Offering the right product at the right price is no more a choice. If you don’t, then someone else will, so sending a sales quotation quickly and without any mistakes can help you get ahead of your competitors and show professionalism towards the customers.

How to make a quotation or estimate for a business using Quotation Maker?

Using Refrens free quotation maker, you can easily make online quotations instantly. Here is the step by step guide to creating a quotation.

1. Quotation Title

Whenever you create a quotation, adding the term QUOTATION or ESTIMATE is a good practice. Though it is not necessary, it still shows how professional you are with your business. By adding the title, the client will come to know what the document is about. After adding a title, you can add the company logo, and if you are a freelancer, you can add your logo.

2. Quotation or Estimate Number

In this section, you have to add the quotation number or estimate number. When every time you create a quotation, the quotation number you add should be unique. Having a unique quotation number can help you to track all the quotations and estimates easily.

A quotation number should be a combination of alphabets and numbers. There are different ways to format the number. For example, 00001 or if you want a combination, you can add 2021/QT/001, where 2021 is the financial year, QT for quotation, and 001 is the unique number. When you create the next quotation, then the number automatically changes to 2021/QT/002.

You can also add extra fields like PO Numbers for reference. When you have a reference number, you can easily refer to the previous documents, and it becomes easy to compare the previous documents with the current quotation.

3. Issue Date and Due Date

You will add the issue date on which the quotation is sent to the client, same as issue date adding due date is also important. This helps the client to know when the quotation is valid. Especially when you offer discounts, gifts on a particular product or service for a particular period of time.

4. Add Your Details (Quotation From)

This is the section, where you add all your company information or if you are a freelancer then add your information like freelancer name, address, email, phone number. If you are creating a GST quotation then simply add a GST number, it will automatically extract a PAN number from your GST number and add it to the PAN number column. You don’t have to explicitly add your PAN number. If you want to add more details you can add that as well by using the option “Add New Field”.

5. Add Client Details(Quotation For)

Here you add all the information about your client just like you added yours. Same information like

• Company or Client Name
• Address
• Email
• Phone Number All these details will be saved for you, which will save time and effort for the next quotation.

6. Product/Service Description

The product or service you are going to offer to your customer is added in this section. It includes the product or service name, description, quantity, rate, and the total amount that will cost. Product/Service Description section is completely customizable, which is one of the major features. By clicking here, you can hide a column, rename a column, or add a new column altogether and change your column data type according to your profession and quotation needs.

You can also add GST(if applicable), by enabling the GST you can add HSN/SAC Code, GST Rate. No worry for IGST or CGST and SGST, as our system will automatically add IGST or CGST and SGST based on the state you added in your information and clients’ information.

Our free quotation maker has the feature of changing the currency, changing number format, add a discount, charge additional charges and can also hide the total of your quotation.

7. Terms & Conditions

Add the terms of your company and the product or service you offer. In this section, you should clearly define the payment terms and the method of payment you are accepting from the client. Whether you prefer to accept via cards, cheque or direct deposit. You can also add the details regarding the advance payment.

Also, this is a quotation, it should have a fixed price. But in a case in future, if you require any extra material or labor, then you must also add the details about it and what it will cost.

8. Additional Notes

This is a good place to detail out the work. You can add the details of the timeline and expected completion period of the project. You can also add the thank you for giving you the opportunity to quote. Now, your quotation is created. The next important step is to select the quotation template that fits your business.

9. Select Template

Always select the template that fits the nature of your business and you should be able to customize it further for professional looking and detailed information on the quotes that the client will love to have.

Using our quotation, you can choose from the host of templates and designs available. You can also change the color of the template with one click or use the “Magic Color” feature which is one of the major features which extracts the color from the logo uploaded on the quotation.

Above are the essential elements you should keep in mind when creating your quotation. Instantly make quotations using our platform. Easy to create. Fully-fledged quotation maker. Use professional quotation template for free. LIFETIME FREE QUOTATIONS & ESTIMATES.

Note: If you are creating estimates, follow the above steps. The minor change is the title - it must be “Estimate” and the total amount should be an approximate cost of the job which is likely to cost.

How to Send a Quotation or Estimate to the Client?

Refrens quotation maker allows the user to send the created quotation to the customer directly via system mail. You only need to add the client's mail id and click on the Save button. The system automatically adds the subject and body of the mail. But still, you can edit both fields. Once the quotation or estimate is sent to the customer, they can access the quotation easily with one click.

Refrens not only provide the mail option but you can also choose to send via WhatsApp or directly can share the quotation link using the copy link option. You can also download the quotation as a PDF and can print it. When the client views the quotation, they also get the option of downloading and printing the quotation. Thus, you don’t need to download the quotation again for the client.

How to Convert Quotations & Estimates Using the Quotation Maker?

A quotation sent to the client is not a legal document, so even if your quotation or estimates get accepted by your client it is necessary to send them a proforma invoice. Sending a proforma invoice format to the client ensures the commitment made by the seller for the price of the products or services. It is generally sent before the work is done. Whereas some directly send an invoice to the client instead of a proforma invoice. Both the approaches are correct but it may vary for different businesses.

So when choosing a perfect quotation software, there must be a feature of converting quotations to either a proforma invoice or invoice. So you need not create these documents from scratch which saves your time and effort. Using quotation maker by Refrens, allow the user to convert quotations to proforma invoice or convert to invoice with one click. These documents get linked with each other and are easy to refer for further understanding.

How to Customize Quotations, Estimates with Quotation Format?

Add your logo to the quotation format and build your brand by adding additional attachments like images, PDF, and many more. You can also add custom fields to add more details about the company.

It is essential to provide complete information about the products or services you will offer to your client. So having custom columns for detailing your product helps your client know more about your products and services.

You can add the product or service name along with the description, which will auto-suggest the description if you have added it before in the inventory system. You get the option of adding the image or PDF file of the product or service that will give an idea to the client of how the final product will be.

Select the best quotation template that suits your business needs. Refrens estimate maker allows users to change the quotation format colors(more than 24 colors) and also the fonts on the quotation.

Easy to add custom letterhead and footer with a variety of customizations like changing body font, heading font, options to select margins for your estimates. You can easily download and print the same estimates in different formats, the way you want.

If you are a freelancer or running a small business, you are most likely working alone and have to do multiple tasks at a time.

Once the healthy discussion about the project ends, you can send a detailed documented estimate which saves time, effort, and energy loss. Here are some benefits stating why one should create estimates.

• Establishing a strong relationship between client and vendor.
• Logical estimation of the expected cost of material and profit.
• Easy to understand the projects and allocation of labor as per the requirement.
• Lower the risk of disputes between both parties.
• Easy to run business by avoiding unnecessary expenses.

Types of Estimate & Use cases

Approximate Estimate: It is generally considered budgeting. You don't know much about the project here, but you have done a similar project or work before. So here you give an approx. estimate to the client. This estimate is not the final one as it is used to understand how much it will likely cost to get this job done.

Detailed Estimate: You can easily convert the approximate estimate to a detailed estimate once you briefly understand the project. At this point, you know what the project is about and how you can accomplish it, so you issue a detailed estimate.

Bid Estimate: A bid estimate is used to win the projects from the clients. Here the contractor bids the best price to outperform the competitors and tries to win the project.

Quantity Estimate: This involves the quantity of all materials required to complete the project, and a quantity estimate is more similar to a quotation.

Tips to Make a Online Estimate using Free Estimate Generator

Researching and calculating the project estimates is more important than creating the invoice using invoicing software. Wrong estimates and all your hard work and time will be flushed within seconds. And also estimate is the first document with which the client interacts with. So creating an estimate online that impresses your client is a must. Moreover, estimating the value of a project makes it a lot easier to work on the project and eventually helps in the success of the project. Here are some of the tips to follow before making an estimate.

1. Understand the Requirement

The first mistake most of them commit is not understanding the requirements. Never create an estimate before understanding the project details. Many times, clients don’t know what they exactly want. Some clients only tell you what the end result should be but don’t give enough details about the process. The only solution is to sit together and discuss the project in good detail. Also, the initial discussion can strengthen the customer-vendor relationship. In the end, make sure that both the client and you are on the same page and wipe out the unwanted conversation that can hurt the initial relationship.

2. Estimate Timeline

It is important to give an estimated due date for the completion of the project. So that your client can be aware of the due date of the project and to pay you as per the timeline you worked on that project. Be accurate with the time projection to prevent any later disputes and if you think, any possible delays can be there, you should mention the possible factors for the delay. Once the due date is fixed, don’t undervalue the completion date.

3. Estimate Cost Materials

Estimate the cost of the materials or tools or manpower required for the completion of the project. Some tools you can buy at cheap value and if any tool is required only for once then you can rent it easily. But remember if the cost overheads the revenue, you can avoid or decline the project.

4. Research and Competition

Before taking on any project, do proper research about the manpower, tools, the time required to complete and check what the competition is charging for similar projects. Don't charge too high, which can lose the potential client and charging too low, which doesn't turn into profit, make no sense.

5. Detail out Estimate

After discussing with the client and gathering all the data, create a well-formatted and documented estimate with every detail present and the estimated cost of the work so that the client can get an idea that helps him make an informed decision.

6. Schedule a Follow up

Once the estimate is sent to the client, follow up within 2-3 days, it will remind the client to make a firm decision about the project.

Free Products from Refrens other than Online Estimate Maker

Free Invoice Maker

Proforma Invoice Generator

Expense Report

Project & Escrow Service

Lead Management System

Online Purchase Order

Inventory Management

Debit Note

Credit Note

Delivery Note

Payment Receipt