Updated on 21 September 2026 by the Proposal Expert editorial team
A one-page quotation with a worked example, in Word and Excel
A quote (or quotation) template for products and short services: reference, validity, itemised lines with quantities and unit prices, VAT, payment terms and acceptance, plus a filled-in example. Free as a Word file and as an Excel sheet that does the maths.
A quote is the short form of a proposal: it states what you will deliver, at what price and under which conditions, usually on one page, and it is what a client asks for when they already know what they want. In the United Kingdom the formal word is quotation, in the United States quote or estimate, where an estimate is a non-binding guess and a quote is a firm offer. This template gives you the fields a quote needs, in the order a buyer reads them, and shows them filled in for a fictional but realistic order, so you see the level of detail that avoids questions. The Excel version has a price table with live formulas for quantity times price, VAT and the total.
A letterhead with your details and the client's, a quote reference and date, the validity period, an itemised table with description, quantity, unit price and line total, a subtotal, VAT and total, the delivery or completion time, payment terms, and an acceptance line the client signs. The worked example below fills every field for a supply and installation order, and the Excel file carries the same table with formulas.
Anyone who sells products or short, well-defined services where the client compares on price and delivery rather than on approach: suppliers, installers, workshops, printers, IT resellers, trades. If the client wants to understand how you will do the work, use a proposal template instead; the two are compared in the article on quote software versus proposal software.
Replace the letterhead, set your VAT rate in the one cell that holds it, and list one line per item the client can check against the delivery. Keep the validity period short, 14 to 30 days, because supplier prices move. State the delivery time as a period after acceptance, not as a date, unless the date is fixed. Put the payment terms and the acceptance line on the same page as the total, so a client who agrees can sign without turning the page.
This quote example shows how an office fit-out supplier quotes the supply and installation of workstations to a small firm. It is one page in spirit: a short background line so the client knows which conversation it belongs to, an itemised table the client can check against the delivery, VAT stated once, the delivery time as a period after acceptance, payment terms and an acceptance line. The Excel version carries the same table with formulas, so a change in quantity updates the total.
This proposal can be downloaded as a Word document (.docx) on this page.
The same template is also available as an Excel file (.xlsx), with a price table that works out quantity times price, VAT and the total.
From: Fenwood Office Interiors, Bristol
To: Harlow & Reed Chartered Surveyors, Bath
Date: 21 September 2026
Reference: Q-2026-0412
Valid until: 12 October 2026
Following our site visit on 17 September, this quotation covers the supply and installation of twelve workstations for your new first-floor office, as discussed with your office manager. Delivery and installation are included; removal of your existing furniture is quoted as a separate line so you can decide.
Delivery and installation within three weeks of acceptance, on a working day agreed with you, by our own fitters. Installation includes assembly, positioning per your floor plan, cable management and removal of packaging. The site must be accessible from 8 am and the floor cleared of other trades on the installation day.
Prices are listed per item below and exclude VAT at 20 percent. The total includes delivery within 50 miles of Bristol and installation. Prices are held until the validity date; after that, please ask for an updated quotation as manufacturer prices change quarterly.
Payment 50 percent on acceptance and 50 percent within 14 days of installation. Goods remain our property until paid in full. Frames and mechanisms carry a five-year manufacturer warranty, fabrics two years. Our standard terms of sale apply and are attached.
To accept this quotation, sign below or accept it electronically through the link in the email. We will then confirm the installation date within two working days.
| Description | Amount |
|---|---|
| 12 x height-adjustable desk 160 x 80 cm, white top, black frame | £5,880.00 |
| 12 x ergonomic task chair with adjustable arms, charcoal | £4,140.00 |
| 12 x under-desk pedestal, three drawers, lockable | £1,740.00 |
| Delivery, installation and cable management | £960.00 |
| Removal and recycling of existing furniture (optional) | £420.00 |
| Subtotal excl. VAT | £13,140.00 |
| VAT 20% | £2,628.00 |
| Total incl. VAT | £15,768.00 |
Accepted on behalf of Harlow & Reed Chartered Surveyors
A quote and a quotation are the same thing: a firm offer at a fixed price, valid for a stated period, that becomes binding when the client accepts it. Quotation is the more formal British word, quote the everyday one. An estimate is an educated guess at the likely cost and is not binding; the final invoice can differ. Say which one you are sending, in the title, because clients hold you to a quote and not to an estimate.
Fourteen to thirty days is the norm. Shorter when your supplier prices move often, longer for services priced on your own time. State the validity as a date, not as a number of days, so nobody has to count, and use the expiry as a reason to call rather than letting the quote lapse in silence. The example is valid for three weeks.
For business clients, list prices excluding VAT, state the rate once and show the VAT amount and the total including VAT under the subtotal, as the example does. For consumers, the total including VAT is what they compare, so make it prominent. If you are not VAT registered, say so, or the client will look for a VAT number. For clients in another country, check whether the reverse charge or a zero rate applies and write it on the quote.