Quotation template: 8 items that protect a price

A quotation template is one page a seller sends a customer before the sale, with 8 items: your business details, the customer's details, the quote number and date, the line items with quantities and prices, the total, what the price includes and excludes, the validity period, and the payment and delivery terms. The validity period matters most: under Article 35 of Saudi Arabia's Civil Transactions Law you cannot withdraw an offer that has a set period until it ends, and under Article 36 the offer lapses once that period passes without acceptance. So always state a date, and keep it short if your supplier's prices move. Below is the template with a worked example, and what a customer's WhatsApp reply means.

What is a quotation, and am I bound by the price I wrote?

Monsha'at's proforma invoice template defines a quotation as a document from the seller to a potential buyer stating the prices, terms and conditions of a product or service before the purchase. Once the buyer accepts it, the seller issues the invoice and follows up on payment. The quotation comes before the invoice; it does not replace it.

Whether it binds you is settled by the Civil Transactions Law as published in Umm Al-Qura, which took effect 180 days after publication:

• Article 34: displaying goods and services with their price counts as an offer, unless there are signs to the contrary. A price advertisement, by default, is not an offer.
• Article 35: the offeror may withdraw the offer before acceptance unless it has a set period. If it has no set period and you withdraw it, you must inform the customer, or you owe them compensation for the harm they suffered.
• Article 36: the offer lapses if the customer rejects it, or if the acceptance period you set ends without acceptance. Any change the customer makes in accepting counts as a rejection that carries a new offer.

In practice: if you write "valid for 15 days", you are held to that price for 15 days and not after. If you write no period, you can withdraw, but you must tell the customer clearly. This is a general reading; consult a lawyer for large contracts or disputes.

What items does a quotation template need?

1. Your business details: name as on the commercial registration, CR number, and contact number.
2. Customer details: business or person, plus the name and number of whoever requested the quote.
3. Quote number and date: a running number such as Q-1042, so the customer can refer to it when accepting and it is never confused with another quote.
4. Line items table: description, quantity, unit, unit price and line total.
5. Total: the sum of the lines, with any discount shown as its own line.
6. What the price includes and excludes: delivery, installation and warranty, the points most often disputed later.
7. Validity: "This quotation is valid until [date]", written as a fixed date, not only a number of days.
8. Payment and delivery terms: the advance percentage, when the balance is due, and the delivery time from acceptance.

Here is an example from an office furniture supplier to a customer who asked for 25 chairs and 5 desks:

Under the table: valid until 13 November, 50% advance on acceptance (SAR 7,500), balance on delivery, and delivery within 10 working days of receiving the advance. Now the customer knows what they pay and when.

How long should a quotation stay valid?

The law sets no specific period, so the period is your decision. The practical rule is to tie it to how long your supplier's prices hold. If you sell steel, gold, or materials whose prices change weekly, keep validity short, such as one week. If you sell a fixed-price service such as annual maintenance or design work, a month is reasonable.

The period protects you both ways: it holds you to the price while it runs, and ends the offer afterwards, so no one returns months later demanding an old price. If they accept after it expires, Article 36 treats that acceptance as a new offer from them, which you may accept or answer with an updated quote.

Does a customer's approval on WhatsApp count as accepting the quote?

Article 33 states that offer and acceptance can be made by anything that shows intent, including words or writing. So a customer message saying "Approved, quote Q-1042" is written acceptance. To keep approvals clear, watch three cases:

• Approval with a change: if the customer writes "approved, if delivery is free", Article 36 treats this as a rejection carrying a new offer from them, and there is no contract until you accept the change.
• Silence: Article 37 says silence is not acceptance unless there is an agreement or a clear indication, such as a prior course of dealing the offer was linked to. Do not start delivery just because the customer did not object.
• When the contract is formed: Article 38 treats the contract as made when acceptance is issued if communication is direct, and when you learn of the acceptance if the parties are not present together, unless agreed otherwise. That is why it helps when the customer quotes the number in their reply.

For what happens after approval, read the sales cycle from quote to collected invoice, which covers each stage until the money arrives.

How do I prepare a quotation from WhatsApp?

The slow part of a manual quote is looking up the last price and the stock on hand, then building a PDF. The quote goes out a day late, and the customer buys from a faster competitor.

In Fahim you send the assistant a WhatsApp message such as "Prepare a quote for Al-Nukhba, 25 units". It prepares the quote and shows it to you for review, and nothing goes to the customer until you approve. Once the customer accepts, you follow invoicing and collection in the same conversation, as described in WhatsApp invoicing. If you want the quote to carry your logo and standard terms, ask for that by message as a change to your system.

Which mistakes ruin a quotation?

• No validity date, so the customer holds you to a price after your supplier raised theirs.
• No quote number, so the customer approves "the quote" and nobody knows which version.
• No delivery line, so the customer assumes it is included and you assume it is extra.
• Changing prices by message without issuing a new quote with a new number, so versions multiply.
• Starting work before written approval or an advance payment.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a quotation and a proforma invoice?

They are close, and Monsha'at names its template "proforma invoice (quotation)". Both come before the sale and do not create a debt on the customer. The invoice is issued after acceptance and delivery, and it records the sale itself.

Can I change the price after sending the quote?

If you wrote a validity period, Article 35 holds you to the price until it ends. If you wrote none, you may withdraw before the customer accepts, provided you tell them; otherwise the same article may make you liable for the harm they suffered.

Is a PDF quotation better than a text message?

Yes, for multi-line quotes, because a PDF looks the same on every phone and is hard to edit. A text message is enough for a single item at a clear price, as long as it states the validity and payment terms.

What if the customer accepts after the quote has expired?

A late acceptance does not form the sale by itself; Article 36 treats it as a new offer from the customer. If your prices have not changed, accept it with a clear message; if they have, send a new quote with a new number and date.