How to write a quotation that gets accepted

Most quotations are not lost on price. They are lost because the customer could not compare them, could not understand what was included, or simply forgot — and nobody called back.

This is what belongs on a quotation for a small Indian service business, and what to do after you send it.

Write it so the customer can decide

A customer reading three quotations wants the same four answers from each of them: what am I getting, what does it cost, what does it not include, and when can you start. Put those where they cannot be missed.

1. Your details and theirs. Business name, address, GSTIN, phone. Their name, site address and GSTIN if they have one.
2. A number and a date. So both sides can refer to it later: QT/2026-27/0042.
3. Itemised lines. Brand and model, quantity, rate, and GST per line. "CCTV package — ₹48,000" invites a haggle; eight lines invite a decision.
4. The total in words as well as figures, which is how most customers read it.
5. What is not included. Civil work, scaffolding, electrical point, cabling beyond a length. Written here, it is a condition; said on the phone, it is an argument later.
6. Validity. "Valid for 15 days" is a date, not pressure.
7. Payment terms. Advance, balance on completion, and what triggers each.

Price options, do not hide them

When the customer is comparing, being the only quotation with a cheaper option and a better option usually wins the conversation. Two or three clearly named choices — a 2MP set and a 5MP set, a 3kW and a 5kW — let the customer negotiate with themselves instead of with you.

Keep the option in a separate quotation, or as clearly marked lines, so the total they agree to is never in doubt.

Send it the way they will actually read it

Most customers open a quotation on a phone, often in WhatsApp. That has two consequences.

• A link beats an attachment. It opens without downloading anything, it is readable on a small screen, and you can tell when it was opened.
• The first line matters. "Quotation for 8 cameras, ₹52,400, valid till 5 Oct" gets read. "PFA quotation" gets left.

If the customer can accept it with a tap, you have their yes in writing, with a name and a time, instead of "haan kar do" on a call nobody recorded.

The follow-up is the job

A quotation is not a decision, it is the start of one. Most orders are won on the second or third contact, and most quotations die because the second contact never happened.

• Day 2: check it was received and understood. Not "any update", but "did the 5MP option make sense for the parking side?"
• Day 5–7: answer the objection you expect. Price, timeline, or a doubt about who does the service afterwards.
• Before it expires: tell them the validity is ending, and ask plainly whether to hold the price.

Three calls in two weeks is not pestering; it is the normal shape of a sale in this trade. What kills it is ringing on day 14 with nothing to say.

Know which quotations are still open

Ask yourself two questions right now: how much money is sitting in quotations you sent this month, and which of them has nobody spoken to since?

If the answer needs a search through WhatsApp, that is the real problem — not the wording of the quotation. A list of sent quotations with a value, an owner and a next date turns guessing into work you can finish.

Revisions matter too. When the customer asks for a change, the new price should replace the old one on the record, with the old version still there. Otherwise two prices float around and the cheaper one comes back at you during delivery.

A short checklist

• Numbered, dated, and addressed to a person.
• Itemised with brand, model, quantity, rate and GST.
• Total in figures and words.
• Exclusions and payment terms in writing.
• A validity date.
• Sent as a link they can open on a phone.
• A follow-up date set the moment it is sent.