Why quotations protect your price
A quotation is the only document where you set the terms before money is on the table. No validity period means a client can accept your price months later, after your costs have risen. No advance clause means you buy materials for a job the client can walk away from. The fields below aren't bureaucracy, they're the cheapest insurance a small business can buy.
What goes on a quotation
| Field | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Your business details | Name, address, phone: same as an invoice |
| Client name | Who the offer is for |
| Quotation number + date | Unique reference, e.g. QUO-2026-0001 |
| Valid until | The expiry date of your price, the whole point of the document |
| Line items with LKR prices | Exactly what's included (and by omission, what isn't) |
| Total | The bottom line they're deciding on |
| Advance / payment terms | e.g. "50% advance, balance on delivery" |
| Acceptance line | Space for signature, name and date, or "reply OK on WhatsApp" |
The validity period is the whole point
A quotation that protects you: expiry date up top, advance stated plainly.
A quotation without an expiry date is a blank cheque against yourself. Cement, fabric, fuel, input prices in Sri Lanka move, and a client returning after two months expecting the old price is a dispute you could have prevented with one line: "Valid for 30 days." After expiry you're free to re-quote at current prices, no awkwardness.
Advance deposits are normal: state them
For anything custom-made or ordered in specially, asking for an advance is standard practice, not rudeness. Put it on the quotation: the percentage, whether it's refundable if the client cancels, and when the balance falls due. Serious clients expect this; it also filters out the ones who were never going to proceed.
When they say yes, convert: don't retype
An accepted quotation becomes the job specification: it defines scope, price and terms. The next step is an invoice for the advance or the full amount. If your quotation and invoice share the same line items (they should), generate the invoice from the quotation rather than typing everything twice, ganna.lk's invoice maker switches between quotation and invoice modes on the same data.
A quotation that protects you in 5 steps
- Itemize everything included , and by omission, what's not. Vague scope is where your margin dies.
- Set a validity period (14–30 days) and print it on the document, not just in your head.
- State the advance , the percentage, whether it's refundable, and when the balance falls due.
- Add an acceptance line , a signature, or "reply OK on WhatsApp". Verbal yeses evaporate.
- Number it (QUO-2026-0001) so you can find it when the client calls back in three weeks.