Quotation template for manufacturers

What is a quotation?

A quotation is a written offer to supply goods or work at a stated price, on stated terms, until a stated date. In manufacturing it answers a customer's request for quotation (RFQ): what you'll make, to which revision, how many, for how much, how soon and on whose terms.

What should a manufacturing quotation include?

The part and its drawing revision, quantities and price breaks, one-off charges such as tooling, the lead time, delivery and payment terms, your assumptions and how long the price holds.

1. 01Your details: Company name, address, phone, email, company number and VAT number.
2. 02Customer and their reference: Company, contact name, address and the number on their RFQ, so they can match your quote to their request.
3. 03Quotation number, date and validity: Your own reference, today's date and the date the price stops being firm.
4. 04What you're quoting for: Part number and description, drawing number and revision, material and finish.
5. 05Quantity and price: Quantity, unit price and line total for each item, the currency, and whether prices include VAT.
6. 06Price breaks: Unit prices at the other quantities the customer might order.
7. 07One-off charges: Tooling, fixtures, programming, inspection reports and carriage, each on its own line.
8. 08Lead time: Weeks from order and approved drawings, with first-off sample timing if there is one.
9. 09Delivery terms: Where the goods are delivered and who pays carriage. For exports, an Incoterms® 2020 rule and place, such as EXW or DAP.
10. 10Payment terms: The payment period and when it starts, and any deposit for tooling.
11. 11Assumptions and exclusions: What you assumed where the enquiry was silent, and what the price leaves out.
12. 12Terms and acceptance: A reference to your terms of sale, attached, and how to accept: a purchase order quoting your quotation number.

Show VAT on its own line; the standard UK rate is 20%. For exports, name one of the eleven Incoterms® rules from the International Chamber of Commerce, with the place, such as "EXW our works".

The quotation template

Put your company details in once, then fill in the job for each enquiry. The Excel version adds up the lines, VAT and total.

How do you write a quotation?

Start from the enquiry and your estimate. Confirm the revision and quantity, set out the price and one-off charges, give a lead time production has agreed, note your assumptions and get a second check before it goes. Then log it so you can follow it up.

1. 01Check the enquiry is complete. Drawing and revision, quantity, material, finish and delivery date. Chase anything missing first.
2. 02Price it from your estimate. Your estimator sets the price from material, machine time, labour, outside processes and margin.
3. 03Add price breaks for the quantities the customer is likely to order next.
4. 04List one-off charges on their own lines: tooling, fixtures, programming, inspection reports and carriage.
5. 05Give a lead time production has agreed. Say when it starts: from order, from approved drawings, or from sample approval.
6. 06Write down your assumptions and exclusions. Anything you priced that the enquiry didn't say belongs here.
7. 07Set the validity date and attach your terms of sale.
8. 08Have a second person check the price, the drawing revision and the lead time.
9. 09Send it, log it and diary a follow-up for a few days before the validity date.

Quotation example

This one is for a batch of machined aluminium brackets with a first-off sample. Every figure on yours comes from your own estimate.

What's the difference between a quote and an estimate?

A quotation is a firm price for a defined job, open until its validity date. An estimate is your best idea of the cost while the job is still taking shape, so the price can move. If the drawing, quantity or material isn't settled, call it an estimate.

How long should a quotation be valid for?

Long enough for the customer to raise an order, short enough that material and outside-process costs still hold. Pick a period you can stand behind, such as 30 days, shorten it when metal or energy prices move, and write the end date on the quote.

Is a quote legally binding?

Treat every quote as if it will be accepted. Once a customer accepts your quotation, you may have a contract on the terms exchanged, so the price, revision, lead time and terms must be right before it goes. If their purchase order carries different terms, check which apply before you accept it, and ask a solicitor when it matters.

This is general information, not legal advice.

What payment terms should a quote state?

State the payment period, such as 30 days from invoice, and any tooling deposit. If no date is agreed, a business payment is late 30 days after the customer gets the invoice or the goods, whichever is later, and you can claim statutory interest at 8% plus the Bank of England base rate unless your contract sets another rate.

Source: GOV.UK, Late commercial payments.

How do you send a quotation by email?

Attach the quotation as a PDF, put both references in the subject line, and keep the email to the price, lead time, validity date and who to call. For example:

Can AI write a quotation?

AI can draft the quotation from your estimate, the enquiry and your standard wording. Your estimator sets the price, and a named person checks the draft against the estimate and revision before it goes.