A quotation is usually the first formal document a client sees from you, and it quietly fixes the price, the scope and the deadline for the whole job. Done well you look organised. Done badly you spend a week answering "was that with or without delivery?"
📄 What a quotation actually is
A formal offer of a price for specific goods or services, valid for a set period. It is not a bill — no money is owed yet. It says: if you order these items at these prices before this date, I will honour them. Once accepted, it becomes the basis for the order and, later, the invoice.
✅ What every quote should carry
| Section | What to put |
|---|---|
| Your business | Name, address, phone, email, logo |
| Client | Company name and contact person |
| Quote number & date | A unique reference, e.g. Q-2026-014 |
| Valid until | An expiry date — the single most important line |
| Line items | Description, quantity, unit price, line total |
| Total | A clear grand total in HKD |
| What is excluded | Delivery, revisions, rush fees, anything not in the price |
| Terms | Payment terms, lead time, deposit, FPS or bank details |
💡 Hong Kong has no VAT, GST or sales tax, so your quote needs no tax line at all — just clean subtotals and a grand total in HKD. Most templates you will find online are built for jurisdictions that do, which is why they look wrong here.
⏳ Why the valid-until date matters
Prices move — suppliers, freight, the exchange rate. A quote with no expiry is a promise with no end, and clients do come back months later expecting the old number. "Valid until 30 Sep 2026" protects your margin and gently encourages a decision. Thirty days is a common and fair window.
🔄 Quote vs invoice
| Quotation | Invoice | |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Offer a price | Request payment |
| When | Before the work | On or after delivery |
| Money owed? | No | Yes |
| Key date | Valid until | Due date |
Send a quote to win the job; send an invoice to get paid.
⚠️ The three quotes that cost people money
- No expiry date — the client accepts a stale price months later and you wear the difference.
- Vague line items — "consulting — $8,000" with no scope is an argument waiting to happen.
- Nothing about exclusions — if delivery, revisions or rush work are not in the price, say so on the quote, not in the argument afterwards.
Rebuilding the same quote layout every time?
Copying last month's file, swapping the prices, fixing the formatting, exporting a PDF — that is the same few minutes repeated for every enquiry you answer. See which admin tasks are worth automating first.