A quote that stays valid: how long it holds, which assumptions to write down and what changes the price

A customer asks for a price in March. The company sends a quote, hears nothing and in June the customer writes: "We are ready, please go ahead at the quoted price." Meanwhile a supplier has raised its rates, the person who calculated the job has left and the customer's needs have grown by a third. The quote says nothing about any of this, so the company has two bad choices: do the work at a loss or start an argument.

Both problems come from the same gap. The quote was a number, not a number with conditions. This article describes a short routine for a company of ten to fifty people: how long a quote holds, which assumptions to put on it and which changes justify a new price.

Put an end date on every quote

A quote with no date is an open offer. The customer may reasonably read it as valid for as long as they like, and you will have difficulty arguing otherwise. Write one sentence on the first page:

This quote is valid until 30 November. After that date we will confirm or update the price before starting work.

Use a calendar date, not "30 days", because the second version forces both sides to count from a day that may not be clear. If the quote is sent by email, the date in the message and the date in the document should be the same.

Choose the period from your own situation

There is no correct number. Three things decide it.

• Your sales cycle. If customers usually decide within two weeks, a validity of 30 days is generous. If they need budget approval that takes two months, a 14-day quote will expire before anybody can sign it.
• How fast your costs move. A job priced mostly from your own hours is stable. A job that includes hardware, licences, freelancers or travel can change within weeks. Shorten the period when the price depends on something you do not control.
• Your capacity. A quote also reserves your time in the customer's mind. If you are fully booked for the next two months, say so: "The start date in this quote applies only if we receive the order by 15 November."

Look at the last twenty quotes you sent. For each, note how many days passed between sending and the answer. The number inside which most answers arrived is a sensible starting point; round it up a little and write it down as your standard.

Write the assumptions next to the price

The price rests on things you believe at the time of writing. If one of them turns out to be wrong, the price may be wrong too. Make those beliefs visible, in a short list placed directly under the total. Five to eight sentences are enough:

1. The customer provides the content, logins and access by a stated date.
2. The scope is the list of items on page one; anything else is quoted separately.
3. The price includes two rounds of changes after the first draft.
4. The work is done in normal working hours.
5. The customer names one person who gives approvals and answers questions within two working days.
6. Third-party costs (licences, hosting, stock images) are shown at today's prices and may change.
7. The price is in the stated currency and excludes VAT.

Write them in the customer's language, not in legal language. The purpose is not to protect yourself in a dispute; it is to let both sides check, before signing, that they are talking about the same job. Many disagreements disappear at this stage because the customer reads "two rounds of changes" and says "we will need three".

If you already use a one-page proposal, the assumptions fit naturally into the section on scope and price. If you want help with the number itself, see how a fixed-price estimate separates what is included from what is not.

Agree which changes reopen the price

Assumptions are only useful if everyone knows what happens when one of them breaks. Add one short paragraph:

If any of the assumptions above changes, we will tell you before doing extra work and send an updated price in writing. Work continues on the agreed scope in the meantime.

Then decide inside the company who may approve an update. A good rule for a small firm: the person who wrote the quote may adjust it by a small amount you define in advance, for example up to five percent; anything larger goes to the owner or the head of sales. Writing the limit down prevents the situation where each salesperson invents their own tolerance.

Typical changes that justify a new price:

• the scope grows or the customer changes a requirement after signing,
• the customer is late with material or approvals and the schedule slips,
• a third-party cost rises noticeably,
• the start date moves so far that the team is no longer free.

Typical changes that do not: your own estimating mistake, a task that took longer than you expected, or a cost you forgot. Those are yours, and a customer who sees them passed on will remember it. If you do need to adjust the price in the middle of a job, a written scope change keeps the conversation factual.

Handle expired quotes calmly

Sooner or later a customer will send an order for a quote that has expired. Do not argue about the old number. A short reply is enough:

Thank you, we are glad to go ahead. The quote of 12 March expired on 30 April, so we have checked it against current costs. The price is [same / updated to X] for the reasons below. If this works for you, we can start on [date].

In many cases the price stays the same, and saying so is a small gesture of goodwill. When it does change, show the line that moved. The customer then sees an explanation instead of a surprise.

If you sent many quotes that expired without an answer, that is information as well. Reviewing lost quotes can show whether the period was too short, the price too high or the follow-up too weak.

Keep a simple record

A quote register does not need software. A shared spreadsheet with these columns is enough: customer, date sent, valid until, total, main assumptions changed, status (open, accepted, expired, refreshed). Once a week, someone looks at quotes that expire in the next seven days and decides whether to follow up. A reminder a few days before the end date is also a natural reason to contact the customer without sounding pushy. For the follow-up itself, see the quoting and follow-up routine.

What to do this week

• Add an end date as a calendar date to your quote template.
• Check the last twenty quotes and set a standard validity period from real answer times.
• Write five to eight assumptions in plain language and put them under the price.
• Add the paragraph about changes and decide who may approve a small price update.
• Write the reply for an expired quote now, so nobody has to improvise it.

Sources

• GOV.UK, Consumer protection and rights: overview of the rights customers have when they buy goods and services, useful background for why clear written terms matter.