Quote & Estimate Template

How to use it

Type straight into the form. Tick Optional on any line you want priced but not included in the total — it moves to a separate figure at the bottom, so your headline number stays clean. Hit Download PDF / Print and choose "Save as PDF" as your printer.

Nothing you type is stored on our servers. The Download PDF button builds the file on the spot and keeps nothing; close the tab and it is gone, so save the PDF before you leave.

A quote is not an invoice

Worth being precise about, because the words get used loosely and the difference matters if a job goes wrong.

A quote is a fixed price you are offering to honour. Once the client accepts it, you are generally expected to do the work for that amount. An estimate is your best guess, and everyone understands it may move. If you label a document "quote" and treat it as an estimate, that is the conversation you will have when the final bill is higher.

Pick the word you mean, and if it is an estimate, say what could change the number.

Four things that get quotes accepted

Lead with the outcome, not the tasks. The summary box at the top is the part clients actually read. "A website that loads in under two seconds and that you can update yourself" lands better than eleven line items.

Put an expiry date on it. Not to pressure anyone — to stop a quote from six months ago coming back at today's costs. Thirty days is normal.

Say what is not included. Counter-intuitive, but exclusions prevent almost every awkward conversation later, and they make the inclusions look more definite.

Offer optional extras. A client comparing "yes or no" behaves differently from one comparing "which version". Optional lines also let you show value you would otherwise leave out to keep the price down.

Should you show a deposit?

For anything substantial, yes. Thirty to fifty percent on acceptance is normal for professional services and rarely resisted for a new client. It covers your exposure, filters out clients who were never going to pay, and makes the final invoice a smaller number that is easier to approve.

Tax rates current as at August 2026. GST and HST only — British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Quebec levy separate provincial taxes that are administered independently. This is general information, not tax or legal advice.