Welcome to our gallery of quote templates. You can search by industry to find a quote template specifically for your freelance profession.
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Additional templates are only available within Bonsai.
A quote, quotation or proposal is a document sent to prospective clients in order to secure work. The quote will usually include a breakdown of the work you would perform, along with the pricing or payment schedule for that work.
It also includes information about your business, about the client and about the client’s needs. In the instance of a response to an RFP, it will also follow the RFP and respond to what the client has asked for in it.
A quote template is a document that you build that you can re-use each time you need to prepare a quote. By preparing a template with information that you’ll need in every proposal, and then saving it to use again, you save time in each instance that you require a proposal.
A quote template can be one of the most powerful tools in your freelance arsenal. A quotation template that has been well thought out, that has the relevant information for the client, and that puts your business in the right light - all of that can be the best opportunity for you to win new business.
Once you get it done right, you can then re-use that recipe for success. A quote template can be saved in a format that allows you to open, edit and save a new document each time you need to bid on a job or project.
There are sections in every quote that will be the same, such as information about your business. And then there are sections that can be placeholders that you will update for a specific client, project or RFP. An example would be your proposed timeline for a project.
Even sections that need to be updated such as a pricing or fee summary will have some information that can be reused.
In the end, a great quotation template will save you time and money, and also earn you money by securing new work. It’s worth building a quality quote template.
An effective quote template will save you time and speed up your ability to bid on work, while also helping you secure jobs and new clients.
But there are still some drawbacks to using a quote template, for instance if you make mistakes that are repeated each time you need a proposal. By knowing those mistakes, you can be sure your quotation template doesn’t include them, and your quotes will be effective every time you send one to a client.
At Bonsai, we’ve worked with 150,000+ freelancers and most of them are in the top 1% category in terms of earnings. We asked them about their top mistakes and how they would avoid them.
Here are the 7 mistakes to avoid when using quote templates:
Templates are an effective tool, but they must be able to be adapted. Some proposals will be easy to create using an existing template, but others will need sections added or deleted. There will also be times when you will want to change the order of the sections. An example is when responding to an RFP. The quote will have to respond to the specifics of the RFP, and if your template can’t be adapted, you have to start from scratch.
There are instances when you will want to attach information that the client may have requested, or that you want to provide if the client wants to know more about your freelance business. Being able to attach a ready-made profile of your company, for instance, allows you to address everything you need in the quote, and then get into greater detail in the attachment.
Unless the client has asked for a very specific piece of work, it’s beneficial to you to provide the client with options. That includes different fee structures, encouraging them to select from several options rather than having only one choice, which is easier to reject. It also means providing information on additional services that your business can provide, showing the client the added value you can bring to them.
A quote template has to include sections that are focused on the client. While you will need to have information about you and your business, the proposal should open with an overview of what the client needs, the client’s goals, the problem that needs to be solved, and how you will solve the problem, accomplish the goals, and serve the client.
Remember that clients usually receive a stack of proposals and yours is one of many. A quality quote template needs to answer one of the top questions of every client: “Why Us?” or “Why Me?” Why should the client engage with your freelance business over all the others? Answer that question and you’ll find your proposal rising to the top of the pile time and again.
We’ve baked in a lot of the best practices mentioned in these tips in our own quotation tool called Bonsai. It costs $19 per month and used by 150,000 freelancers. Give it a try with a 14 day free trial.
While every proposal will be tailored specifically to a client, RFP or project outline, there are sections and material that can be built into a quote template in order to turn it into a re-usable, effective quote every time you need one. Here are the important sections that a quote template should include:
An effective quote template will have a section that provides an overview of the project and a summary of its goals. This information is usually generated through conversations with the client, for instance, or by reviewing an RFP document, so there will be a section in the quote template that you will adapt for each situation.
An overview can be written similar to an executive summary, bringing together the key information of the proposal.
In this section, you will also outline the client’s goals for the project, which often includes an explanation of the problem that you will solve. Some clients may have presented the problem, either in conversations or in an RFP. Other clients may have a goal or performance indicator that they want to meet.
It’s your role to identify that you understand the problem and that with your knowledge and skills you will be able to provide an effective solution.
An effective quote template will outline the timeline for the work, with deliverables, milestones, and how the goals will be achieved in each step. Each phase of your proposed strategy will build the solution to the client’s problem.
Or, in instances where you’re providing a specific product like a logo design, your timeline should detail the process you’ll undertake, including milestones and a final deadline for the project.
If an RFP has provided a specific timeline or deadline, be sure that your calendar matches that of the client’s timeline. This is a section that should be updated in your quote template for each client or project.
This section will outline what work will be done and for what cost. Remember that clients will often jump directly to this section, wondering “what will this cost me?” So provide enough details to help the client understand the fee structure.
For instance, you can break down project costs into sections, rather than lumping all the work into one price. By including smaller items, it makes it easier for the client to understand. While you will update this section of the quotation template to make it specific to a client or a project, you should have pricing models ready to insert, such as an hourly rate for specific work like social media management, or costs for a specific process like design work.
In our example of logo design, there can be sections for each step of the work, which adds up to a project total, rather than simply a total cost with no details. That kind of information can help the client understand your solution, your process, and the value you bring to the work.
It’s also a good idea to give the client several options for fee structures. Perhaps there are different levels of work that you can perform, with different costs. This will encourage them to select one, rather than reacting negatively to a single fee structure and saying no to the entire proposal.
The different fee options will also allow clients to understand the higher investment work. Each fee item will provide a clear benefit to your client.
A quote template can include other work you can perform for the client. This is a section that can remain in the template and be used each time you need to prepare a proposal. By having an overview of the different services provided by your freelance business, the client can enquire as to additional services that they may want to access.
In the example of doing a logo design for a client, you can outline the other design work that could provide value-add to the logo design. A website redesign, new letterhead, and other design work can be outlined in this section, letting the client know that you can look after their entire branding package if desired.
This is another section that can remain in the template and be used each time you need to prepare a proposal. Here, you can provide any additional information that you think needs to be included to help the client understand why they should select your business to do their work.
You can also add to the quote template by including project-specific information that lets the client know “Why Us?” - why they should work with you. This can build on your ability to solve the client’s problem, but it can also include samples of previous work that are relevant to the current project, case studies, and/or client testimonials.
You can also have a document ready with a profile of you and your freelance business, which you can attach to the proposal if the client wants additional information.
Your quotation template should have the ability to add sections to it, or delete sections from it, in case the client has asked for something specific that you don’t typically use in a proposal. An effective quote template has the important sections required in most every proposal, with the ability to add or delete as needed.
Once you have a quality quotation template prepared, you can use it anytime you want to bid on a job.
That means you can follow up after a successful meeting with a prospective client, outlining what you discussed and how your business can address the client’s needs. That’s much more effective and professional than following up with a simple email.
You can also use the quote template when a client contacts you asking for a quote for an additional piece of work, a new project, or an answer to a problem they have encountered. Rather than pull together an email or try to answer on the phone, use your winning quote template to address the client’s questions. You can make it as brief or as detailed as the client needs, while still addressing all the relevant sections.
Requests for Proposals are also an excellent opportunity to use a good quality quote template. Your template should be easy to adapt to the terms and conditions asked for in an RFP.
A top-notch quote template can be used anytime you’re interested in securing new work and showing the client what you can do for them.
The various instances that you want to quote a client or write a quote for a job can all be handled with a quote template. It’s important to lay out for a client what services you will offer and how much those services will cost. But a proposal is more than just that.
When writing a quote for a job, you also want to make sure you’re clear about the work, so that there aren’t any misunderstandings if you’re successful in landing the project. You also want to use the information in the quote to form the basis of a contract, the next step after you quote a client. Finally, you want to highlight your freelance business and what additional work you can provide to the client. A proposal quote is the best place to start when you embark on writing a quote for a job or a client.
Having a quality quotation template can literally make or break your opportunity to get work. A good quote will give prospective clients the information they need to learn more about your business and how you can help them. Here are some of the advantages of using a quote template:
Using a quote template is not without some hazards, however. Here are some of the disadvantages of using a quote template:
Take a look at the following examples, which is when quote templates can cause problems, by being too rigid, taking too long to adapt, or having the wrong sections. It’s important to use a top-notch quote template the first time and every time you need to send a proposal to a client.
"I love the Bonsai app! It has been a game charger for my web consulting business. From the moment I started using it I was hooked because everything is easy to use and just makes sense, and I love that invoices are easily automated with a click of a button. Highly recommend! 10 out of 10!"
Siska Hines
Web Consultant & Owner of Good Lime Studio
Building your own template or using a generic one you find online may suit your needs in the short term, or when you’re first starting out as a freelancer. But even in the early stages of your business, a quote template is one of your most important documents. Without it, your business may never get off the ground.
That’s why using a dedicated online system that’s made just for freelancers will take your business to the next level. By using the products from Bonsai’s integrated system, You will get quote templates that consistently win you work. Here are just a few reasons why Bonsai’s quote templates are better:
It’s easy to use Bonsai to create quotes, including custom quote templates that you can use time and again. Here’s how:
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