A price quotation (also called a quote) is the document a seller sends a customer before the sale: the items and their prices, VAT as charged in Saudi Arabia, how long the price holds, and the payment and delivery terms. Enter your business, the customer and the lines in the generator and the quotation format builds itself next to them, with totals and the amount in words. Send it as a PDF, keep the Word file to add your logo, or take the Excel file to add lines with formulas already in place. When the customer accepts, Turn into a sales order carries the same lines over to the order.
How the quotation total is worked out
Each line is quantity times unit price, less that line's discount if it has one. The lines are added, the discount on the whole quotation comes off, and VAT is charged on what remains, because VAT applies to what the customer actually pays before tax. The generator rounds every amount to the nearest halala, and the Excel file carries the same calculation as formulas.
Total = (Σ Qty × Price − Discount) × 1.15
What a quotation for a company should include
A quotation for a company runs longer than one from a small shop, because the customer's procurement team compares several offers and needs everything that pins down the price and your commitment to it.
| Item | What to write |
|---|---|
| Seller details | Business name as on its commercial registration with the Saudi Ministry of Commerce, CR number, VAT number if registered, phone and address. |
| Customer details | Company or person, VAT number if a registered business, and the name of whoever requested the quotation. |
| Quotation number and date | A unique sequential number you can trace when the customer sends a purchase order or when you invoice. |
| Lines | A description that names the model and specification, the unit, quantity, unit price and line total. |
| Discount and VAT | The discount amount, and VAT on its own line, or a plain statement that prices include VAT. |
| Validity | A number of days from the quotation date, or a fixed date when the price ends. |
| Payment and delivery terms | Advance payment and its percentage, delivery date and place, who pays for transport and installation, and the warranty. |
| Signature and acceptance | Seller's signature and stamp, and a box where the customer signs to accept. |
Validity protects you when supplier prices move: a quotation with no end date can come back three months later with the customer asking for the same price. For goods with volatile prices, such as steel or imported electronics, keep it to one or two weeks.
Blank quotation template in Word, PDF and Excel
The Blank template tab gives you an empty quotation form with 10, 15 or 20 rows to print and fill in by hand, or to complete on your computer. In the blank Excel file every row has its formula: type the quantity and unit price and the line total appears, while the subtotal, VAT and total update below. Send the quotation you filled in to the customer as a PDF, and keep a Word copy for yourself if you want to add your logo or a warranty paragraph.
Request for quotation, quotation and sales order
A request for quotation (RFQ) goes from the buyer to several suppliers, asking for their prices on set items and quantities. The quotation is the seller's reply, and it binds the seller to that price while it is valid. The sales order is issued by the seller once the customer accepts, so the goods can be prepared or the service scheduled, and the invoice follows.
| Document | Issued by | When |
|---|---|---|
| Request for quotation | Buyer | Before choosing a supplier |
| Quotation | Seller | In reply to the request |
| Purchase order | Buyer | On accepting the quotation |
| Sales order | Seller | After acceptance, before delivery |
| Tax invoice | Seller | On supply, or as the regulations set out |
Neither the quotation nor the sales order is booked in the accounts or in the VAT return filed with the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority; the entry and the tax come with the invoice. If you receive an advance payment after the order is confirmed, check when a tax invoice is due for it under the implementing regulations of the VAT law.
If you are the buyer, list the items, quantities and specifications in your request letter, along with the delivery date you need, the closing date for offers, and that prices should be quoted including VAT or excluding it, so the quotations you get back can be compared. To request offers from several suppliers and compare them, use the request-for-quotation and comparison template.
Quotation cover letter
Government bodies and large companies expect a short letter ahead of the price schedule that refers to their request, says what the quotation covers and how long it holds. The generator puts an opening line at the top of the quotation addressed to the customer. If you need a full letter, this quotation format letter is a starting point to edit in the Word file:
With reference to your request no. … dated …, we are pleased to submit our quotation for the supply of … as per the attached schedule. Prices include VAT, and this quotation is valid until ….
We remain at your disposal for any question on specifications or delivery dates.
Yours faithfully,
Quotation in English or Arabic
A quotation in English suits a customer whose procurement works in English: a foreign company, the Saudi branch of an international group, or a main contractor that keeps its documents in English when you quote as a subcontractor. Government entities and many Saudi companies expect Arabic, and once a quotation turns into a sale, the tax invoice has to be in Arabic, with English allowed alongside. This English page produces the whole quotation in English, in SAR and at the same VAT rate; the Arabic version of the page produces it in Arabic.
Tender and contracting quotations
A tender asks for two separate submissions in most cases: a technical offer covering method, specifications and track record, and a financial offer with the bill of quantities and prices. The financial offer for supplying goods or services can be written in this generator; contracting work, with its bill of quantities, completion percentages and progress claims, is calculated differently. It has its own contracting quotation and progress claim generator.
Common quotation mistakes
- Leaving out the validity, so the customer holds you to the old price after your costs have risen.
- Not saying whether prices include VAT, so the two sides argue over 15% at invoice time.
- Charging VAT on the subtotal before the discount, which inflates it.
- A one-word description ("printer") with no model or specification, so the customer receives something other than expected.
- Sending the quotation as an editable Word file; send a PDF and keep the editable file yourself.
- Giving two customers the same quotation number, which makes it hard to trace either one when the order comes in.
What to do once the quotation is accepted
Ask the customer to sign the acceptance box or send a purchase order quoting your number. Press Turn into a sales order: the order opens with the same lines and the quotation number as its reference, and you add the delivery date, the customer's PO number and the delivery address. After delivery, the tax invoice is issued for the same amounts. The "Create a tax invoice with these lines" button takes them to the invoice generator. Share as link copies an address that opens the generator with your data, for a colleague to check before it goes out.
When quotations run into dozens a month
The generator handles one or two quotations. Once a sales team sends dozens a month, you need to see which were accepted and which have expired, and to stop typing the same lines once in the quotation, again in the sales order and again in the invoice. At Microtec we offer businesses in the Kingdom an ERP accounting system where sales sit with purchasing, inventory, finance and HR. Try it on your next quotations.