Quote template
Give a customer the price of a job in writing before work starts: what is included, what each part costs, the total, how long the offer stays open and how you expect to be paid.
- By Book Keeping Pros
- Sources checked 15 Oct 2026
A quote tells a customer what you will supply and what it will cost, so they can decide before any work begins. Once the customer accepts it, its lines become the starting point for the invoice. This template sets the quote details at the top, the priced lines and total in the middle, and the terms the customer needs to know after the total.
Payment terms belong on the quote too, so the customer sees them before saying yes. business.gov.au treats payment terms as your own rules on how and when a customer pays. It suggests showing them on invoices and contracts, so a customer can see the ways to pay you take, the due date, any credit on offer and its conditions, and what happens to overdue amounts.
The CSV file opens in a spreadsheet program. A valid-until date matters because your own costs move: business.gov.au suggests a price review at least yearly, and sooner if your costs or the market shift, and a quote that says how long it stands makes clear when its prices stop applying. A quote on its own isn't a transaction in your books. As business.gov.au explains the two methods, accrual accounting records the sale when it takes place and cash accounting when the customer pays. If you take a deposit when a quote is accepted, ask your accountant how to record it.
Download the template
The template as a CSV file, which opens in any spreadsheet program.
Download the CSV fileWhat's in the template
| Line | Description | Quantity | Rate (AUD) | Amount (AUD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quote number | Q-2061 | |||
| Quote date | 9 Mar 2026 | |||
| Prepared for | Customer A | |||
| Job | Repaint two bedrooms and the hallway, walls and ceilings | |||
| Labour | Preparation and painting, per hour | 32 | 65.00 | 2,080.00 |
| Materials | Interior paint, 10 litre tin | 4 | 118.00 | 472.00 |
| Materials | Masking tape, drop sheets and filler | 1 | 85.00 | 85.00 |
| Equipment | Scaffold hire, per day | 2 | 70.00 | 140.00 |
| Quote total | 2,777.00 | |||
| Not included | Plaster repairs and moving heavy furniture | |||
| Valid until | 8 Apr 2026 | |||
| Payment terms | Invoice on completion, payable within 14 days by bank transfer or card | |||
| To accept | Reply in writing before the valid-until date |
Illustrative example only: these rows show the method and are not sourced data.
What goes in each column
- Line: The kind of row: a quote detail, a part of the price such as labour or materials, the total, or one of the terms that follow it.
- Description: The detail itself, or the work or goods in enough detail that the customer can see exactly what is included.
- Quantity: Hours of labour, or units of materials or hired equipment.
- Rate (AUD): The price for one hour or one unit.
- Amount (AUD): The quantity times the rate on each priced line, and the sum of those lines on the total row.
How to use it
- Download the CSV file, open it in a spreadsheet program and fill in the quote details: a new quote number, the date, the customer and a plain description of the job.
- Price the job line by line, with labour, materials and any hire on separate lines. Describe each one closely enough that the customer can tell what is in and what isn't. business.gov.au suggests detailed item descriptions on invoices to head off disputes, and the same detail on the quote carries through to the invoice.
- Work out each amount as the quantity times the rate, add them up for the quote total, and check the figures before the quote goes out.
- Set the valid-until date, and write the payment terms in the words they will have on the invoice.
- Keep every quote under its number. When one is accepted, file the customer's acceptance with it and build the invoice from the same lines, noting any change agreed since.
- Look back at accepted quotes once the jobs are done. business.gov.au's steps for setting prices start from what each product or service costs you to provide, with your margin added, so a job that keeps costing more than quoted means the rates need another look.
Related terms
Sources
- Payment terms
business.gov.au, Australian Government. Current at 16 October 2026, released 18 December 2025. Checked 16 October 2026.
© Commonwealth of Australia 2020, licensed under CC BY 3.0 AU. Licence: CC BY 3.0 AU.
- Choose a pricing strategy
business.gov.au, Australian Government. Current at 16 October 2026, released 1 October 2026. Checked 16 October 2026.
© Commonwealth of Australia 2020, licensed under CC BY 3.0 AU. Licence: CC BY 3.0 AU.
- How to invoice
business.gov.au, Australian Government. Current at 16 October 2026, released 17 December 2025. Checked 16 October 2026.
© Commonwealth of Australia 2020, licensed under CC BY 3.0 AU. Licence: CC BY 3.0 AU.
- Choose between cash and accrual accounting
business.gov.au, Australian Government. Current at 15 October 2026, released 13 September 2024. Checked 15 October 2026.
© Commonwealth of Australia 2020, licensed under CC BY 3.0 AU. Licence: CC BY 3.0 AU.
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