Quotation Format: Free Excel Template With GST (and What to Include)

A quotation is the first piece of paper a customer sees from you, and most small businesses still make it from scratch in Word or Excel every time. This page gives you a free quotation format in Excel that you can use today, and explains what a good quotation contains so you don’t lose orders to a vague one.

Download the free quotation format (Excel)

What the template does

• Fill the yellow cells with your details, your customer’s details and your items. Everything else calculates by itself.
• Each line works out the taxable value after discount, then the GST amount, then the line total.
• Choose Intra-state or Inter-state once at the top. The totals then show CGST and SGST, or IGST, as the case may be.
• It has space for HSN or SAC codes, your GSTIN, the customer’s GSTIN, a quote number, a date and a validity date.
• It is set up to fit the width of the page when you print it.

Twelve item rows are included. If you need more, copy the last row down and the formulas come with it. The GST rate for each line is typed in by you, so the template never assumes a rate for your goods or services.

What every quotation should contain

1. Your business details. Name, address, phone, email and GSTIN if you are registered.
2. A quote number and a date. When a customer replies three weeks later with “as per your quote”, you need to know which one they mean.
3. Customer details. Name, address and their GSTIN if they are registered.
4. A clear description of each item. Size, model, quantity and unit. “Supply and fitting of 4 ceiling fans, 1200 mm” is a quotation. “Fans” is not.
5. Rate, discount and tax shown separately. The customer should be able to see what they are paying for and what is tax.
6. A validity date. Prices change. Say until when this price holds.
7. Payment terms. For example, an advance and the balance on delivery. Write it down, so nobody has to remember a phone call.
8. Delivery or completion time.
9. Anything not included. Transport, installation, unloading, anything that people usually assume is part of the price.

Quotation, proforma invoice, estimate and tax invoice

These get mixed up all the time.

• A quotation is your offer: what you will supply and at what price, if the customer says yes.
• An estimate is a rougher, less committed figure, often used when the exact scope isn’t known yet.
• A proforma invoice looks like an invoice and is often used to ask for an advance or for a customer’s paperwork, but it is not the final bill.
• A tax invoice is the document you raise when you actually supply the goods or services. A quotation is not a tax invoice.

A few notes on GST in a quotation

These are general points, not tax advice. Check anything specific to your business with your chartered accountant.

• Whether you charge CGST and SGST or IGST depends on where you supply from and where you supply to. That is why the template asks for the supply type.
• Each item has its own HSN (goods) or SAC (services) code and its own rate. Don’t copy one rate down the whole sheet unless every line really carries the same rate.
• Quote prices clearly as either including or excluding GST. This is the most common cause of arguments at payment time.

Mistakes that cost you the order

• No validity date. The customer comes back in two months at the old price.
• Vague scope. A cheaper-looking quote from someone else turns out to leave things out. Yours should say what is included.
• No payment terms. Everything is fine until the invoice is due.
• Quoting over WhatsApp with no record. Three versions of the price exist and nobody knows which one was agreed.
• Never following up. A quote that is sent and forgotten is a lost order more often than a lost argument.

When Excel stops being enough

An Excel quotation works well when you send a few a week. It starts to hurt when you send many: the same customer details retyped, the order created separately from the quote, the challan and invoice made by hand again, and the payment chase done from memory.

That is the work we build systems for. We make software where the quotation turns into an order, the order into a delivery challan and a GST invoice, and overdue payments get reminders without anyone chasing. If that sounds like your week, see how our business management software works or talk to us.

Frequently asked questions

Is a quotation the same as an invoice?

No. A quotation is an offer made before the sale. An invoice is raised when you supply the goods or services and ask for payment.

Does a quotation need a GSTIN?

If you are registered under GST, put your GSTIN on it. If the customer is registered, add theirs too, because it is needed when you raise the tax invoice later.

How long should a quotation be valid?

It depends on how quickly your costs change. Many businesses use between 7 and 30 days. Whatever you choose, write the date on the quotation.

Can I edit the Excel template?

Yes. Add your logo, change the terms, or add rows. Leave the formulas in the white cells alone so the totals keep calculating.