A professional quotation lets the buyer confirm in one minute: who is offering, what is offered, the price, and until when. The mistakes below get files bounced—or fail finance later.
1. Line totals do not match the grand total
This is the worst error. Someone typed the total or broke a copied formula. Fix: line total = qty × price; grand total only from summary formulas. Never type in the total cell.
2. No validity date
A price without a date gets quoted back months later. Write a calendar date, e.g. “Valid through 31 Aug 2026.”
3. Tax and freight are ambiguous
State in the header or notes whether unit prices include tax and shipping. Do not make the buyer reverse-engineer the total.
4. Sending an editable Word or Excel file as the official quote
The buyer can change terms. You will not prove which version you sent. Use PDF or a read-only link. Keep Excel for costing. See Quotely vs Excel.
5. Treating a quotation as an invoice
A quotation proposes price before the sale; an invoice asks for payment after. Finance usually only books invoices. Quotely creates quotations only. See Quotation vs invoice.
6. Missing buyer name or quote number
Without a buyer name the file cannot be forwarded internally. Without a number, “use the last quote” is untraceable. Number every quote.
7. You cannot tell if they opened it
Attachments do not report opens. A share link can. See How to share a quotation online.
30-second checklist
One total that matches lines. Calendar validity. Tax and freight stated. Buyer name and number present. PDF or read-only link. A Quotely template can make the first four the default.