Free quotation template and quote generator

How to fill in the quotation template

1. Enter your business details: trading name, address, phone, email and, if you have one, your Tax Identification Number (TIN). Add your logo if you want the PDF to carry it.
2. Enter the client’s name and address, and a contact person if you are quoting a company.
3. Give the quote a number (QT-0001, QT-0002 and so on) and check the dates. The validity date defaults to 30 days after the issue date; shorten it if your input costs move quickly.
4. Add one line per product or service, with a quantity and a unit price. Describe the work in words the client’s accountant will understand without you in the room.
5. Add a discount if you are giving one, as an amount or a percentage. It comes off before VAT.
6. Turn on VAT at 7.5% only if you are VAT-registered. If the client is likely to deduct withholding tax, tick the WHT note so they see what they will actually transfer.
7. Set the payment terms, any deposit, the delivery timeline and anything the price does not include. Then download the PDF, or copy the text into an email or WhatsApp message.

What a business quotation should include

There is no prescribed quotation format in Nigerian law, but clients and their auditors expect the same handful of details. A quote missing any of them tends to come back with questions, which costs you days.

• The word “Quotation” (or “Quote”), a unique number and the date issued.
• Your business name, address, contact details and TIN. Business clients increasingly ask for a TIN before they will pay a supplier.
• The client’s name and address, so the quote can be matched to a purchase order later.
• One line per item: description, quantity, unit price and line total.
• Subtotal, any discount, VAT shown as its own line if you charge it, and the total.
• How long the price is valid, and what happens after that date.
• Payment terms, the deposit if any, and the delivery or completion timeline.
• What is not included: transport, installation, materials the client supplies, revisions beyond an agreed number.
• A place for the client to accept: name, signature and date.

For freelancers the last two points matter most. A quotation template for a freelancer that lists exclusions and a revision limit saves the conversation about “one small change” that turns into a week of unpaid work.

VAT and withholding tax on a quote

Nigeria’s VAT rate is 7.5%. You may only charge it if you are registered for VAT, and registration becomes mandatory once your taxable supplies reach ₦25,000,000 in twelve months. Below that, leave VAT off; a quote that adds VAT you are not registered to collect will cause problems when it becomes an invoice. If you are registered, show VAT as a separate line on (subtotal − discount) so the client can budget for it. The VAT calculator checks one-off figures, and our guide on how to calculate VAT in Nigeria walks through the arithmetic.

Companies and government bodies that pay you will often deduct withholding tax at source and send it to the tax authority on your behalf. The usual rates for resident suppliers are 2% for goods, construction and other services, 5% for professional and consultancy fees and commission, and 10% for rent. WHT is worked out on the amount before VAT. It is not a discount: it is a credit against your own income tax. Showing it on the quote simply avoids surprise when ₦307,500 arrives instead of ₦322,500.

Quote, proforma invoice or invoice?

The three are often used interchangeably in Nigerian business, but they do different jobs. A quote offers a price. A proforma invoice is a preview of the invoice, issued when a client needs a document to process an advance payment or open a purchase order. The invoice is the demand for payment and the tax record. Neither a quote nor a proforma creates a VAT liability; the invoice does. When the work is agreed, use the free invoice generator to issue the invoice with the same lines.

Validity, deposits and acceptance

Prices for fuel, imported materials and anything tied to the exchange rate can move within weeks, so always put a validity date on a quote. Thirty days is the common default; seven or fourteen days is reasonable for goods priced in dollars. After that date you are free to re-quote.

A deposit protects you on work where you buy materials or block out time. Fifty percent up front with the balance on delivery is common for small jobs; larger projects are often split into milestones. State the deposit as a percentage and an amount so nobody has to calculate it.

A quotation that sets out the scope and price clearly can become a binding agreement once the client accepts it, which is why the acceptance block matters: it records who agreed, and when. For larger or longer jobs, put the detail in a proper agreement as well; the contract template generator builds a service agreement with the same fees, VAT and WHT terms.

Keeping your quotes on file

Section 31 of the Nigeria Tax Administration Act 2025 requires books and records to be kept for at least six years after the year of assessment they relate to. An accepted quote is part of the trail that explains an invoice, so keep it with the invoice and the receipt. Number quotes in their own sequence, separate from invoices, and never reuse a number.

From quote to invoice in ereQa

This template is free and stays in your browser. If you send quotes every week, quotes in ereQa remove the retyping: you send the client a link, they view the quote and accept or decline without creating an account, you get an email when they accept, and an accepted quote becomes a draft invoice in one click. Quotes are on the Pro and Business plans. Invoicing starts on the Free plan, which includes 5 invoices a month; clients pay you by bank transfer and tap “I’ve paid” on the invoice link so you know to check.