Quotation Template for Ghanaian Businesses (What to Include and Why)

A quotation does three jobs: it wins the work, it sets the price, and it defines what you are not doing. Most quotations in Ghana do the first badly and the third not at all — which is how "just add a small thing" becomes free work.

Copy this layout. It is a page, and the page pays for itself the first time a client remembers the job differently from you.

The template, top to bottom

1. Your header

• Business name, logo, and registration number if you have one
• Phone (the one with WhatsApp), email, location
• A registration number on a quotation quietly answers "are you a real business?"

2. The document title and reference

• The word QUOTATION, clearly — not "invoice", which means something else entirely
• A quotation number: QUO-001 upward, never reused
• The date

3. The client

• Name, phone, and the site or delivery address
• For companies: the contact person and their department

4. A one-line description of the job

• "Supply, fabrication and installation of one 4m sliding gate at East Legon Hills"
• This line is what you will both point at in six months

5. Itemised lines

Say the specification inside the description — pipe size, sheet thickness, finish. It is how you stop being compared with a thinner product, and it doubles as your record of what was agreed.

6. Totals

• Subtotal, any tax (only if you are VAT-registered), and the total in cedis
• Deposit required, and the balance

7. The five lines that prevent arguments

Put these on every quotation, word for word if you like:

Validity: This quotation is valid for 14 days from the date above. Deposit: 50% deposit confirms this order; fabrication begins on receipt. Balance: Balance due on completion, before installation. Variations: Any change to the specification after acceptance will be quoted separately. Excludes: Price excludes civil/concrete works, electrical supply, and making good beyond the immediate installation area.

8. Timeline

• "Fabrication 7 working days from deposit; installation within 2 working days of completion."
• A date beats "soon" for winning work and for managing expectations.

9. How to pay

• MoMo number and the registered name, or bank details. Never make a client hunt for this.

10. Acceptance

• "To accept, reply to this quotation by WhatsApp or sign and return."
• A one-line acceptance in writing is worth a great deal later.

Three wording habits worth copying

• Describe, then price. "Fabrication and installation of…" not "gate — GH₵ 13,400".
• Name what is excluded. Every exclusion is a future argument you have already won.
• Never leave the deposit implied. Write the figure.

Send it where the client reads

WhatsApp, as a clean PDF or a link that opens on a phone — the same day you promised it. Speed wins jobs in this market at least as often as price does, and following up within 48 hours wins the rest.

Common questions

Is a quotation legally binding in Ghana? It is generally an offer, which becomes binding when accepted on its stated terms within its validity period — which is exactly why validity and exclusions matter.

Should I show a breakdown or one total? Break it down. Clients dispute totals and accept line items, and the breakdown protects your margin when steel moves.

Can I change a quotation after sending it? Before acceptance, yes — send a revised version with a new number and say why. After acceptance, it is a variation, quoted separately.

Do I need to charge VAT? Only if you are VAT-registered. See how to register a business in Ghana, and confirm your position with the GRA.

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Typing this page for every enquiry is the reason most workshops stop sending quotations. In Fabri Manager the header, terms, numbering and payment details are already there — you add the lines and send it, and the accepted quote becomes the job and then the invoice without retyping.

Related: quotation vs invoice vs receipt · how to price a fabrication job