Skip to content
KenyaTax

Accounting

Quotation with VAT

A clear quotation with items, discount, VAT, terms and a valid-until date, ready to print or save as a PDF.

Screenshot of the Quotation with VAT template

Win the job with a quotation that is clear about what is included, what it costs and how long the price holds. Type your details and the customer's, list the items, add a discount if you give one and choose whether VAT applies. The totals and the valid-until date work themselves out.

What is included

  • Up to 15 line items
  • Discount percentage
  • VAT on or off
  • Valid-until date worked out for you
  • Terms and conditions lines

Screenshots

  • Quotation sheet of Quotation with VAT
  • Totals of Quotation with VAT

How to use it

  1. Fill in your details and the customer's.
  2. List the items and any discount.
  3. Choose whether VAT applies.
  4. Print or save as PDF.

Rates and thresholds

Edit the VAT rate and the validity period on the Rates sheet.

Templates are tools to help with your own records. They are not tax or legal advice. Check the figures against official sources before filing or paying.

More in this category

A good quotation wins the work and avoids the argument

A quotation is more than a price. It is a promise about what you will do, what it will cost and what is not included, written down before anyone has spent any money. The best ones are short, clear and professional. They help the customer say yes, and they give you something to point to when the job grows and the customer forgets what was agreed. This free workbook builds that quotation for you: you fill in the details and the totals, the discount, the VAT and the valid-until date take care of themselves.

What a quotation should contain

  • Your business name, address, contact details and KRA PIN.
  • The customer's name and address, and a unique quotation number.
  • The date and a valid-until date, so prices cannot be held to forever.
  • A clear description of each item or service, with quantity and price.
  • Any discount you are offering, shown as its own line.
  • The VAT, if you charge it, and the total.
  • Terms: the deposit, when the balance is due, what is excluded, and how changes are handled.

Using the workbook

  1. On the Rates sheet, check the VAT rate and set how many days a quotation stays valid.
  2. On the Quotation sheet, type your details, the customer's details and the quotation number.
  3. List the items, up to fifteen, with the quantity and the price before VAT.
  4. Enter a discount percentage if you give one. The workbook subtracts it from the subtotal before working out VAT.
  5. Choose Yes or No for VAT, write your terms and print the sheet or save it as a PDF.

How the sums are done

The subtotal is the sum of the amounts. The discount is the subtotal times the discount percentage. The total before VAT is the subtotal less the discount. VAT is charged on that figure at the standard rate, currently 16%, when it is switched on. The total is the sum of the two. Working in this order is the correct one: VAT is charged on the price actually payable, not on the price before the discount.

A quotation is not a tax invoice

A quotation is an offer. It is not a demand for payment and it is not a tax invoice, and it should say so. When the customer accepts and you deliver, you issue the tax invoice, and if you are required to use KRA's electronic system the invoice must come from it. Our guide to eTIMS e-invoicing explains the requirement, and the invoice template in this collection is the next step after an accepted quotation. If your turnover is above KES 5,000,000 a year you must be registered for VAT, and the VAT calculator will add or remove VAT from a price.

Tips for quotations that convert

  1. Send it quickly. The first good quotation usually wins.
  2. Be specific about what is included. Vague quotations lead to disputes.
  3. List what is excluded, such as travel, materials you do not control, or extra revisions.
  4. Offer options where it helps: a basic and a better package.
  5. Follow up within a few days, and again before the quotation expires.
  6. Keep a copy, numbered in order, and note whether it was accepted.

Pricing with confidence

Before you quote, know your costs and the margin you need. The break-even and pricing calculator in this collection shows what a job must earn to cover your fixed costs, and the profit and loss statement shows how your actual margins compare. A quotation below your cost is not a sale, it is a gift.

This workbook is a document template and not legal, tax or accounting advice. The VAT rate on its Rates sheet comes from the KenyaTax rates table and has not yet been verified for the period, so confirm it with the Kenya Revenue Authority. For contracts of any size, have a lawyer review your standard terms.

Need something different? Request a custom template, browse all guides or see every Excel template.

Scroll inside the box to read more.