A “complete” quote looks very much like a contract. So I was wondering, what’s the essential difference between the two ?
Great question, baia. [I’ve moved this thread from “How to Buy and Sell a Web Site” to “Business and Legal Issues”. 
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Well, a quote could be 3 lines in an email - for many clients, that could be enough for them to make the decision to move forward with you.
Personally I rarely go overboard with initial quotes/proposals; my ‘lengthy’ document is the one I create once I’ve agreed to work on a project with someone, basically this is the document that details everything we’ve agreed verbally. It will include costs, timescales, specs, payment terms and the legal stuff (i.e. the general terms and conditions etc). Creating something like this at the quoting stage is very time intensive - fine if you spend a lot of time responding to formal RFPs etc, but I’ve found with most small businesses, it’s fine to keep the quotes short and introduce the more detailed stuff that would comprise the ‘contract’ at the end of the sales process.
Obviously every project is different, so there’s no single answer, but generally if I was looking for a quote, I wouldn’t be expecting to receive back the reams of legal gibberish when all I need to know is how much it’s going to cost me. That said, if the prospect insists on seeing my terms, then fine, that’s not a problem.
Thanks shadowbox. Do you think it’s enough to just give a rough price estimate, or is it better to provide some table breaking the project into basic component with a total price at the end ?
I think you have to suss out what kind of response the prospect is looking for. There’s no point sending a rough estimate if the prospect clearly indicates they are looking for a detailed proposal from you. Once you’ve worked out what they are initially asking for, you can decide whether or not you are willing or able to do that.
It will help to engage in communication with them; more emails, phone, then if possible/practical a meeting etc. It’s all about balancing though - obviously you need to cover all the possible deal breakers as early on as possible; i.e. do they have a realistic budget, can you complete the site in the desired timeframe, do you have the required technical skills and resources for the project, do they sound like a good client or a nightmare, is the job big enough to warrant you spending lots of time ‘whooing’ them, etc.
I’m sure many of us have made the mistake of spending a weekend working on a proposal for a potential client only to find out they have a £100 budget - I certainly did when I first started out. On the flip side, I’m sure I’ve blown off some great projects by not putting enough effort with my initial email or phone response.
This is why I tend to push for an initial phone chat with any email enquiries I get, 15 minutes is usually enough to cover all the pre-qualification stuff.
Ok, thank you very much !
Quotes and contracts are frequently mixed up, and there is such a thing as a binding quote (i.e. one that has language in it that makes it ‘final’ in some way) but it’s generally interpreted to just be price estimate.
@Sagewing : Ok, but do you agree that sometimes it’s best to give a price without any further detail, and some other times a quick description of the components followed by a price ?
a quote becomes a contract when agreed to by both parties ie. you give me a quote it only becomes binding when I agree to it… most companies give an estimate not a quote…but whenever giving a quote or an estimate make sure you put in there a price whereas if they accept you don’t lose
Absolutely, yea. Most inquiries from clients that I don’t know will get a quick email back from me with very little detail. Something like, ‘… estimated in the $15k range depending on a, b, and c’. If they want more detail, they need to engage more and get me on the phone.
That’s not exactly the whole story. There are many situations where a quote doesn’t bind both parties to a deal, but it does bind the quoting party to offer the quoted price barring any changed circumstances. Most quotes aren’t really binding, though, they are casual estimations.
A quote can’t really become a contract unless it has language in it that constitutions a legal agreement, or if the two parties explicitly agree on a transaction with well understood terms and consideration, etc. Typically a quote provides part, but not all of what really makes a contract a contract.
the answer is simple: money. a deposit in your a bank account.
another more literal way of looking at it is that your missing a signed notarized document stating you will be doing business together.
Not quite that simple. A transfer of money can satisfy part of what makes a contract a contract, but just because money was transferred that doesn’t mean a contract exists.
Further, a notarized document isn’t required for a legal agreement/contract to be established and has little to do with whether a contract exists.
It’s hard to really define the difference between the two because the word ‘contract’ has a specific legal meaning but a quote can mean many different things. If you include legal language with the quote so that a client can just sign it to make it into a contract, that is very different then just giving someone a quote that ball-parks how much a project should cost.
Quote is the document that includes the project specs along with pricing and timeframe to complete the project. This could be 2-3 lines in an email or a professional document 7-15 pages long if you want to look professional.
Contract is simply another document that both parties need to sign in order to get the project going, the purpose of this document is to safeguard both parties for problems that might arise.
Now some companies tie the quote and the contract in the same document but I think it’s best to keep them seperate and show off the contract when project is agreed and not before that.
It would be nice if ppl could share their quote templates and their contracts so we can all improve by seeing what each other does include in these docs
@parisp : yes ! people, share your quote templates please !
I propose that Sagewing begins 
i Got this from business link
A quotation is a fixed price offer that can’t be changed once accepted by the customer. This holds true even if you have to carry out much more work than you expected. If you think this is likely to happen, it makes more sense to give an estimate. You can also specify in the quotation precisely what it covers, and that variations outside of this will be subject to additional charges.
An estimate is an educated guess at what a job may cost - but it isn’t binding. To take account of possible unforeseen developments, you should provide several estimates based on various circumstances, including the worst-case scenario. This will prevent your customer from being surprised by the costs.
You can read the rest here:
http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?itemId=1073792180&type=RESOURCES
As cherokeeschild mentioned, you have estimates and quotes. These are typically provided in response to a request where a customer requests pricing for a job or service.
Typically, the customer may reply back with approval to proceed based on the quote provided. Usually the quote is subject to a master agreement of some kind.
A contract is an agreement that may contain rate schedules and it also carries legal language defining payment terms, service level agreements, and other terms and conditions which have been formalized between the parties.
here is mine
My Web design contract (4 pages)
Website Design Contract 2.pdf
My web Design Proposal(14 pages) from a random client project with their info removed (btw SEO info is not up to date so ignore that part of the proposal)
Client Name - Company Name - website.pdf
My workflow is as follows.
Once i get a lead i meet with the client maybe 1-2 times to understand the project and then hand off the proposal personally, i always avoid sending proposals via email. Once proposal in accepted we arrange 1-2 meeting so we can get enough info. Notice contract is not yet used! We go away and prepare the design of the website (a single design, not 2-3 so they can choose) which shows off both functionality and appearance of the website without writing a single line of code. Once client is 100% happy with the design the the web design contract comes into place, its signed off and the 1st payment is made, usually 50%. you know the rest!
P.S. if anyone likes my quote or contract feel free to send me a message so i can send you the Editable Word versions.
LIKE +1 to parisp
Quotation is simpler and contract is more lengthy. Both documents need signatures from both parties to ensure both parties have agreed to the project.
Some companies have web-quotation where the template has standardized. Contract need to be reviewed by a personnel to ensure it is grammatical-free, the messages are convey correctly.
Thanks for sharing your documents for the forum. A couple of questions:
So you actually design the site for the client before they sign anything or pay you? What happens if they change their mind after you’ve done all that work for them?
Regarding your contract, there only appears to be indemnity and liability clauses under copyright. Personally I would include clauses to cover all possible liability, for example hosting downtime, coding errors, SEO, email, all intellectual property (e.g. trademarks as well) etc. It’s normal to have a specific ‘Limitation of Liability’ clause and a separate ‘Indemnity’ clause.
You seem to have a clause for client termination, but what if you decide to terminate the contract?
Jurisdiction for any legal issues is normally a requirement of most contracts (pick a place that suits you).
Having an agreed ‘Completion Date’ is good as it helps nudge the client along, but personally I would tie in balancing payment to that date, rather than ‘once the site is live’ - otherwise you risk not getting paid while the client suddenly puts the site on the backburner (i.e. not sending content or approvals, or simply not wishing to go live ‘just yet’).
IANAL of course!