A contract is formed when there are two matching declarations of intent: the offer and the acceptance by your customer. That’s why the offer is legally binding and you should follow certain requirements when creating it. At the same time, you can design your offer individually and persuasively so that it fits your customer perfectly.
Why a clear offer is important
No offer, no order—and no order, no revenue. The success of your business therefore depends on professional order acquisition. This includes creating legally compliant and binding offers. For companies and solo self-employed professionals, this is indispensable.
A clear offer also provides security. In it, you set down all the key points of your collaboration: what you deliver at what price, or which service you offer. As soon as your customer accepts the offer without changes, the contract is considered concluded.
How to create a legally compliant offer
You must comply with the GoBD, i.e., the principles for the proper keeping and retention of books, records, and documents in electronic form, as well as for data access. Offers in Word or Excel are not GoBD-compliant. To avoid problems with the tax office or customers, you should use professional invoicing software such as easybill, which meets all requirements for legally compliant offers.
Use easybill offer templates
Our offer templates help you meet legal requirements and save time. They include all the key information an offer needs:
- Your contact details and address
- Offer addressee
- Sequential offer number
- Current date
- Offer due date
- Invoice items such as products, services, or text lines
- Quantity and price of each item
- Packaging, transport, and insurance, if required
- Cash discount or discount, if you want to offer that
- VAT, country of taxation, and currency
- Delivery date and payment terms
Our templates are flexible and customizable. You can tailor introductory and closing texts individually and save them permanently. This makes your quote unique and perfectly tailored to your business.
If you only send quotes occasionally, the template may be sufficient. If you regularly want to send professional quotes and also create invoices from them, you should sign up for the invoicing software.
Electronic signatures and data protection
More and more companies use electronic signatures to securely finalize quotes and build trust. With easybill, you can sign your quote digitally. At the same time, you must comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) when processing customer data. This not only ensures legal compliance, but also shows your customer that you work professionally and responsibly.
International quotes and tax requirements
If you send quotes abroad, special tax information may be required. For customers in the EU, you should include the customer’s VAT ID and observe the reverse charge procedure. This ensures that your international quotes meet legal requirements.
Easily convert quotes into invoices
If your customer accepts the quote, you can use the details directly for your invoice. In easybill, all line items are carried over from the quote. This saves time and reduces potential errors.
Wording to limit binding effect
Sometimes you don’t want your quote to be fully binding. That’s what disclaimer clauses are for. With these wordings, you can limit your quote:
- to a specific quantity
- for a specific period of time
- subject to price changes
- or even completely non-binding with “subject to change”
This protects you from possible disadvantages if conditions change.
Tip: Phrase the quote for your customer
You know your customer’s needs and should communicate them clearly in your quote. Show what makes your quote special. Keep it short but unambiguous and address your customer directly. Carefully review all details again before sending your quote.
After creating the quote: What happens next
Customers today expect fast response times. You should send your quote within 24 hours at the latest. After that, it makes sense to give your customer one to two weeks to review it. If you want to follow up, you can set a status for your quote in easybill or create a quote confirmation. Afterwards, your quote can easily be turned into an invoice.
Create professional quotes
easybill is a cloud-based invoicing program that enables you to manage your invoices professionally,
legally compliant, and time-efficiently.
- Creating e-invoices made easy: Legally compliant, fast, and without technical hurdles.
- Seamless integration with your online store: Automatically invoice orders and save time.
- Work paperlessly with your tax advisor: All documents digital and always at hand.
