Enter your details and the client's, plus a title and date for the proposal.
Describe the scope of work in plain language: what is included, what is not, and the timeline.
Build the pricing table line by line, add terms such as deposit and payment schedule, and export the proposal as a PDF.
When to use it
A proposal does a job a quote cannot: it explains what the client is buying, not just what it costs. Use it for anything with more than one moving part, such as a website build, a renovation, a marketing retainer, or a training programme, where the client needs to see the scope before they can judge the price. A written scope also protects you when the work grows halfway through.
What separates a proposal from a quote
A quote says what it costs; a proposal says what the client gets, what they do not get, when, and what it costs. The tool's structure follows that: a scope section in plain language, a pricing table, and terms. The scope is the part worth the most time, because every dispute on a project of more than one stage traces back to something that was assumed rather than written. Write inclusions, exclusions and the timeline as three separate lists; a client reads exclusions more carefully than anything else on the page.
Worked example
A freelance designer proposes a five-page website. Scope: discovery call, two homepage concepts, one round of revisions per page, build on the client's hosting, one hour of handover training. Exclusions: copywriting, photography, ongoing hosting or maintenance, more than one revision round. Timeline: four weeks from receipt of content. Pricing: "Design and build, 5 pages" $2,400; "Contact form and analytics setup" $300; total $2,700. Terms: 40% deposit to book the start date, 60% on launch, content to be supplied by the client before design starts. The second revision round the client asks for in week three is not an argument, because the proposal says "one".
Common mistakes
Scope written as marketing. "A stunning modern website" is not a deliverable. "Five pages: Home, Menu, About, Contact, Events" is.
No exclusions. If it is not excluded, the client will assume it is included.
Timeline without a trigger. "Four weeks" from what? Deposit, content, sign-off. Name the event.
Payment schedule that ends at delivery. If the last payment is "on launch" and the client delays launch, you wait. Tie it to your delivery, not their go-live.
When this tool is the wrong one
For a single product or a job the client already understands, a quotation is faster and reads better. For work where the legal terms matter more than the scope, the service agreement template covers ownership, termination and payment. And once the proposal is accepted, the pricing table becomes the invoice lines.
Good to know
Say explicitly what is excluded; that sentence prevents most later arguments. State how long the price is valid. Your draft stays in this browser's local storage, and nothing is uploaded, so client details remain on your device.
How do I create a business proposal or estimate for a client?
The Proposal & Estimate Generator lets you add your company and client details, a project scope of work, itemized pricing, and terms — then export the whole thing as a PDF.
Is there a free tool for writing client estimates with pricing tables?
Yes — add as many line items as you need with quantity and unit price, and it calculates the subtotal, tax, and estimated total automatically.
Can I include a scope of work section in my proposal?
Yes, there's a dedicated "Project Overview / Scope of Work" section built into the template specifically for describing what's included.