Differentiate between offer and quotation

Let us learn about the offer and quotation before understanding the differences between them.

Offer

It is an expression to show his/her willingness to do something for another to do or not to do. It is the first in contract. Offer must be certain, complete and defined. Offer is legal binding between parties.

The types of offers are as follows −

• Express offer - It is the most usual form of offer in which communication is clear & unequivocal.
• Implied offer - Communication is not through words.
• Counter offer - In this type of offer, the modifications are made to the original offer.
• Cross offer - The parties accept each other’s offer.
• General offer - Offer made to the public.
• Specific offer - Offer made to specified person.
• Open offer - Offer is open to both the public and particular person. This type of offer is also known as a standing offer.

Quotation

It is a promise of a formal document given by the supplier according to buyer conditions and price. It consists of price, payments, sales and warranty. By quotation, the buyer knows the price of goods & services before purchase.

Sometimes quotation templates are used to make business easy. These templates can be edited and sent immediately. These templates include price breakdown and implementation time.

The types of quotation templates are as follows −

• Price template - Fixed price for goods and services and customer can’t change after accepting. It consists of company name, validity period, price, client details, goods & services description etc.
• Sales template - Summary of order put by buyer.
• Purchase order - It is a commercial document and consists of price of products, quantities, types. Buyer can pay later and can buy now.
• Business travel - Contains details of travel, accommodation, transportation cost of a business trip. It is mostly used by travel agencies.
• Corporate event - Quotation of event planning of an organization. It consists of details like cost of hall, food, decoration etc. mostly used by event planners. Differences

The major differences between offer and quotation are as follows −