Quote-tacular ...

[Digital Prophet]

Well it has come down to the time where I have to write my first formal quote.

Now let me share a couple of things. First of all I am so fresh in the play for pay game that it isn't funny. In fact this is going to be my first official (since I got my DBA) paying job. The job is a good opportunity and involves quite a bit of graphic work in addition to photography. Being that it is with a municipality they have all thier formalities that have to be dealt with. And one of those is the quote. Now in reality this is a high stepping routine since the job is mine. But I want to turn a professional looking quote. Not only for this job, but I think that it is a good habit to get in.

Does anyone here have any experience in writing quotes (detailed) for municipalities? Got any good "for knitwits" tutorial sites?

Like I said, this is pretty much a done deal. But I just want to look more professional on paper than I feel in person. Look forward to some good info.

- Digital Prophet -

[robertwgross]

Municipalities, states, it's all the same regardless of industry.

You simply write the statement of work, also known as the scope of work. It outlines exactly what you are going to do, or what you are going to supply. It generally does not go into much detail about how you are going to accomplish it (because you might want to keep that a secret). Often it covers when you are expecting to do the work, and sometimes there is an escalator clause of the client wants it started and then delays or cancels it.

The statement of work is anywhere from three lines to about ten pages, depending on the project. Then the quote itself is a summary of the charges that will be billed to the client if they accept by issuing a purchase order. Sometimes in the quote there are business phrases like "net 15", "net 30", or "1% net 30".

I submitted a $5K quote to a client one time with "net 15" clearly printed beside the amount. The client then issued a purchase order that deleted the "net 15" and substituted "2% net 60". The client claimed that it was the client's purchasing department that did that, not the client. So, I simply told them that everything looked good on the quote and said nothing about the funky purchase order. When they ran into a deadline and asked why we had not started the project, I explained that they had not submitted a suitable purchase order to agree with the quotation.

The funky purchase order is the sort of shrewd stunt that they will pull when they think they have you over a barrel.

---Bob Gross---

[scottbergerphoto]

Sometimes in the quote there are business phrases like "net 15", "net 30", or "1% net 30".

I submitted a $5K quote to a client one time with "net 15" clearly printed beside the amount. The client then issued a purchase order that deleted the "net 15" and substituted "2% net 60". The client claimed that it was the client's purchasing department that did that, not the client. So, I simply told them that everything looked good on the quote and said nothing about the funky purchase order. When they ran into a deadline and asked why we had not started the project, I explained that they had not submitted a suitable purchase order to agree with the quotation.

The funky purchase order is the sort of shrewd stunt that they will pull when they think they have you over a barrel.

---Bob Gross---
What do those funky phrases mean?
Scott

[robertwgross]

Those are just standard phrases from the Accounts Receivable Department.

"Net 15" means that the invoice amount must be paid within 15 days.
"Net 30" means... (well, you have that one)
"2% Net 30" means that the invoice amount can be discounted by 2% if the invoice is paid within 30 days.

When I issue a quotation and scope of work statement, and it says "Net 15", then I expect that to hold up and I get paid the full amount within 15 days.

Then if the customer issues a purchase order that says "2% Net 30", that means that the purchase order and the quotation do not agree on the deal... which means no deal.

---Bob Gross---

[scottbergerphoto]

Thanks Bob.
Scott

[robertwgross]

It's mostly the business majors and accounts receivable experts that learn this stuff. Then they bury it in the fine print on quotations, purchase orders, and all of those business documents.

Photographers aren't expected to know it until they scream "Where's my money?"

---Bob Gross---