A quote is the first real evidence of how someone works. Long before any code exists, the document tells you whether they listened, whether they have done this before, and what happens when something changes. Here is what a good one contains.
Key Takeaways
- A quote should list what is NOT included, by name.
- Milestones with amounts beat one number and a deposit.
- A written change process protects you more than a low price does.
- "Custom pricing, let's discuss" is not a quote.
The Six Things That Should Be In It
One, what it does, in your words. A list of screens and what happens on each. If you cannot recognise your own business in it, they were not listening.
Two, what is not included. This is the section that separates professionals from optimists. Good quotes name the things a reasonable person might assume are in scope and say plainly that they are not.
Three, milestones with amounts. Not one number and fifty percent up front. Three or four stages, each with something you can look at and a payment attached to it.
Four, what they need from you and when. Your logo, your content, your card processor login, a decision on a question by a date. Most delays are on the client side, and a good quote says so before it happens.
Five, the change process. What happens when you want something different in week four. The answer should be a named process with a price attached, not silence.
Six, what happens after launch. Who fixes it, for how long, at what cost. See what happens after your app is built, because this is the line people forget to read.
Phrases That Should Slow You Down
"We'll figure out the details as we go" means the price will move and you will be the one absorbing it. "Roughly" attached to a number in a document is not a quote, it is an opening position. "Unlimited revisions" is either untrue or priced in somewhere you cannot see. And a quote that arrives within an hour of your first message was not written about your project.
A Concrete Version
A salon owner sent me two quotes to look at. The first was one page, one number, fifty percent deposit, a warm paragraph about partnership. The second was four pages, named three milestones with amounts, and had a section headed "Not included in this price" that listed online payments, which was the thing she most wanted. The second firm was more expensive and looked less friendly. It was also the only one that had noticed payments were missing from her description. She hired them, added payments as a priced change in week one, and the project finished on the revised number.
The Honest Counterpoint
A beautiful quote is not a guarantee of a good build. Some firms invest heavily in the document and less in the work, and a clear proposal from someone who cannot deliver is still a bad outcome. Read the quote to check they listened and that a change is cheap to make. Judge the delivery separately, by asking to speak to two clients whose projects went sideways rather than two whose projects went well.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much deposit is normal?
A first milestone rather than a percentage of the whole. Paying for stage one and seeing stage one is a much better position than paying half of everything up front.
Should the quote include a timeline?
Yes, with the dependencies named. A date that assumes you supply content by Friday should say so, because that is usually the date that slips.
What if they will not put a number in writing?
Then you do not have a quote, and you cannot compare anything. A firm that has done this before can price a written scope.
Is it fair to ask several firms to quote the same scope?
Yes, and say that you are doing it. Serious firms expect it and price accordingly. What is not fair is sending four firms four different descriptions and then comparing the numbers, because you are the only one who can see they were not quoting the same thing.
The Bottom Line
The quote is the first deliverable. Read it as one. If it names what is excluded, breaks payment into stages, and says what a change costs, you are dealing with someone who has finished projects before. If you want a written scope to send out for quotes, the honest read produces one free. See also why software quotes vary so much and how to vet a development agency.
Roberto Espinoza is CEO of Ruzora, which builds custom software for business owners at a fixed price and places pre-vetted senior LATAM engineers with US teams. Get a free honest read on your idea.
