Quote acceptance wording: to accept or confirm a quotation, reply in writing with the quote number, its date and the total, for example: “We accept quotation Q-1042 dated 2 October for the kitchen refit at £8,450 including VAT, on the terms set out in the quotation. Please confirm the start date.”
For a formal acceptance letter and accepting with changes, copy the quote acceptance wording templates; for what happens once a quote is accepted, see how to confirm a quotation. The rest of this article covers the other side: getting more of the quotes you send accepted.
Your quote acceptance rate (also called a win rate or conversion rate) is the share of quotes you send that clients accept. It tells you whether your quoting process is working, and it is the number to watch when you change how you price, present or follow up.
How to work out your quote acceptance rate
Acceptance rate = quotes accepted ÷ quotes sent × 100. If you sent 40 quotes last quarter and 18 were accepted, your rate is 45%.
Work it out by job type and by where the enquiry came from (referral, website, directory). A low rate on one source often means those enquiries need qualifying before you spend time quoting, not that your prices are wrong.
9 ways to get more quotes accepted
1. Reply quickly
Send the quote while the client is still thinking about the job, ideally within a working day of the visit or call. If a complicated quote will take longer, tell the client when to expect it.
2. Qualify before you quote
Ask about budget, timing and who makes the decision before you visit or price. You will send fewer quotes that were never going to be accepted.
3. Be specific
Itemise the work with quantities and rates, and name the materials or deliverables. A single figure invites comparison on price alone; specific line items show what the client gets.
4. Offer options
Two or three options (for example essential, recommended and premium) let the client choose how much to spend instead of deciding whether to go ahead at all.
5. Show the real total
Make the total, including tax, easy to find. In the UK, prices for consumers have to include VAT and other mandatory charges up front (CMA guidance), and a surprise at the end loses trust.
6. Add a validity date
A date gives the client a reason to decide and protects you from honouring old prices. Thirty days is common; use less when material prices move.
7. Make accepting one step
Tell the client exactly how to say yes: reply "accepted", sign the PDF or pay the deposit. Put acceptance wording on the quote itself, and send the PDF as an attachment rather than asking the client to log in somewhere (emails for sending a quote to a client have subject lines and wording for each situation).
8. Follow up on a schedule
Follow up three to five days after sending, again a week later with something useful, and once more before the quote expires. Our follow-up email templates have wording for each step.
9. Find out why quotes are lost
When a client says no, ask one short question: was it price, timing or something else? Keep a note of the answers.
| Reason the quote was lost | What to change |
|---|---|
| Too expensive | Offer a lower-scope option, explain what the price includes, or qualify budget earlier |
| Went with someone faster | Quote sooner; send a short "quote coming Thursday" message if it will take time |
| Didn’t understand the quote | Itemise, use plain descriptions, add a scope summary in the email |
| Project postponed | Set a reminder to follow up when they said the timing might change |
| No reply at all | Follow up on a schedule, and make the next step clearer |
Track it in one place
A simple spreadsheet is enough: quote number, date sent, client, source, amount, status (sent, accepted, lost) and the reason if lost. Number every quote so the spreadsheet, emails and PDFs match. Our free quotation maker numbers each quote and adds a validity date to the PDF.