What “confirm” means, depending on who says it
The same word turns up in emails from both sides and in sales software, and it doesn’t always mean the same step. Read it against who sent it:
| What you see | Usually sent by | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| “Thank you, we have received your quotation” | Customer | Receipt only. Nothing is agreed yet. |
| “Can you confirm your quotation?” | Customer | Asking whether the price, lead time and terms still stand before ordering |
| “Please confirm the quotation” | Supplier | Asking the customer to accept in writing |
| “We confirm your quotation” or “we confirm our order” | Customer | Acceptance of the quote as written |
| “Order confirmation” | Supplier | The supplier has the acceptance and has booked the order on the quoted terms |
| “Confirmed” as a status in sales software | The supplier’s system | Usually that the quote has become a sales order (details below) |
A quotation is confirmed in the full sense once two of these exist: the customer’s written acceptance and the supplier’s order confirmation.
From accepted quote to confirmed order
- The customer accepts in writing, in the way the quote asks: a reply to the email, a signature on the acceptance section, a purchase order or the deposit. It should name the quote number and date. Wording for each case, including a formal letter, is in quote acceptance wording.
- The supplier checks it against the quote. Is it the latest version, before the valid-until date, with the option the customer chose and no new conditions? A purchase order should carry the same prices and the quote number. If anything doesn’t match, settle it before confirming (see part or conditional confirmations).
- The supplier confirms the order the same day. The confirmation repeats the quote number, the total, what is included and the dates, and says what happens next: the deposit invoice, the start date or the delivery date.
- Both sides keep the confirmed version as it is. File the quote PDF exactly as it was sent, with the acceptance and the confirmation. If the work changes later, price the change as a variation and agree it in writing. Before anything is confirmed, a change means a revised quotation instead.
- Then the work and the invoices. The invoice quotes the quote or purchase order number and lists agreed extras on their own lines (turning the quote into an invoice).
What a confirmation should include
Whichever side sends it, someone who wasn’t in the conversation should be able to see exactly what was agreed:
- The quote number, its revision and its date, so there is no doubt which version was confirmed.
- What is confirmed: the whole quote, or the items or option chosen.
- The total, and whether it includes VAT, GST or sales tax.
- The purchase order number, if the customer uses them.
- Dates: the start date, or the delivery date and address.
- Deposit and payment terms, as quoted.
- Anything agreed after the quote was sent, with the date it was agreed. For more than a small change, send a revised quotation and confirm that instead.
- Which terms apply, normally the quotation’s. This matters when a purchase order arrives with its own printed terms.
- Who is confirming, their position and the date.
Confirmation emails to fill in and copy
Type the details once and every email below fills in. Anything you leave empty stays as a highlighted placeholder to edit after copying. What you type stays in your browser: it isn’t sent or saved.
For the business that sent the quote
Order confirmation after the customer accepts
Delete the purchase order or deposit line if it doesn’t apply. If the purchase order came with its own terms, add a line such as “We accept purchase order PO-5521 on the terms of quotation Q-1042.”
Subject: Order confirmation: quotation [quote number], [job]
Dear [their name],
Thank you for accepting quotation [quote number] dated [quote date]. This email confirms your order on the terms of that quotation.
Work or goods: [job]
Total: [total]
Your purchase order: [PO number]
Start or delivery: [start date]
Deposit: [deposit], invoice attached
Anything outside the quotation will be priced and agreed with you in writing before we do it. If any detail above is not what you expected, please tell us before [start date].
Kind regards,
[your name]
[supplier]
Asking the customer to confirm the quotation
Subject: Please confirm quotation [quote number] for [job]
Dear [their name],
Following our conversation, could you confirm in writing that you would like to go ahead with quotation [quote number] dated [quote date] for [job], at [total]?
A reply to this email is enough, for example: "We confirm quotation [quote number]." If your organisation uses purchase orders, please include the number. Once we have your confirmation, we will book [start date] and send the deposit invoice.
The quotation is valid until [valid until].
Kind regards,
[your name]
[supplier]
Reconfirming a quotation when the customer asks if it still stands
Only reconfirm a quote that really is unchanged. If the price, lead time or availability has moved, send a revised quotation instead. If you are extending the valid-until date, put the new date in the email so the extension is in writing.
Subject: RE: Quotation [quote number]
Dear [their name],
Thank you for checking. We confirm that quotation [quote number] dated [quote date] for [job] stands as written: the total of [total], the scope, the lead time and the terms are unchanged.
The quotation is valid until [valid until]. To place the order, reply to this email or send your purchase order quoting [quote number].
Kind regards,
[your name]
[supplier]
For the customer who received it
Acknowledging a quotation you received (not accepting yet)
Subject: RE: Quotation [quote number]
Dear [their name],
Thank you for quotation [quote number] dated [quote date] for [job]. We have received it and are reviewing it, and we expect to reply by [reply date].
This email confirms receipt only. We will confirm in writing if we decide to go ahead.
Kind regards,
[your name]
[customer]
Asking the supplier to confirm the quotation before you order
Subject: Quotation [quote number]: please confirm before we order
Dear [their name],
Before we place the order for [job], could you confirm the following for quotation [quote number] dated [quote date]:
1. The total of [total] still applies, and until what date
2. Delivery or start by [start date]
3. What the price includes, for example delivery, installation or disposal
4. The payment terms and any deposit
Once we have your confirmation, we will send our purchase order.
Kind regards,
[your name]
[customer]
Confirming your order against a quotation
For a signed acceptance letter, accepting only part of a quote or accepting with changes, use the quote acceptance templates.
Subject: Order: quotation [quote number], purchase order [PO number]
Dear [their name],
We confirm our order for [job] as set out in your quotation [quote number] dated [quote date], at [total], on the terms of the quotation.
Our purchase order number is [PO number]. Please quote it on your invoice. We need the work to start, or the goods to arrive, by [start date].
Please send your order confirmation with the confirmed date.
Kind regards,
[your name]
[customer]
Quote, purchase order, order confirmation, invoice
For a small job, two emails do the whole thing: the customer’s reply accepting the quote and the supplier’s reply confirming the order. Larger buyers add a purchase order, and some suppliers send a separate order confirmation document. In the order they usually happen:
| Document | Sent by | When | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quotation | Supplier | Before the sale | Offers stated work or goods at a stated price until a date |
| Acceptance | Customer | Before the quote expires | Agrees to the quote as written |
| Purchase order | Customer | When ordering | The buyer’s own order, naming the quote, the items and the prices; its number goes on the invoice |
| Order confirmation | Supplier | After the acceptance or the purchase order | Confirms what was ordered, the price, the dates and which terms apply |
| Invoice | Supplier | After delivery, or at an agreed stage | Asks for payment, quoting the quote or purchase order number |
A purchase order that names the quote and matches it is the customer’s acceptance. One that changes the prices, quantities or terms is a new offer, and the next section applies.
Confirming part of a quote, or with conditions
Part of a quote
If the quote offers options, or says items can be ordered separately, the customer can confirm the ones they want, and both confirmations should list them. Otherwise, confirming only some items changes the offer, and the supplier may need to price the smaller job differently. The clean route: the supplier sends a revised quotation for the confirmed items, and the customer confirms that version.
With conditions
“We confirm, subject to delivery by 1 November”, or a purchase order with different payment terms, isn’t a plain confirmation. Under the general common-law rule an acceptance has to match the offer exactly, so a reply that changes the terms doesn’t accept it (the “mirror image rule”, Cornell LII). Sales of goods in the US work differently: under UCC § 2-207, a written confirmation sent within a reasonable time can count as an acceptance even if it adds terms, and between merchants the extra terms become part of the contract unless the offer limited acceptance to its own terms, they materially alter it, or the other side objects in time.
Either way, the safe move is the same. If you are the supplier, answer the conditions in writing before you start: which you accept, which you don’t, and which terms apply, for example “We accept purchase order PO-5521 on the terms of quotation Q-1042. Delivery by 1 November is confirmed.” If you are the customer and want changes, ask for a revised quotation and confirm that.
Why the confirmation should be in writing
A yes on the phone may count, but it is hard to prove later which version, price and date were agreed. A written confirmation settles that, and in some cases the law expects one:
- UK, consumer contracts agreed at home or at a distance. When a trader agrees a contract with a consumer away from the trader’s premises, for example in the customer’s home, the trader must give a copy of the signed contract or a confirmation of it, on paper or, if the consumer agrees, on another durable medium such as email. Contracts agreed at a distance, by phone, email or online, also need a confirmation on a durable medium. Either must arrive within a reasonable time, and no later than delivery of the goods or the start of the work, and include the information in Schedule 2 of the regulations, such as the cancellation information, unless that was already given on a durable medium (Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, reg. 12 and reg. 16). Off-premises contracts where the consumer pays £42 or less are outside these rules (reg. 7(4)). For services, the consumer’s cancellation period normally ends 14 days after the day the contract is entered into (reg. 30).
- US, sales of goods between businesses. A contract for goods of $500 or more generally needs something in writing to be enforced. Between merchants, a written confirmation received within a reasonable time counts against the business that receives it unless it objects in writing within 10 days (UCC § 2-201). If a confirmation you receive doesn’t match what you agreed, reply in writing straight away.
Sources checked 17 October 2026: legislation.gov.uk (Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, shown as up to date to 17 October 2026) and the Cornell Legal Information Institute (UCC Article 2; Wex, reviewed November 2024). US states adopt the UCC with their own variations. General information, not legal advice: take advice on large or unusual contracts.
Confirming a quotation in sales software
In software, “confirm” is a button, and what it does depends on the product:
- Odoo: “Once a quotation has been confirmed, it officially turns into a sales order, which can then be invoiced and paid for” (Odoo 19 documentation).
- Microsoft Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management: confirming a sales quotation creates the sales order automatically (Microsoft Learn).
- Sage 200: the confirmation when you save a new quotation gives it its number and records the customer’s order reference. It is a save step, not the customer’s acceptance (Sage 200 help).
Whatever the software shows, the customer’s written acceptance and your confirmation email are the record of what was agreed. GetQuotationMaker makes the quote PDF and doesn’t track acceptance or confirmation, so keep both emails with the PDF.
Help pages checked 17 October 2026.