Quotations¶
Last reviewed: 2026-03-31 · Nnamdi
Status: Complete
Route: /quotations → /quotations/new → /quotations/:id
1. What is it?¶
A Quotation (also called a Quote or Pro Forma) is a formal price offer sent to a customer before a sale is confirmed. The customer can accept, decline, or let it expire. When a customer accepts, the quotation is converted directly into an invoice — no re-entering of data needed. Quotations are not financial transactions and do not post to the General Ledger until converted.
2. How does it work in Finora?¶
2.1 The quotations list (/quotations)¶
Header actions: - + New Quotation — opens the new quotation form
KPI summary cards: | Card | What it shows | |------|--------------| | Total Quotations | Count of all quotation records | | Pipeline Value | Total naira value of all open/pending quotations | | Accepted | Count of quotations accepted by customers | | Conversion Rate | Percentage of quotations that converted to invoices |
Table columns: - Quotation # — auto-assigned reference number - Customer — customer linked to the quotation - Date — date the quotation was created - Valid Until — expiry date (defaults to 30 days from creation) - Amount — total quoted value - Status — current state in the quotation lifecycle - Actions — View, Edit, Convert to Invoice, Delete
2.2 Quotation status lifecycle¶
Draft → Sent → Under Review → Accepted
→ Declined
→ Expired
→ Converted
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Draft | Created but not yet sent to the customer |
| Sent | Emailed to the customer |
| Under Review | Customer has opened the review link or flagged it for review |
| Accepted | Customer confirmed they accept the quoted price |
| Declined | Customer rejected the quote |
| Expired | Valid Until date has passed without a response |
| Converted | Accepted quotation has been turned into an invoice |
2.3 Creating a new quotation¶
Click + New Quotation. Fields:
Customer - Select Existing — search and pick from saved customers - Create New — create a customer inline without leaving the form
Header fields: | Field | Notes | |-------|-------| | Quotation Date | Defaults to today | | Valid Until | Defaults to today + 30 days; customer's deadline to respond | | Reference / PO# | Optional — for customer's internal purchase order number |
Line items (identical structure to invoices): | Column | Notes | |--------|-------| | Item | From Inventory (pre-loaded with price) or Custom (manual entry) | | Description | Free text description of the item or service | | Qty | Quantity | | Unit | Unit of measure (e.g. hours, kg, pieces) | | Unit Price | Price per unit in naira | | VAT | Checkbox — applies 7.5% VAT to this line if checked | | Discount | Per-line discount amount |
Note: There is no WHT field on quotations. WHT is only applied at the invoice stage when the sale is confirmed.
Summary section: - VAT Rate — 7.5% (fixed, per VATA 2019) - Overall Discount — discount applied across the entire quotation total
Notes (internal) — free text notes field. Explicitly labelled "not shown on PDF" — this is for internal team reference only.
Terms & Conditions — free text field. This text appears on the quotation PDF sent to the customer.
Send options: | Option | What happens | |--------|-------------| | Send quotation now | Emails the PDF to the customer immediately on creation | | Download PDF and send manually | Creates the quotation, generates a PDF to download — no email sent | | Share review link | Generates a unique link the customer can open to view and respond to the quotation online |
Action buttons: - Cancel — discards the form, returns to list - Preview — shows a rendered preview of the quotation PDF - Save as Draft — saves without sending - Create Quotation — creates and sends per the selected send option
2.4 Converting a quotation to an invoice¶
When a customer accepts a quotation: 1. Open the quotation 2. Click Convert to Invoice 3. Finora pre-fills a new invoice with all line items, customer, and pricing from the quotation 4. Review and adjust if needed (e.g. add WHT, adjust dates) 5. Post the invoice
The original quotation status changes to Converted and links back to the resulting invoice.
3. Business rules & constraints¶
| Rule | Detail |
|---|---|
| Quotations do not post to the GL | No journal entries are created until conversion to invoice |
| WHT is not applied on quotations | WHT is only applicable at the invoice stage |
| VAT is 7.5% fixed | Per VATA 2019 — not configurable per line |
| Notes field is internal only | Does not appear on the customer-facing PDF |
| Expiry is not automatically enforced | "Expired" status requires manual update or system job — does not auto-block conversion |
| Converting a quotation creates a new invoice | The quotation itself is not the invoice; conversion creates a separate invoice record |
| Declined or Expired quotations can still be converted | No hard block — agent discretion to clarify with the business |
4. Nigerian regulatory context¶
Quotations and VAT - VAT at 7.5% may appear on a quotation if the business is VAT-registered — this signals to the customer what VAT they will pay - The VAT amount on a quotation is an estimate; the binding VAT obligation is created when the invoice is posted
Quotations and WHT - WHT (Withholding Tax) does not appear on quotations - When the quotation converts to an invoice, the business decides whether WHT applies based on the service type and the customer's status as a company or individual
Purchase Order reference - Nigerian corporate buyers often require a PO# on the quotation before approving a purchase. The Reference/PO# field accommodates this workflow.
5. Common customer questions¶
Q: "A customer accepted my quote. How do I turn it into an invoice?"
Open the quotation, click Convert to Invoice. Finora pre-fills the invoice with all the details from the quotation. Review, add WHT if applicable, then post it.
Q: "My quote expired but the customer still wants to proceed. Can I still convert it?"
Yes — Finora does not hard-block conversion of expired quotations. Update the terms with the customer if prices have changed, then convert and adjust the invoice if needed.
Q: "The customer says they didn't receive the quotation email."
Check the quotation's send option at creation. If "Download PDF and send manually" was selected, no email was sent — the business needs to send the PDF directly. If "Send now" was selected, advise checking spam. Escalate to Tier 3 if a confirmed delivery failure is suspected.
Q: "Can a customer respond to the quotation online without calling me?"
Yes — use the "Share review link" option when creating the quotation. This generates a unique link the customer can open to view and accept or decline the quote online.
Q: "Why doesn't my quotation show in revenue or the P&L?"
Quotations are not financial transactions. They only appear in revenue once converted to an invoice and posted. Until then, they show only in the Pipeline Value KPI on the Quotations page.
6. Known edge cases¶
Accepted quotation not converted¶
A customer may verbally accept but the business forgets to convert. The quotation stays in "Accepted" status indefinitely. Advise the business to convert promptly so revenue is recorded.
Quotation created on-the-fly with a new customer¶
If the customer is created inline during quotation creation and the quotation is then cancelled, the customer record is still saved. It will appear in the Customers list with no transaction history. This is expected behaviour — mirrors the same edge case on invoices.
WHT omitted after conversion¶
When converting to invoice, WHT is not pre-filled because it was not on the quotation. The business must remember to add it if WHT applies to the service. Support agents should remind businesses of this when they ask about invoice WHT after a conversion.
Multiple quotations for the same job¶
Finora does not link multiple quotations to a single project or job. Businesses doing multi-stage quoting (e.g. revised quotes) will have separate quotation records. Advise using the Reference/PO# field to link them manually.
7. Escalation trigger¶
Escalate to Tier 3 (Founder) if: - A converted quotation is not linking to its resulting invoice - Pipeline Value KPI does not match the expected sum of open quotations - Quotation email delivery confirmed failed (not spam)
Escalate to Tier 2 (Support Lead) if: - Business wants to bulk-export quotations to CSV - Business asking about multi-currency quotations - Conversion to invoice produced incorrect amounts
8. Last reviewed¶
2026-03-31 — Nnamdi. Verified against production. Quotation list (empty — new business), KPI cards confirmed present, New Quotation form fully verified. Key differences from invoices confirmed: no WHT field, Notes field explicitly marked internal, "Share review link" send option, Valid Until (expiry) instead of Due Date.