Create a professional quote

Build a clear, compliant quote in minutes: line items, space catalog, options, discounts and multi-day events.

The quote is the central document of your commercial relationship: it is what turns an enquiry, or an option held on a date, into a firm booking. A quote that is clear, quick to read and accurate on price reassures the client and speeds up their decision. Joinways is built so you can assemble it from your catalog, keep it compliant and send it in a few clicks, without re-typing your prices every time.

This article walks through the structure of a quote, how the totals are computed, and the habits that keep every quote consistent from one event to the next.

What you'll learn

Create a quote and add line items
Pull from your space's catalog to keep prices consistent
Handle options, discounts and multi-day events
Understand how the net, VAT and gross totals are computed, and send a compliant quote

Anatomy of a quote

Before clicking anywhere, it helps to picture what a quote is in Joinways. A quote is attached to an event (and therefore to a client and a date) and it is made up of line items. Each line represents a service: a space rental, a menu, a technical option. The quote total is nothing more than the sum of its lines, which keeps it transparent for the client and for you.

A line always carries the same information: a title (the service), a quantity, a unit price excl. tax and a VAT rate. From there, everything else is calculated automatically.

Prerequisites

An event to attach the quote to. It carries the client and the date, and later enables conversion into an invoice.
Your billing details filled in (legal name, VAT number, legal mentions) so the quote is compliant from the very first draft.

Create a quote

A quote always lives inside an event. You create it from the relevant event's page, which guarantees the right client and date are already associated with it.

Open the event, then the Quotes tab. You see the list of quotes already created for this event (often empty at the start).
Click Create quote and give it a meaningful title ("Main quote", "Option 1"). The title helps you tell quotes apart when you offer several packages.
The quote opens empty, ready to receive its lines. At this stage it is a draft: nothing has been sent to the client yet.

Build the body of the quote: add line items

The body of the quote is built line by line. The fastest way is to pull from your catalog rather than re-type everything, so your prices stay consistent from one quote to the next. For each service, you fill in the following information.

Title: the service (room rental, catering, technical setup…).
Quantity and unit price excl. tax, for example the number of guests for a menu.
VAT: the rate applicable to this service (it can vary from one line to another).

Adding a line takes three steps: 1. Click Add a line; an empty line appears. 2. Choose a service from the catalog or type one in by hand. 3. Adjust the quantity and price: the line total recalculates live, and the quote's gross total updates straight away.

Good to know: you can also create a free line for a one-off service that isn't in the catalog (a special transport, a bespoke request) without having to save it permanently among your reference services.

Pull from the catalog

If the event is attached to a space, you can add services straight from its catalog. The benefit is twofold: prices stay consistent from quote to quote, and you save real time since the label, price and VAT fill in automatically on selection.

In practice you avoid typos and price gaps between salespeople. If you adjust a line's price on this particular quote, it does not change the reference price in the catalog: your catalog remains your single source of truth.

Options and discounts

Not every line is necessarily kept by default. Joinways distinguishes included services from those offered as extras, and lets you adjust the final price with a discount.

Mark a line as Option if it is not included in the base total. It shows up to the client as a possible extra, without inflating the displayed price.
Add a discount (amount or percentage) to adjust the final price, for example a loyalty discount or a goodwill gesture.

What the client sees: a clear total on the kept services and, alongside, the priced options they can decide to add. It is an excellent lever to grow the basket without weighing down the main quote.

How the totals are computed

Understanding the maths avoids most surprises. For each line, the net total is the quantity multiplied by the unit price excl. tax. VAT then applies at that line's own rate, which lets you mix different rates (say one rate on catering and another on the rental) within a single quote.

The base total only adds the kept lines: lines marked Option are excluded until the client chooses them. The discount then reduces that total. Finally, the gross is the sum of net and VAT. Everything recalculates live the moment you touch a quantity, a price or a rate.

Multi-day events

For an event spread over several days (a seminar, a wedding with a next-day brunch), attach each line to the day it belongs to. The quote then reads day by day, which helps the client validate each day and helps you organise production.

The overall total stays the sum of all the days: the breakdown is a reading aid, it does not change how the total is computed.

Finalize and send

Once the lines are in place, re-read your quote as the client would: order of services, clear labels, options clearly identified. Then comes sending.

Review your line items, then generate a public link or download the PDF. The public link is the recommended route because it enables online signing.
Send the link to the client: they can review the quote and sign it online, without needing an account.
The quote status then moves to Sent, and to Signed once the signature is collected. The status tells you at a glance where each quote stands.

Keeping quotes consistent

Consistency is what tells a seasoned team apart from one that improvises. Three habits are enough: feed and maintain the catalog, start from catalog services rather than free lines, and name quotes in a uniform way. That way, two salespeople quoting the same type of event land on the same price.

Edge cases

Several quotes for one event: entirely possible and even recommended to offer a standard package and a premium one. The client decides, and the quote they sign becomes the reference.

Different VAT rates on one quote: handled line by line, so mixing catering and rental is no problem. Service not in the catalog: use a free line, it lives only on this quote.

💡 Tip: present 2-3 clear options rather than a single price. It makes the client's decision easier and showcases your services by letting them feel they are composing their own offer.

Best practices

Build your catalog first: a quote comes together twice as fast when the services are ready.
Reserve free lines for genuine one-offs, so you don't dilute the consistency of your prices.
Check your billing details once and for all: a quote that is compliant from the start spares you corrections after sending.
Re-read the quote from the client's point of view before generating the public link.

Troubleshooting

The total looks wrong? Common cause: a line marked Option or an unexpected VAT rate. Fix: check the Option lines (they don't count in the base total) and review the VAT rates line by line.

A service isn't showing in the catalog? Cause: the event isn't attached to a space, or the service hasn't been added to that space's catalog. Fix: attach the event to the right space, or enter a free line in the meantime.

The client doesn't see the right amount? Cause: a mis-entered discount (amount instead of percentage) or a quote sent before the last edit. Fix: correct the discount, then regenerate the public link so it reflects the latest version.

Real-world example

Take a 100-guest wedding. The planner opens the event, creates a "Main quote" and adds the main room from the catalog: the price and VAT fill in by themselves. She then adds the menu, sets the quantity to 100, and the line total jumps instantly.

She marks two lines as Option (DJ and photobooth) so the couple can choose, applies a 5% loyalty discount, re-reads everything, then generates the public link. The quote goes out the same day; a few hours later its status flips to Signed and the event is secured.

FAQ

Can I create several quotes for one event?

Yes. It is even advisable to compare a standard package and a premium one. The client chooses, and the quote they sign is the one that counts.

Does a discount apply before or after VAT?

The discount reduces the base total, then VAT and gross recalculate on the adjusted amount. Everything updates live in the quote.

Does editing a line's price change my catalog?

No. The adjustment stays local to this quote. The catalog's reference price is untouched; your catalog remains your single source of truth.

What happens after the quote is sent?

The status moves to Sent. The client opens the public link and signs online; the status then flips to Signed. See the E-signature article for the detail of this step.

How can I save time on creation?

Start from the catalog, and consider AI-assisted generation (see Generate a quote with AI) to pre-fill the lines from the client's request.