How to make a professional quote from a WhatsApp conversation
A customer describes what they need on WhatsApp and waits for a price. How to answer fast, cleanly and without omissions, then invoice the accepted quote.
On WhatsApp, a customer describes what they need in three messages and waits for a price. If you answer “I’ll send you a quote” and then forget, or if it takes you an hour to retype everything into a document, they have already gone to someone else. Here is a simple method to answer quickly, cleanly and without mistakes.
What a good quote contains
- Your identity: name, logo, address, company number (registration, tax number…).
- The customer concerned, the date and a unique number.
- The lines: what you do, the quantity, the price.
- The total, with VAT if it applies, and the currency.
- The validity period and the payment terms (deposit, deadline).
Read the whole conversation before pricing
Needs are often spread across several messages: a quantity at the start, a deadline further down, a detail added later. Before pricing, reread the entire conversation and note every request. A miss costs you later, in discussion or in lost business.
Say clearly what is estimated
If you do not know a price yet, do not let it pass as final: spot it, confirm it, then send. A price corrected after the fact damages trust more than a short delay.
Send a document the customer can accept
A PDF dropped into a conversation gets lost. A link the customer opens on their phone, where they read the details, download the PDF and then accept or ask a question, avoids back-and-forth. Keep a record of the date and the name of the person who accepted.
Turn the accepted quote into an invoice
When the customer says yes, retype nothing: the invoice copies the same lines and the same customer. Then record each payment received (deposit, balance) so you always know what is left to collect.
With Pilot-Biz
On the record of a customer who wrote to you on WhatsApp, “Quote from the conversation” asks the assistant to prepare a draft: the subject, and the lines with the prices quoted in the conversation. Amounts it estimates itself are flagged “to check”. You review, correct and send by email or link. Filling in a quote by hand is free and unlimited; drafting by the assistant is part of Pro, with one free quote and one free invoice to try.