Quote template for software developers
Software estimates are wrong in a predictable direction, so a good quote says what it is based on. List the features in scope, the platforms, the integrations and the assumptions behind the numbers: the client's API is documented, the designs are final, test data exists. When an assumption turns out false, the quote already explains why the price moves.
Decide the model before the price. A fixed quote needs a spec and an acceptance test for each milestone. A time and materials quote needs a rate, a sprint length, an estimate range and a cap or check-in point. Mixing the two, a fixed price on a vague brief, is the usual way a developer ends up working the last month for free.
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What a software developer's quote should spell out
- Billing model: fixed milestones, sprints or hourly, and how change requests are priced.
- Features, platforms and integrations in scope, and an explicit list of what is out.
- Assumptions: designs supplied, API documentation available, test accounts provided.
- How each milestone is accepted, and how long the client has to test it.
- Third-party costs the client carries: hosting, paid APIs, licences, app store fees.
- The bug warranty period after delivery.
Questions software developers ask
How do software developers estimate a project?
Break it into features small enough to estimate in days, add time for testing, review and deployment, then add a buffer for unknowns. Give a range rather than a single number when the spec is thin, and say what would push it to the high end.
Should a software quote include hosting costs?
List them, but usually as the client's cost, not inside your price. Hosting and API bills keep running after you leave, and the client should be the account holder from the start.
What is a change request?
Any request that adds to or changes the agreed scope. In a fixed-price quote, say that change requests are estimated and approved in writing before work starts. It keeps the original price intact and puts every addition on record.
Quote it, then invoice it, without retyping
In OIO a proposal belongs to its client and project. When it's accepted it becomes an invoice draft with the same lines, and the money view shows what is outstanding and what is paid. Free plan, no card.
Start freeAlso for software developers: invoice template and contract template. Quote templates for related trades: web developers, game developers, data analysts, UX designers. Or browse all quote templates.