"I was asked to submit a quote for my first project, but I don't know what to write." "If I just send the amount, I'm worried they'll say later, 'I thought this was included too.'"—When creating a quote for the first time, the points of confusion are surprisingly common.
In practice, a quote functions as a proposal that says "I will perform work of this scope, under these conditions, for this amount." With just an amount, misunderstandings like the following tend to occur:
- The client thought "revisions can be accommodated any number of times"
- The contractor intended "up to 2 revisions after the initial submission"
- There was a difference in understanding about whether material preparation was included
The format of a quote varies by business. That said, using common items found in most quotes as a foundation can reduce omissions.
- Recipient name, issuer name, quote number, issue date, expiration date
- Subject and work description
- Details (item, quantity, unit price, amount)
- Subtotal, tax treatment (tax-inclusive or tax-exclusive), total
- Delivery date, payment terms, remarks
A quote where it's unclear whether tax is included or excluded tends to be a source of discrepancies in price recognition. If you're unsure about tax treatment, please confirm with a specialist such as a tax accountant.
If you're unsure, write in the remarks section the number of revisions (e.g., "Up to 2 revisions after initial submission are included"), requests outside the scope ("separate quote"), material preparation, and how out-of-pocket expenses are handled. This allows the client and contractor to start work on the same premise.
Under the Freelance Act, ordering businesses that commission work to freelancers are required to clearly indicate transaction terms in writing or by electronic means (such as email) at the time of commissioning. Verbal communication alone is not acceptable. The specified matters include the content of the work, delivery date, amount of compensation, and payment date (which can be confirmed on the Fair Trade Commission's special website https://www.jftc.go.jp/freelancelaw_2026/).
A quote is a proposal from the contractor before ordering, while the indication of transaction terms is what the ordering business shows when commissioning—these are different situations. Developing a habit of comparing written documents or emails received after ordering with the scope, amount, delivery date, and payment terms in the quote can reduce confirmation oversights.
Quotes sent as PDFs via email are also listed as examples of transaction information in electronic transactions in the National Tax Agency's guidance on the Electronic Bookkeeping Preservation Act, and individual business operators are subject to preservation requirements. Details on preservation methods and requirements are provided in the National Tax Agency's guidance (https://www.nta.go.jp/law/joho-zeikaishaku/sonota/jirei/07denshi/01.htm）で最新の内容をご確認ください。
With Crewbook, you can create quotes, proposals, contracts, delivery notes, and invoices for each project. Creating these documents is available from the Free plan (¥0, up to 3 projects).
The full text summarizing the types of items and the relationship with the Freelance Act and Electronic Bookkeeping Preservation Act, with links to official information, is available here.
→ Full explanation article: https://crewbook.jp/blog/first-freelance-estimate
→ Try Crewbook: https://crewbook.jp/?utm_source=tsukutta&utm_medium=article
※This article is information provided by Crewbook. It includes introduction of our own service.
This article is general information provision, and for individual judgments regarding taxes and legal matters, please confirm with specialists such as tax accountants, lawyers, or administrative scriveners. The content of the system is as of the time of creation.
