Proposals guides

The Proposals blog

Practical guides for small businesses and home service firms. Written by Garrett Truman, CPA and Travis Sutphin.

Quote vs Estimate vs Proposal: What to Send a Customer

A quote is a fixed price, an estimate is a guess, a proposal is the scope plus the price. Here's which to send, and how a signed one becomes an invoice.

Travis Sutphin · Oct 15, 2026 · 8 min read

Three documents fanned on a work table — a short slip, a ruled page and a blue proposal card with a check mark — beside a pencil and tape measure, representing the difference between a quote, an estimate and a proposal