Every sale starts long before the invoice. A client asks "how much would this cost?", you prepare a price, they think about it, maybe negotiate, and only then do they say yes. That first document — the quote, known in Spain as a presupuesto — is one of the most important sales tools your business has. Yet many freelancers still send prices in a plain email, or worse, issue a draft invoice and hope the client accepts it.

This guide explains what a quote really is, why it must never be confused with an invoice, and how Facturi lets you manage the entire journey — from draft to acceptance to a fully compliant invoice — in one click.

What is a quote (presupuesto)?

A quote is a formal price offer: a document that describes the products or services you propose to deliver, at what price, under what conditions, and for how long the offer stands. It is a pre-contractual document. When the client accepts it, it becomes the basis of your agreement — but it is not a request for payment.

A professional quote should include:

  • A unique quote number (in Facturi: PRE-2026-0001, numbered separately from invoices)
  • Your business details and the client's details
  • Line items with quantity, unit price, applicable VAT rate, and any discounts
  • Totals — subtotal, tax, and, for Spanish B2B work, IRPF withholding where it applies
  • A validity date ("valid until") so prices cannot be claimed months later
  • Terms and notes — delivery conditions, payment terms, exclusions

Quote vs. invoice: why the difference matters

The two documents look similar but are legally very different:

  • An invoice is a tax document. It creates VAT obligations, enters your accounting, and — for Spanish businesses under VeriFactu (Real Decreto 1007/2023) — becomes part of a tamper-proof chain reported to the AEAT. It cannot simply be deleted if the client changes their mind.
  • A quote has no fiscal validity. No VAT is due, nothing is reported to the tax authority, and you can edit, replace, or discard it freely while negotiating.

This is exactly why you should never use draft invoices as price offers. If the client negotiates three times, you end up with cancelled invoices polluting your records. With quotes, negotiation is free: edit as many times as needed, and only the final accepted version ever becomes an invoice.

The quote lifecycle in Facturi

Facturi tracks every presupuesto through a clear status flow:

  • Draft — you are still working on it
  • Sent — emailed to the client with a professional PDF attached (the status updates automatically when you send it)
  • Accepted / Rejected — one click records the client's decision, with a timestamp
  • Expired — automatically flagged when the validity date passes without acceptance
  • Converted — the quote became an invoice and is locked from further editing

Quotes support everything your invoices do: your logo and branding, multiple currencies, seven languages with optional AI translation of line descriptions, per-line VAT and discounts, and IRPF withholding for Spanish clients — so the numbers the client approves are exactly the numbers that will appear on the invoice.

From accepted quote to invoice in one click

The moment your client says yes, press "Convert to Invoice". Facturi creates a real invoice with:

  • All line items, quantities, prices, taxes, and discounts copied exactly
  • A proper sequential invoice number from your own series (not the quote number)
  • The tamper-proof hash chain updated, and the VeriFactu fingerprint prepared automatically if your organisation has it enabled
  • A permanent link between both documents — the quote shows which invoice it became, and the audit log records who converted it and when

No retyping, no copy-paste errors, no risk of the invoice differing from what the client approved. The converted quote is locked, so your records always reflect exactly what was agreed.

Best practices for quotes that win work

  • Always set a validity date. 15 or 30 days is common. It protects you from price changes and gives the client a gentle deadline.
  • Be specific in line descriptions. Vague quotes invite scope creep; detailed ones set expectations.
  • State what is excluded in the terms — travel, licenses, third-party costs.
  • Follow up before expiry. The status view shows you every quote still sitting in "Sent".
  • Duplicate instead of rewriting. For similar jobs, duplicate a past quote and adjust — Facturi assigns a fresh number automatically.

Start quoting professionally today

The Quotes module is included in Facturi alongside invoicing, CRM, expenses, and payroll. Create your first presupuesto in under a minute, send it with one click, and when the client accepts — convert it. From first price to paid invoice, everything stays in one place.