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Yes. A faxed quote works when each item line is priced, the total is clear, and a validity date tells the customer how long the price holds. A quote is not an invoice, so label it as a quote, state what is included and excluded, and follow up before it expires.
A quote is usually a firm price for a defined scope: these items, this work, this total, valid until this date. An estimate is a best-guess range for work whose final scope is not yet fixed, such as a repair where hidden damage may appear once work starts. Faxed paperwork should say which one it is, in the title itself, because a customer who treats an estimate as a firm quote will feel misled when the final bill differs. If your price could move, write "Estimate" and explain what could change it, in one or two lines. If your price is firm, write "Quote" and give the validity date that makes it firm.
| Field | Quote | Estimate |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Fixed total for the stated scope | Range or approximate total, with reasons it may move |
| Validity | A named expiry date | An expiry date, plus a note that scope changes reprice it |
| Item lines | Each item priced separately | Each item priced, with allowances flagged where unsure |
| Customer action | Sign and return to accept | Approve to proceed, knowing the final total may differ |
Break the job into lines a customer can check one by one: a description in plain words, a quantity, a unit price, and a line total. Avoid lumping distinct work into a single "miscellaneous" line, since a lump sum invites the customer to haggle over the whole job rather than query one line. State what each line includes: materials, labour, delivery, or disposal, as applicable. Equally important, state what is excluded, such as permits, taxes where they are added separately, or work beyond the described scope. Exclusions prevent the most common quote dispute, which is not the price itself but a customer's assumption that something extra was included.
A fax has no automatic expiry, and a paper quote can sit in a drawer for months. Without a validity date, a customer may accept a price long after your costs or availability changed, leaving you to honour a stale price or refuse an acceptance and damage the relationship. A validity date protects both sides: the customer knows how long they have to decide, and you know when the offer lapses. Common validity periods run from a couple of weeks for volatile material prices to a month or more for stable services. Pick a period you can honour, write it as a full date with the month spelled out, and repeat it near the total, not only in small print at the bottom.
Follow up once, before the validity date, with a short check: confirm the quote arrived complete, ask whether any line needs explaining, and note the expiry date again. Do not follow up the same day you fax, unless the job is urgent, since the customer needs time to read and compare. If the customer accepts, ask for a signed copy of the quote back, by fax or another channel, and file it with your confirmation page: that signed copy turns a quote into an agreement. If the customer lets the date pass, the quote has lapsed, and any later acceptance needs a fresh quote or a written extension, not a quiet assumption that the old price still holds.
LetterAgent fax is available in testing for US and Canadian numbers, with a per-fax quote and a page count verified before you approve the total. Note the two uses of the word quote here: LetterAgent gives you a price quote for sending the fax, and your document is the quote you send to your customer. Check both before approving: the fax page count on the service side, and the validity date and totals on your document side.
Ready to fax it? Fax with LetterAgent: describe it to your AI assistant, approve the exact quoted price, and it is sent.
LetterAgent is a working name. Prices include print, postage, and our service fee. US prices in USD, Canadian prices in CAD (Canadian prices exclude applicable sales tax, added at checkout). Currently in private testing.
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