The short answer
A quote is an offer. An invoice is a demand for payment. One comes before the work, the other after it, and the two documents carry different legal weight, follow different expiry rules, and hit your books in completely different ways.
What is a quote?
A quote, sometimes called a quotation or an estimate, tells a potential client what a job will cost before any work starts. A few things are worth knowing about them:
- It's an offer, not a legal obligation to pay
- It usually carries an expiry date, commonly somewhere between 14 and 30 days
- The client can accept it, decline it, or negotiate it
- It is not a tax invoice, so it cannot be used to claim input VAT
- Once the client accepts it, you have an agreement, so get the acceptance in writing (a reply by email or WhatsApp is enough)
What is an invoice?
An invoice is a formal request for payment, issued after you complete the work or deliver the goods. The client's obligation to pay comes from the agreement you made, and the invoice is your record of what's owed.
- Issued after delivery of goods or services
- States a debt the client has agreed to pay
- Must meet SARS requirements if you're VAT-registered (see our tax invoice checklist)
- Usually recorded as income in your books when you issue it, if you use accrual accounting
- Together with your quote or agreement, is evidence if you ever need to collect an unpaid amount
The correct order: quote, then job, then invoice
Send a quote, get written acceptance, do the work, then invoice. Skipping straight to an invoice, before there's been any agreement on price, is how disputes start. In Invo, an accepted quote converts into an invoice in one click: the line items carry over and the invoice number is generated automatically. Our guide to creating an invoice covers what goes on it, and the features page shows how quoting and invoicing work together.
What about a proforma invoice?
A proforma looks like an invoice but isn't a tax invoice. Businesses use it to request a deposit or pre-payment before work begins, which is common in construction, events, and manufacturing. Mark it "Proforma" clearly so nobody mistakes it for a tax invoice, since it can't be used to claim input VAT.
Quick reference: which one do you need?
- Quote: a client asks "how much?" before any work is agreed
- Invoice: the work is done and you want to get paid
- Proforma invoice: you need a deposit upfront, but the job isn't finished
