Draft proposals and quotes without promising what you can’t deliver
Version 1.1 · Kramaniti Kosh
Intended outcome
A draft proposal or quote put together only from scope notes the client has agreed and your own rate card, with every price, discount, timeline, claim and commercial term checked and approved by a named person before anything goes to the client.
Before you begin
- Written scope notes from the client conversation, agreed by whoever ran it
- Your current rate card and standard terms, kept as the only place prices come from
- A named person who approves prices, discounts, dates, claims and terms before a proposal is sent
How to use
- Fill in the brief with the person who usually ends up rewriting proposals. Write down the scope notes, rate card and terms the assistant may use, and name the reviewer.
- Try it on one or two past proposals first, on paper or in a chat assistant. Compare the draft with what was actually sent and note anything it guessed, left out or promised too early.
- Only after that test, use it on the next live enquiry. Nothing goes to the client until the named reviewer has gone through the review list and recorded a decision.
Working template
Role
Prepare a draft proposal or quote for [client or enquiry name] from the approved scope notes and our rate card only. The draft is for internal review. Do not send it, share it or tell the client when it will arrive. Mark anything you cannot trace to an approved input as a blank for the named reviewer.
What the draft may use
Only these inputs. If something is not here, leave a visible blank.
- Scope notes: what the client asked for, what we agreed to do, what is out of scope, and any questions still open
- Rate card: our current prices, units (per month, per hour, per project) and what each price includes
- Standard terms: payment terms, validity period of the quote, what happens when scope changes, and anything we never offer
- Approved wording: past proposal sections or descriptions of our work that the reviewer has already signed off
- Named owners: who ran the client conversation and who reviews the draft
What the assistant may do
- Turn the scope notes into a clear list of what is included and what is not
- Price each line from the rate card, showing which rate card entry it came from
- Flag scope items that have no matching rate, and rate card items that do not fit the scope
- Point out vague wording (for example “full support” or “quick turnaround”) and ask what it means
- Draft covering text using only approved wording about the firm
What the assistant may not do
- Invent a price, discount, bundle rate or payment term that is not in the rate card or standard terms
- Promise a start date, delivery date or response time that nobody has agreed
- Describe results, experience, credentials or past clients that are not in the approved wording
- Soften or remove out-of-scope items to make the quote look cheaper
- Send the draft, or tell the client a proposal is coming on a particular day
Review list for the named person
Every draft comes with this list. The reviewer checks each line before the proposal can go out.
- Prices: each figure, its rate card source, and any line priced without a source
- Discounts and special rates: what was offered, by whom, and whether it is allowed
- Timelines: every date or turnaround promised, and who confirmed the team can meet it
- Claims: any statement about our experience, results or quality, and where it is supported
- Commercial terms: payment terms, validity, change rules, and anything that differs from our standard terms
- Scope boundary: what is in, what is out, and any open question that could change the price
Always hand to a human
- A scope item with no matching price
- Any discount, free work, bundle or price below the rate card
- A deadline the client has asked for that nobody has confirmed
- Legal, tax, contract, data or liability questions
- A client who is unhappy, in a hurry or comparing us with a competitor
- Anything the assistant is unsure it has understood
Goes to: [Name the reviewer] for prices, discounts, terms and claims. Goes to: [Name the person who ran the conversation] for missing or unclear scope.
Review record
Draft prepared on:
Reviewed by:
Decision: approve as is, approve with changes, return for revision, or do not send
Changes made by the reviewer:
Date approved to send:
Test before live use
Run at least these past cases: a clean quote where scope and rates match, a quote where the client asked for a discount, and one where a deadline was mentioned but never confirmed. Expected behaviour: the first produces a complete draft with a short review list, the second and third hold the discount and the date as blanks for the named reviewer. Record the result before going live.
Demonstration
This is an illustrative scenario, not a client case study or a measured result. Do not reuse its details as facts about your work.
A sample four-person chartered accountancy practice in Bengaluru quotes monthly bookkeeping and GST compliance packages for small businesses. One partner meets prospects and then rewrites every proposal the team drafts, because drafts tend to mix up packages or promise filing dates nobody checked.
Sample inputs
Demonstration inputs only. Sample rate card, made-up figures for illustration, not real fees: monthly bookkeeping up to 100 transactions at ₹10,000 per month; monthly GST return filing at ₹5,000 per month; extra transactions priced on request. Sample standard terms: fees billed monthly in advance, quote valid for 30 days. Scope notes from the partner’s meeting: a small retail shop wants monthly bookkeeping and GST filing, has about 150 transactions a month, and is moving off its old accountant. The prospect asked for “10% off for the first year” and wants the first GST return filed “this month”. Neither was agreed in the meeting.
Example output
Draft scope
Included: monthly bookkeeping, monthly GST return filing.
Not in the scope notes, so left out: annual accounts, income tax filing and payroll.
Open question: moving records over from the previous accountant, which is not in the scope notes.
Draft pricing
Bookkeeping: ₹10,000 per month (sample rate card, up to 100 transactions).
GST filing: ₹5,000 per month (sample rate card).
Extra transactions: [blank] because the rate card says priced on request, and the shop has about 150 a month.
Review list
Prices: two lines priced from the sample rate card; one line without a source.
Discount: the 10% first-year request is not in the rate card or terms, so it is held for the reviewer.
Timeline: “first return this month” was asked for but not confirmed, so the draft gives no filing date.
Claims: none beyond approved wording.
Terms: standard monthly billing and 30-day validity.
Always hand to a human
[Recommendation] Send the discount request, the extra transaction price and the first filing date to the reviewing partner. This recommendation is not approval to change the price or promise a date.
Review record
Decision: pending. Reviewer: [Name]. Date approved to send: [Complete after review].
Quality check
Every price traces to a rate card entry; every scope line traces to an agreed note; anything without a source is a visible blank; discounts, dates, claims and terms appear on the review list; the named reviewer has recorded a decision before the client sees the proposal.
Limits and human review
This brief prepares a draft for review. It does not connect to your email, accounting or proposal software by itself, and it cannot decide what to charge, confirm your team has capacity, or check that a term is legally or tax correct. A draft is not approval to send. Keep pricing, contract and compliance decisions with the named human owner.
Edition notes
New in Kosh at version 1.1. Provider-neutral Markdown instructions; no installation or platform compatibility is implied. Runtime behaviour has not been verified across AI providers. Reuse terms have not yet been published. Background reading: Route the Claim Before You Polish the Message. Building a drafting and review route like this into the way your firm works, with people in charge, is Kramaniti’s Systems Engineering work.