A quotation is not an invoice — treat it like a real document
A quotation (or estimate) is the offer: scope, rates, validity, and often GST as a preview. An invoice is the request to pay after work is agreed or delivered. Mixing them in one Word file is how agencies lose version control — last week’s quote gets “invoice” typed on top, the number stays Q-014, and nobody can tell what was accepted.
CraftDocs keeps quotations as their own document type, next to estimates and proforma invoices. You pick the type up front, apply the same brand kit you use on GST invoices, and the status flow can move from Draft to Sent without pretending the quote is already billed.
Convert an accepted quote instead of retyping it
The expensive part of quoting in India is not the PDF. It is doing the work twice: quote in WhatsApp, then a GST invoice in Excel with the same line items, HSN, and tax. CraftDocs is built so a quotation can convert into an invoice — client, catalog items, and branding travel with it.
That is the difference between a quotation maker and a full studio. You still send a polished estimate today. You do not start from a blank tax invoice tomorrow.
- Quotation, estimate, and proforma as first-class types
- Reuse clients and HSN-ready products from your catalog
- Convert quote → invoice when the work is approved
- Share the quote as a link, WhatsApp, or email — then invoice the same way
How Indian teams actually send quotes
Most quotes in India do not go out as a formal portal login. They go out on WhatsApp. CraftDocs gives you a public share page and WhatsApp deep links so the PDF is not trapped in your downloads folder. The client opens the quote, you follow up in the same thread, then you convert and send the GST invoice when they confirm.
Brand kit, stamp, and signature apply to quotations the same way they apply to invoices, so the quote does not look like a different company from the bill that follows.
When to use this page vs a GST invoice generator
Use quotation software when the client has not approved price or scope yet. Use a GST invoice generator when you need a tax invoice with HSN and CGST/SGST or IGST. Many CraftDocs users do both in the same workspace — quote first, invoice after — which is why these are linked pages instead of one generic “documents” article.