Proposal template
A business proposal explains how your company would solve one client's problem: what you heard from them, what you'll do and hand over, who will do it, by when, and what it will cost. This free Word template is laid out for services firms such as agencies, consultancies, IT providers and contractors, and runs from the client's objectives to a signed next step.
Running a company of 30 to 200 people? Documents like this are now worth money.
Send a proposal when the work still needs shaping and the client is weighing up approaches, or weighing you up against other firms. Once the scope is settled, the price for that defined job can go on a quote.
What's in the template
Proposal
| Prepared for | Client organisation and the person who will decide |
|---|---|
| Prepared by | Your company and the proposal lead |
| Reference | e.g. PR-2026-031 |
| Date | |
| Valid until | e.g. 60 days from the date above |
| Version | 1.0 |
1. Summary
Half a page for the person who signs: their goal, what you propose, the result they can expect, the price and the decision you're asking for. Write it last.
2. Your situation and objectives
Show you listened. Use the client's own words and figures from your conversations.
| What you told us | What it costs you now | What success looks like |
|---|---|---|
3. Our approach
| Phase | What we'll do | What you'll receive |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Discovery | ||
| 2. | ||
| 3. | ||
| 4. |
4. Scope
| Included | Not included |
|---|---|
5. Timeline
| Milestone | Target date | Depends on |
|---|---|---|
| Kick-off meeting | Signed agreement | |
| Handover |
6. Your team
| Name and role | Responsible for | Relevant experience |
|---|---|---|
7. Why us
- Similar work for similar clients, with a case study or a reference they can call
- What we'll do differently, and why it matters to this client
- How we'll keep you informed: named contact, reports and meetings
8. Investment
| Option | What it includes | Price (excl. VAT) | Payment schedule |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | |||
| B (recommended) | |||
| Ongoing support (optional) |
Say what the price covers, what would change it, and how extra work will be agreed and charged.
9. Assumptions and what we need from you
- Information, access or people the client must provide, and by when
- Assumptions behind the price and the timeline
- The terms of business that will apply
10. Next steps
- Client chooses an option
- We send the agreement for signature
- Purchase order raised, if the client uses them
- Kick-off meeting booked
Acceptance
| Option chosen | |
|---|---|
| Accepted for the client by | Name and job title |
| Signature | |
| Date |
How to write a proposal that wins the work
- Qualify before you write. A good proposal can take days. First find out who decides, roughly what they expect to spend, when they want to start and who else they're talking to. If the client won't say, a short letter and another meeting may be a better use of the time.
- Hold a discovery conversation and note the client's own words: what isn't working, what it costs them, what they've tried and what a good result would look like. Section 2 is built from these notes.
- Set the approach out as phases, each ending in something the client receives, such as a signed-off design, a working system or a trained team, rather than a list of your activities.
- Draw the scope line on both sides. Listing what's excluded matters as much as listing what's included; it heads off "we assumed that was part of it" three months in.
- Offer two or three priced options, usually a core version and a fuller one, so the client's question becomes which option suits them rather than yes or no.
- Write the summary last and put it first. The person who signs may read nothing else, so it has to carry the goal, your recommendation, the price and the next step.
- Agree when you'll talk it through before you send it. Walking the client through the proposal on a call beats emailing it and waiting for a reply.
Proposal or quote?
| Proposal | Quote | |
|---|---|---|
| Its job | Persuades the client to choose your approach | Prices a job that's already defined |
| Use it when | The scope is still open and the client is comparing options or firms | The client knows what they want and needs the price |
| Contains | Objectives, approach, scope, timeline, team and price options | Line items, quantities, discounts, VAT, a validity date and terms |
| Usual format | A Word document of a few pages | A one-page priced sheet |
Many firms use both: a proposal to win the decision, then a quote or a contract for the option the client picks. If a buyer has issued a formal invitation to tender, answer its questions in its order and format instead, and borrow this structure only where the buyer leaves you free.
Example: a fictional digital agency's proposal
A fictional 35-person digital agency is proposing a new website to a 150-person builders' merchant with six branches. Its summary reads: "Trade customers phone or visit a branch to check stock and order, which ties up counter staff and loses orders that arrive after 5pm. We propose a website with your full catalogue, live stock by branch and ordering on trade accounts, live in 16 weeks."
| Option | Includes | Price (excl. VAT) |
|---|---|---|
| A | Website, 18,000-product catalogue, branch stock checker and quote requests | £38,000 |
| B (recommended) | Option A plus trade accounts, online ordering and customer-specific prices | £56,000 |
| Support | Hosting, security updates and up to six hours of changes a month | £1,150 a month |
Timeline: discovery workshop in weeks 1 and 2, designs signed off by week 6, build and catalogue import to week 13, testing with ten trade customers in weeks 14 and 15, launch in week 16. Payment: 30% at kick-off, 40% at design sign-off and 30% at launch. Not included: product photography, writing product descriptions and advertising after launch. Assumes: the merchant supplies a product spreadsheet and a nightly stock and price file, and names one person who can approve designs within three working days.
Common mistakes
- Opening with your company history. The client's problem belongs on page one; your credentials, and a case study from a similar client, belong in "Why us".
- One take-it-or-leave-it price with no breakdown and no options.
- A scope two people could read differently, such as "website redesign" with no page count, no rounds of changes and no word on who writes the content.
- Hidden assumptions. If the price depends on the client supplying data on time, say so in section 9.
- Recycled text with another client's name still in it. Read the final version end to end before it goes.
- No validity date and no next step, so the proposal drifts until the client forgets it.
Frequently asked questions
How long should a business proposal be?
Long enough to support the decision and no longer. For a single piece of work, three to six pages is usually plenty; complex work needs more detail, but the one-page summary should still make sense on its own.
Should the price go in the proposal?
Yes. Nobody can approve a proposal without knowing what it costs, and leaving the price out only delays the conversation. Show each option with what it includes, and say clearly whether VAT is extra.
What's the difference between a proposal and a tender response?
A tender response answers a buyer's formal invitation in the buyer's format, usually scored against criteria the buyer publishes. A proposal is your own document, so you choose the structure and can shape the scope with the client as you go.