Don't Leave Your Pricing Open-Ended

Material costs fluctuate, labour rates change, and your availability shifts. A proposal with no expiry date is a liability—if a client accepts weeks or months after you sent it, you may be locked into prices that no longer reflect your costs. Validity dates protect your margins and set professional expectations from the start.

QuickEstimate makes it simple to set, display, and enforce proposal validity periods. You can apply a default validity window across all proposals or customise it job by job. When a proposal expires, it's automatically locked—clients can no longer accept it without you issuing a revised version.

Step-by-Step: Setting Your Validity Period

Follow these five steps to configure proposal validity and expiry dates so every proposal you send is clearly time-limited and professionally presented.

Set a Default Validity Period

Start by configuring your default validity window in your account settings. This will apply automatically to every new proposal you generate, saving you from setting it manually each time.

Go to Settings → Proposal Defaults in your QuickEstimate account
Find the "Default Validity Period" field and enter your preferred number of days
Common choices are 14, 30, or 60 days depending on your trade and market conditions
Save your changes—this will apply to all proposals created from this point forward
Existing sent proposals are not affected by changes to the default setting

💡 Tip: 30 days is the most common validity period for trades and construction proposals—long enough for clients to decide, short enough to protect your pricing.

You can override the default on any individual proposal during the generation step without changing your account-wide setting.

Customise the Validity Period Per Proposal

Some jobs warrant a shorter or longer window than your default. QuickEstimate lets you adjust the validity period for each individual proposal before you send it.

When generating a proposal, locate the "Proposal Validity" field in the settings panel
Enter a custom number of days or select a preset from the dropdown (7, 14, 30, 60, 90 days)
The expiry date is calculated automatically based on the issue date and your chosen period
For urgent bids or volatile material costs, shorten to 7–14 days to protect your pricing
For long-lead commercial projects, a 60–90 day window may be more appropriate

💡 Example: If a proposal is issued on 1 June with a 30-day validity, the expiry date displayed to the client will be 1 July.

The exact expiry date is always shown clearly on the proposal cover page and in the terms section so clients know precisely when the pricing lapses.

Display the Expiry Date to the Client

Transparency builds trust. QuickEstimate prominently displays the proposal expiry date so clients understand the timeline without needing to ask.

The expiry date appears automatically on the proposal cover page beneath the issue date
It is also referenced in the terms and conditions section of the proposal
For shareable link proposals, a countdown banner shows the remaining days at the top of the page
The client-facing wording is professional and clear: "This proposal is valid until [date]"
You can customise the validity wording in Settings → Proposal Defaults → Validity Message

💡 Example validity statement: "This proposal is valid for 30 days from the date of issue. Pricing is subject to change after this date due to material cost fluctuations."

Manage Expiry Notifications & Reminders

QuickEstimate can alert both you and your client as the expiry date approaches, helping prompt a decision before the window closes.

Enable client reminder emails to be sent automatically 3–5 days before expiry
Receive your own dashboard notification when a proposal is approaching its expiry date
Set a follow-up task reminder to call or email the client before the deadline passes
Reminder settings can be toggled on or off globally in Settings → Notifications
You can also trigger a manual reminder email at any time from the proposal detail view

💡 Tip: A friendly reminder email 3 days before expiry—such as "Your proposal expires on Friday—let us know if you have any questions"—significantly increases acceptance rates.

All automated reminder emails are sent from your business name and email address, maintaining a consistent, professional communication experience for the client.

Handle Expired Proposals & Issue Revised Versions

When a proposal passes its expiry date, QuickEstimate locks it automatically. If a client wants to proceed after expiry, you issue a revised proposal—protecting you from honoring outdated pricing.

Expired proposals are marked with an "Expired" status badge on your dashboard
The client-facing shareable link displays an expiry notice and prevents digital acceptance
To reactivate, click "Duplicate & Revise" on the expired proposal to create a new version
Update any pricing, dates, or terms as needed before sending the revised proposal
The client receives the new proposal with a fresh validity period and updated pricing

💡 Tip: When issuing a revised proposal, include a brief note explaining any price changes—transparency here builds goodwill rather than friction.

Expired proposals are retained in your dashboard history for your records. You can view, download, or reference them at any time even after they have lapsed.

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How Proposal Validity Works in QuickEstimate

Understanding the full lifecycle of a validity period helps you manage proposals with confidence:

Validity period begins on the proposal issue date, not the date the client opens it
The expiry date is displayed on the cover page, in the terms section, and on the shareable link view
Automated reminder emails are sent to the client 3–5 days before the proposal expires
On the expiry date, the proposal is locked—clients can no longer accept digitally
You are notified when a proposal expires without a response so you can decide whether to follow up
Expired proposals can be duplicated and revised into a new active proposal with updated pricing

Setting clear validity periods is one of the simplest ways to maintain pricing integrity and close jobs faster.

Pro Tips for Managing Proposal Validity

A well-managed validity period does more than protect your margins—it drives faster decisions and keeps your pipeline moving.

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30 Days Is the Sweet Spot

Most clients need one to two weeks to decide. A 30-day window gives them room to think while still creating enough urgency to prevent indefinite delay.

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Shorten for Volatile Materials

If you're quoting on jobs with materials subject to price swings—timber, steel, copper—use a 7–14 day validity to avoid being caught out by supplier price increases.

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Always Enable Expiry Reminders

Automated reminder emails do the chasing for you. Clients who receive a polite expiry reminder are significantly more likely to respond before the deadline than those who don't.

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Reference Validity in Your Cover Message

Mentioning the expiry date in your personalised cover note—not just the terms—makes it feel like a genuine business reality rather than fine print most clients skip.

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Revise, Don't Re-Create

Use the "Duplicate & Revise" function on expired proposals to save time. Your branding, scope, and structure carry over—you only need to update what has changed.

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Save Your Default and Forget It

Set your standard validity period once in Proposal Defaults and let QuickEstimate apply it automatically. Only override it when a specific job genuinely requires a different window.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens to the proposal when it expires?

Once the expiry date passes, the proposal is automatically locked. Its status on your dashboard changes to "Expired" and the client-facing shareable link displays an expiry notice, preventing digital acceptance. You are notified so you can decide whether to follow up and issue a revised version.

Can I extend the validity period after a proposal has already been sent?

Once a proposal has been sent, you cannot directly edit its validity period. To extend it, use the "Duplicate & Revise" option to create a new version with an updated expiry date, then send the revised proposal to the client. This keeps a clean audit trail of what was sent and when.

Will the client be notified automatically when their proposal is about to expire?

Yes, if you have expiry reminder notifications enabled in Settings → Notifications. An automated reminder email is sent to the client 3–5 days before the expiry date. You can also send a manual reminder at any time from the proposal detail view, regardless of the automated setting.

Can a client still accept a proposal after it has expired?

No. Once a proposal expires, digital acceptance via the shareable link is disabled to protect you from being held to outdated pricing. If a client wishes to proceed after expiry, you need to issue a revised proposal with updated pricing and a new validity period.

Are expired proposals deleted from my account?

No. Expired proposals are retained in your dashboard history indefinitely. They are clearly labelled with an "Expired" status badge so they are easy to identify, and you can view, download, or duplicate them at any time for reference or revision purposes.

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Setting Proposal Validity and Expiry Dates