The message says: "Hi, need a website for my business. How much?" You do not want to lose the enquiry, so you type a number. Two days later the reply comes. Their budget is half. Or there is no reply at all.
If this is your first freelance quote, that number was a guess, and nearly everyone's first one is. The fix is not a better guess. It is a short list of questions to ask a client before quoting, sent before you name any price.
What to ask a client before quoting
Before you quote, ask nine things: what exactly is needed and by when, who decides, the budget range, where the work will be used, what the client will supply, whether they deduct TDS, whether they need a GST invoice, how they pay, and whether an advance is fine. The answers give you the scope lines for the quote. They also tell you which enquiries were never going to pay.
The questions, ready to paste
Copy this into WhatsApp. It works whether you build websites, write, edit video or design.
Thanks for getting in touch. A few quick questions so I can send you an accurate quote:
What exactly do you need, and by what date?
Who will approve the work and give feedback?
What budget range do you have in mind?
Where will this be used?
What will you provide from your side (content, logins, references)?
Will you be deducting TDS on the payment?
Do you need a GST invoice?
How do you usually pay, and how soon after the invoice?
I take an advance before starting. Is that fine?
Once I have these, I will send the quote the same day.
A serious client answers these in five minutes. If they prefer a call, ask the questions there, then send the answers back to them in writing so both of you have the same version.
Why each question matters, and the warning sign
1. What exactly do you need, and by what date?
Why it matters: "a website" can be 3 pages or 30. "A video" can be a short reel or a 30-minute film. You cannot price what you cannot count.
Warning sign: "You tell me, you are the expert" combined with "I need it by Friday". Vague scope plus a tight date is the most expensive combination there is.
2. Who will approve the work and give feedback?
Why it matters: one person giving feedback is a project. Four people giving feedback is four projects.
Warning sign: "I will show it to a few people and get back." Or the person messaging you is not the person who decides.
3. What budget range do you have in mind?
Why it matters: it saves both of you a wasted week. If the range is far below what the work takes, you find out now.
Warning sign: "Just give your best price." It is not always a bad sign, since many clients truly do not know. But if they refuse to give any range after you ask twice, expect bargaining after the quote.
4. Where will this be used?
Why it matters: a logo for one shop and a logo for a franchise are different jobs. So are an article for a blog and copy for a paid ad, or code for an internal tool and code the client will resell.
Warning sign: "Everywhere" or "we will see". Write down the use you quoted for.
5. What will you provide from your side?
Why it matters: waiting for text, photos, footage, brand files or hosting logins is a common reason projects run late. If you are writing the content or sourcing the images, that is extra work with its own price.
Warning sign: "You can take it from Google" or "we will send it later".
6. Will you be deducting TDS?
Why it matters: business clients may deduct tax at source from your fee before paying, and 10% on professional fees is the figure most often quoted. If that applies, the amount reaching your account is lower than your invoice. The deducted part is meant to show up as a tax credit against your PAN. Rules and rates change, so confirm with a CA. I go through the follow-up questions in what to ask a client about TDS before invoicing.
Warning sign: "We will see at payment time." You want this known before you invoice, not discovered in your bank statement.
7. Do you need a GST invoice?
Why it matters: if you are not registered for GST, you should not charge it or issue a GST invoice, and some companies prefer registered vendors. If you are registered, GST goes on top of your fee, so say whether your price is before or after it. A CA can tell you whether you need to register.
Warning sign: the client learns you are not registered only after the work is done.
8. How do you usually pay, and how soon?
Why it matters: UPI on the same day and a bank transfer 45 days after the invoice are very different jobs to take on.
Warning sign: "We pay when our client pays us." Your payment now depends on someone you have never met. I wrote a separate post on pay-when-paid terms.
9. Is an advance fine?
Why it matters: the reaction to this question tells you more than any other answer on the list.
Warning sign: "We never pay advance, trust me." A large company with a formal vendor process is one thing. A small client who refuses any advance and wants you to start today is another. Here is what to say when a client refuses an advance.
One warning sign is information. Three is a pattern.
Turn the answers into a quote
You now have everything except the number. I am not going to give you rate tables here. If you are a designer and want reference points, I wrote about pricing design work in India. For everyone else, the method is the same.
Write the scope lines first. Take the answer to question 1 and break it into lines you can count. "Website" becomes "5 pages: Home, About, Services, Gallery, Contact". "Articles" becomes "4 articles of 1,000 words each". "Reel" becomes "1 edit, 45 to 60 seconds, from footage you supply". Put what is not included underneath, using the answers to questions 4 and 5, and say how many rounds of changes the price covers. I wrote up how to word a revision limit separately.
Estimate, then quote a round number. Work out the days each line takes you, add time for feedback, and arrive at a figure. Then round it. ₹23,750 invites bargaining over ₹750. ₹24,000 or ₹25,000 does not.
Put a validity date on it. A quote with no end date can come back three months later, when you are busy and your costs have changed. Pick a date and print it. I have written more on quotation validity and how to follow up before it lapses.
State the advance. You asked in question 9, so the quote should repeat it: how much, and that work starts once it arrives.
Also say whether the price is before GST, and that the client has told you they will deduct TDS, if they have. The full list of fields is in my post on the quotation format for freelancers.
Send it as a document, not a chat message
A price typed into a chat is easy to argue with and easy to lose. A dated quote with line items is neither.
I built Riffit, and there is a free quotation generator on the site. You fill in the line items and the validity date and download the PDF. No signup is needed to download it, and the PDF carries a small "Created with Riffit" badge.
If you want the client to accept the quote on record, that happens inside Riffit. You build the quotation on the dashboard, the client opens a link and accepts in one tap or requests changes. Quotations are unlimited on both plans, Free included. On Free, each new person you quote is added as a client, and Free allows 5. It will not tell you what to charge. That part is still yours.
Turn your answers into a quotation with line items and a validity date. Download the PDF without signing up.Open the free quotation generatorWhen they say the budget is half
It will happen, even after you ask question 3. Do not cut the price and keep the work the same. That tells the client your first number was padding. Change the scope instead.
Offer a smaller version
Thanks for telling me. I cannot do the full scope at ₹20,000, but I can do a smaller version: 3 pages in place of 5, and you supply the text. If that works, I will send an updated quote today.
Ask what matters most
Understood. Which parts matter most to you right now? I can quote for those first, and we can do the rest later as a second phase.
Decline without closing the door
I understand. I would not be able to do this well at that budget, so I will step back. If the budget changes, or you need a smaller piece done, message me any time.
Each reply keeps your price per piece of work the same, so the client chooses between less work for less money and the full work at the full price.
Some enquiries end at this point, and ten minutes of questions is a cheap way to find out. The alternative is ten days on a project that was never going to pay what it cost you.
FAQ
Ask nine things: what exactly is needed and by when, who approves the work, the budget range, where the work will be used, what the client will supply, whether they will deduct TDS, whether they need a GST invoice, how and when they pay, and whether an advance is fine. The answers become the scope lines and terms of your quote.
Ask for a range, not a number, and say why. A line such as: what budget range do you have in mind, so I can suggest the right scope, works well. If the client has no idea, offer two options at different sizes and ask which is closer.
Reduce the scope, not the price. Offer a smaller version that fits their budget, or ask which parts matter most and quote for those first. Cutting the price for the same work tells the client the first quote was padded.
Yes. If you are not registered for GST, you should not charge it or issue a GST invoice, and some companies prefer registered vendors, so it is better to know early. If you are registered, say whether your price is before or after GST. A CA can tell you whether your income means you need to register.
Yes. Riffit has a free quotation generator at riffit.in. You add line items and a validity date and download the PDF with no signup. Inside Riffit, quotations are unlimited on both plans and the client can accept in one tap.