How long should a quote be valid? Setting a proposal expiration date

An expiration date protects your calendar and your price, and it gives the client a reason to decide. Part of the winning clients hub; for the difference between a quote and an estimate, see estimate vs quote vs proposal.

Recommended validity by project type

What happens legally when a quote expires

A quote that states a price for defined work is usually an offer, and an offer gives the client a power of acceptance (LII Wex, power of acceptance). That power ends when the time stated in the offer runs out; with no date, it ends after a reasonable time, which a court decides from the circumstances. A stated date takes that guesswork away. Before then, you can generally withdraw the offer by telling the client before they accept (LII Wex, offer).

One exception: if you promise to hold the price open and the client gives something for that promise, it can become an option contract that you can't withdraw during the period (LII Wex, option contract). The UCC's "firm offer" rule, which keeps a merchant's signed written offer open for up to three months, applies to sales of goods, not to freelance services (UCC § 2-205). A plain "valid until" line on a services quote is a deadline for the client, not a promise you can't take back.

General information about US contract basics, not legal advice.

Validity clause to copy

This quote is valid until [date, e.g. November 18, 2026]. After that date it expires and prices and availability may change.
Start dates are reserved only once the quote is accepted [and the deposit is received].
[If there are outside costs:] Third-party costs (printing, licenses, travel) are estimates and will be billed at cost on the date they are purchased.

Write a calendar date, not "30 days". "30 days from what?" is the first question a client's finance team will ask, and a date removes it.

Why an expiration date helps you win the work

A quote without a date has no reason to be answered this week. A date gives the client a decision point and gives you a natural reason to follow up ("your quote is valid until Friday; any questions before then?"). It also protects your calendar: when a quote is tied to a start date, you can't hold that slot open forever for a client who hasn't decided. And it protects your price, because your rate next quarter may not be your rate today.

Start date and validity date are different

The validity date is the last day the client can accept. The start date is when you begin, and it depends on your calendar when they accept. Say both, and make clear the start date is only held once the quote is accepted and any deposit is paid: "Valid until November 18. If accepted by then, I can start on December 1."

Re-issuing an expired quote

1. Check whether anything changed: your rate, the scope the client now describes, outside costs and your availability.
2. If nothing changed and the client is ready, re-send the same quote with a new date and a new start date.
3. If something changed, send a new version and say what's different in one line at the top.
4. Don't backdate. A new date means a new offer, and the old one stays expired.

Set an expiration date in SoloWOS

1. In Proposals, fill in the "valid until" date. The proposal stays valid through the end of that day.
2. Send it. The email to the client says when it's valid until.
3. After the date, the proposal shows as Expired, and the client sees a message asking them to contact you instead of an Accept button.
4. To extend it, change the "valid until" date and send it again.

To follow up before the deadline, set an automation on "a proposal is sent" with a wait a few days short of the expiration (for example, 10 days for a 14-day quote) and "only if the proposal still isn't accepted or declined". You can send proposals clients accept online on every plan; Solo includes 20 a month. The guide to sending a proposal clients sign covers the follow-up email.