How to accept a quote by email or in writing
You've compared the quotes and picked one. Accepting it properly takes five minutes: use the method the quote asks for, name exactly what you are accepting, and confirm the next steps — deposit and start date — in the same message. Here is how, with wording you can copy.
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- 1Check it's the right versionLatest revision, still within its “valid until” date, and the total you expect.
- 2Accept the way the quote asksSignature, reply or Accept button — whatever the quote or the covering email says.
- 3Confirm deposit and startSay when you'll pay any deposit and which start date you'd like, and ask them to confirm.
Updated 27 October 2026 · Written by Joe Farwick, who runs this site
The usual ways to accept
Sign the quote's acceptance section: when the quote ends with “Accepted by” and a signature line, sign and date it and send the PDF back.
Reply by email: common with small trades. Name the quote number and total so there is no doubt which offer you mean.
Click Accept on an online quote: quotes sent from accounting or job software often arrive as a link with an Accept button.
Add an acceptance page: if the quote has no signature line, a one-page acceptance with the key figures, signed, does the same job.
Use the method the quote asks for
Read the last page and the covering email. Many quotes say how to accept: “sign and return”, “reply to confirm”, or “click Accept”. Following that instruction removes any argument about whether you accepted. Contract law makes the same point: Cornell Law School's legal encyclopedia explains that acceptance should be communicated in a way the person making the offer authorised, requested or could reasonably expect.
If the quote asks for a signature, sign the PDF — in the signer on this site or any other — and reply with the signed file attached. If it came as a link from software such as Xero, the customer simply opens the link and clicks Accept, which updates the quote's status in the business's system. If it says nothing, a clear email reply is the usual route, and a signed PDF attached to it is even better.
What an acceptance email should say
Keep it short, but make it specific enough that a stranger could tell which offer you accepted. Include the quote number and date, the job and the address, the total exactly as quoted (with or without tax), that you accept on the terms of the quote, how you'll handle the deposit, and when you'd like to start.
Subject: Acceptance of quote Q-2026-114 — rear roof, 12 Elm Street.
“Hi Sam, thank you for quote Q-2026-114 dated 12 September 2026 for replacing the rear roof at 12 Elm Street. I accept it at the quoted total of $4,250.00 plus sales tax, on the terms in the quote. The signed quote is attached. I'll pay the 10% deposit of $425.00 when I receive your invoice. We'd like work to start in the week of 14 October — please confirm a date. Best regards, Maria Lopez, 555-0134.”
Send it in reply to the email that carried the quote, so the whole exchange stays in one thread, and keep a copy.
Quotes sent by text or given on the spot
A thumbs-up on a text message may well count — acceptance can be express or shown by conduct — but it is weak evidence of what you agreed to. If the quote came by text or verbally, reply in writing with the figures from the example above, or ask for the quote as a PDF and sign it. If there is nowhere to sign, the free acceptance-page builder adds a page with the quote number, total, deposit and start date for you to sign.
Don't accept with a “but”
“I accept, but for $3,800” or “I accept, without the gutters” is not an acceptance. A reply that materially changes the terms is a counteroffer, and a counteroffer counts as a rejection of the original offer — the business is then free to walk away or re-price. If you want changes, ask first: “Before I accept, could you revise the quote to remove the gutters?” Then accept the revised quote.
Choosing between options the quote itself offers is different. If it lists option A and option B, accept one by name: “I accept option B, composite decking, at $9,120 including tax.”
After you've accepted
Expect a confirmation, a deposit invoice and a start date. Pay the deposit only against an invoice that names the quote, and if the bank details differ from those you've used before, check them by phone on a number you already have. File the quote, your acceptance and the confirmation together; when the job changes, each change should come as a separate change order for you to sign.
Accepting a quote: questions
- Is replying “yes” by email enough?
- Often, yes, unless the quote asks for a signature. Make the reply specific — quote number, total, deposit, start — so it can't be read as agreeing to a different version.
- How do I accept a quote sent from Xero?
- Open the link in the email, check the quote, and click Accept. You can add a comment, for example your preferred start date.
- Can I accept a quote after it has expired?
- You can try, but the business doesn't have to honour the old price. Ask them to confirm it or re-issue the quote with a new date, then accept that.
- What does it cost to accept a quote with this site?
- Replying by email and building an acceptance page are free. If the business wants the quote signed, you can place your signature here for free; downloading the signed PDF needs a plan at €2.99 per month or €24.99 per year, and if you cancel, the plan keeps working until the paid month or year is up.
Choose the PDF the contractor sent, put your signature and the date on the acceptance line, and download the signed copy to reply with.
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Accepting in three steps
Check, accept, confirm what happens next.
- 1
Check it's the right version
Latest revision, still within its “valid until” date, and the total you expect.
- 2
Accept the way the quote asks
Signature, reply or Accept button — whatever the quote or the covering email says.
- 3
Confirm deposit and start
Say when you'll pay any deposit and which start date you'd like, and ask them to confirm.
Does the quote need your signature?
Open the PDF above, sign and date the acceptance line, and attach it to your reply.
Sign the quote