A quote log template should tell you which offer was sent, its expiry date, the response actually recorded, and the next follow-up. Keep a draft revision separate from the current sent offer.
Record the quote and the revision
Use a Job ID to group the work, a Quote ID and Revision ID to identify the offer, and separate dates for preparation, sending, expiry, and response. Add the currency, sent amount, status, source document, response reference, next follow-up, and invoice reference if one exists.
Preserve the version that went out. If an amount changes afterward, create a new revision rather than silently rewriting the historical row. A printable quote and a running history serve different purposes: one communicates an offer; the other preserves what happened to it.
Four fictional jobs, five distinct revisions
Original fictional example: studio review as of October 13, 2026. All amounts are USD and sample quoted totals, not revenue. Expiry is checked against this supplied review date; the sample marks an offer expired when its expiry date is before that date.
| Job / quote revision | Amount | Sent / expiry | State | Actual response or next action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| J01 / Q01-R1 | $900 | Oct 6 / Oct 20 | Sent | No response recorded; ask about this revision. |
| J01 / Q01-R2 | $1,050 | Not sent / not set | Draft | Proposed extra scope; do not describe it as sent. |
| J02 / Q02-R1 | $600 | Not sent / not set | Draft | Confirm scope before sending. |
| J03 / Q03-R1 | $1,200 | Oct 2 / Oct 16 | Accepted | Fictional acceptance record A03 supplied; invoice reference not supplied. |
| J04 / Q04-R1 | $450 | Oct 1 / Oct 10 | Expired | No acceptance recorded; decide whether a new offer is appropriate. |
There are four jobs and five revision rows. Status totals reconcile to the revisions: two Draft, one Sent, one Accepted, and one Expired. The Sent filter identifies Q01-R1 for follow-up; Q01-R2 must not replace it merely because it has a larger amount.
Do not add all five amounts into a current pipeline total. That would count both revisions of J01. If you need a current-offer view, define one chosen revision per job and show the rule. A history total, a current-offer total, and accepted-offer amounts answer different questions.
Write the follow-up from the historical row
For J01, a usable note is:
Refer to Q01-R1, sent October 6 for $900 and valid through October 20 in the sample. Ask whether the client has questions about that offer. Q01-R2 is an unsent draft containing additional scope; discuss it separately before issuing it.
For J04, the passing expiry date supports an Expired status under this log's rule. It does not prove the client declined. For J03, keep the acceptance reference attached, but do not label $1,200 collected or invoiced when those records have not been supplied.
Before sending a revision, compare the scope and amount with the historical version and preserve the new sent document reference. Update response status only from an actual response through your established process. Viewing a page is not a recorded acceptance event in this log.
Create a version-aware quote log
Prepare a quote log in US English for my existing spreadsheet or CRM.
Review date and expiry-date convention: [enter]
Currency and amount definition: [enter]
Records: [paste job ID, quote/revision ID, amount, sent date, expiry,
status, source document, actual response reference, invoice reference]
Rule for choosing the current offer per job: [enter or TO CONFIRM]
Maintained register location: [enter]
Keep sent amounts and terms frozen in historical rows. Preserve separate
revision identities, including unsent drafts. Flag duplicate quote/revision
keys. Reconcile status counts to displayed revision records and distinguish
job counts from revision counts. Do not sum historical revisions as a current
pipeline. If the current-offer rule is absent, leave that total uncalculated.
Do not invent customer replies, sent dates, acceptance, invoices, or revenue.
Expiry is not rejection; a page view is not acceptance. Use NOT SUPPLIED for
missing evidence. Write next-follow-up notes referring to exact sent versions.
Return the log and follow-up queue as text. If requested, add a sanitized
HTML reading copy with status filters and revision details. Do not add
automatic reminders, CRM sync, publishing, or inferred customer decisions.
Check that each follow-up points to the offer the client actually received. Keep the unsent revision out of that message unless you intend to discuss a new proposal. Record the reply in the maintained register with its reference so the next person can see why the status changed.
Optional: inspect a sanitized quote history in NOS
NOS can save and display an HTML history review for comparing a sent revision with its draft successor. Keep the actual offers, responses, and invoice references in the maintained spreadsheet or CRM. The reading copy is a review aid, not a record of acceptance or payment.