# Day 4: Write professional quotes, proposals and emails

Produce a reviewed quote outline and covering email from supplied facts.

Turn rough notes into clear business writing. You control the prices, scope, terms and final approval.

## Steps

1. Separate facts from gaps

List confirmed scope, itemised prices and approved terms. Separately list unresolved dates, tax treatment and other missing facts.

2. Ask for an internal draft

Use the prompt to request scope, exclusions, amount breakdown, missing items and a short covering email.

3. Verify every amount

Use a calculator or trusted accounting system. Confirm the VAT treatment and payable total before any customer use; do not rely on an AI calculation.

4. Check scope and promises

Compare line by line with your notes. Resolve missing terms and dates. Do not let an AI draft add work or legal commitments.

5. Save a checked template

Shorten the email without changing facts. Save the reviewed structure. Appropriate professional advice may be needed for tax, contracts or regulated work.

## Understand the method

We're using a fictional garden-maintenance job. The notes say: remove weeds from two stated beds, clear agreed cuttings, and tidy the edge of one path. The supplied labour amount is one hundred and eighty pounds. Materials are sixty-five pounds. Anything outside that scope needs agreement. The VAT treatment hasn't been confirmed, so our draft must clearly flag it.

Open an ordinary chat and paste your business brief, then the job notes. Put the agreed facts in a separate block from questions you still need to answer. For example, disposal arrangements, the start date and the tax treatment may be unresolved. Keeping those gaps visible is much better than allowing polished text to hide them.

Today's prompt asks for a quote outline, a covering email and a check-before-sending list. It says to use only the supplied prices and to preserve the scope. It also says not to invent contractual terms, add work or describe unconfirmed dates as agreed. We want a draft someone can review carefully.

When the result comes back, check the arithmetic independently. One hundred and eighty plus sixty-five is two hundred and forty-five pounds before any unconfirmed tax treatment. Our illustrative outline labels that amount as a pre-tax subtotal, and leaves the final payable total unresolved. Don't send a quote with missing VAT treatment or other essential terms.

Check the scope line by line. Has the draft quietly included the whole garden when the notes mention two beds? Has it promised disposal when that hasn't been agreed? Does it sound like a fixed commitment to a date you haven't checked? Correct those details. Strong formatting can make a wrong quote look convincing, so read the substance first.

Now review the covering email. It should explain what is attached, invite questions and state the next step accurately. If there are unresolved facts, keep it as an internal draft. Ask the assistant to shorten the wording without changing the amounts, scope or agreed conditions. Then compare the shortened version with your source notes.

The same method works for a proposal. Supply the problem, the work you can actually deliver, the agreed assumptions and the price basis. Ask for a clear structure and flag gaps. For contracts, tax questions or regulated work, use appropriate professional guidance; the AI draft isn't a substitute for getting those decisions right.

## Copy-and-use prompt

```text
Turn the supplied business notes into an INTERNAL DRAFT quote outline and covering email.
BUSINESS BRIEF: [paste]
JOB / PROPOSAL NOTES: [exact scope, supplied prices and agreed facts]
CONFIRMED TERMS: [only terms already approved by the owner]
UNKNOWN ITEMS: [dates, disposal, VAT treatment, payment terms or other gaps]
OUTPUT: 1) Scope and exclusions. 2) Itemised supplied amounts and arithmetic. 3) Unknown items requiring confirmation. 4) Covering email under 120 words. 5) Check-before-sending list.
Do not invent prices, discounts, work, qualifications, contract terms or guarantees. Do not change supplied figures. Do not provide a final payable total if VAT/tax treatment is unknown; show a clearly labelled pre-tax subtotal and flag the gap. Keep unconfirmed dates unconfirmed. Use UK English. Draft only. State assumptions visibly and ask me to resolve them before customer use.
```

## Illustrative example

Moss & Co Gardens — fictional quote exercise

Input:
Labour £180; materials £65. Scope: remove weeds from two specified beds, clear agreed cuttings, tidy edge of one path. Date, disposal details and VAT treatment unconfirmed.

Illustrative draft (not a recorded software result):
INTERNAL DRAFT. Scope: the two specified beds, agreed cuttings and one path edge only. Labour £180 + materials £65 = £245 pre-tax subtotal. VAT treatment and final payable total: owner to confirm. Start date and disposal arrangement: owner to confirm. Additional work requires prior agreement. Do not send until these items are resolved.

## Your task

Create an internal quote outline and covering email, independently check figures, compare the scope with your notes and resolve essential gaps before customer use.

## Check before completion

- Supplied figures match the source notes.
- Arithmetic has been checked independently.
- Scope and exclusions are explicit.
- Tax treatment, dates and terms are confirmed before sending.
- No new guarantees or contractual commitments have been invented.

## Watch out for

- An attractive quote can still contain wrong arithmetic.
- AI may add work or terms you did not agree.
- Unknown VAT treatment means the final payable total is unresolved.
- Use suitable professional guidance for legal, tax or regulated decisions.

Ordinary tool link: https://chatgpt.com/