How to send a quote

When you get a new lead, you want to get the client a fair and accurate quote as soon as possible. Remember, many clients reach out to multiple providers and are more likely to accept and book one of the first quotes they receive. Make sure it's yours!

Building quotes

When you send a quote, you are telling that client you are available and ready to be booked. Be sure to cover all your bases when building the quote, as it will also serve as your booking agreement.

Use a saved quote

If you find yourself sending the same quotes over and over, you can create quote templates to choose from so you aren't starting from scratch each time. Any saved quotes you've created will appear in a dropdown at the top of the quote form.

You can choose one saved quote as your default, which will be applied to each lead. The only time your default will not be used is if you've already sent a quote to the client. In that case, the details you previously sent will appear there for editing and resending (see more about resending quotes below). However, you could still choose a different saved quote if you'd like.

Fee and deposit

Your fee is the total cost you are quoting for your services, including both the deposit and the balance payment. It should not be an hourly rate or a partial fee. The client will make the entire payment upfront, and no further payments will be expected from them. Your total fee cannot be lower than $15.
The Deposit you require is the portion of your total fee that you'd like to receive in advance of the event. Note that you can only get deposits in advance after completing your first gig.
Click See service fees to see the amount you and the client will each pay in service fees if they book. Some providers use this information to adjust their pricing to lower the client's total cost.
Click "Add sales tax?" if you'd like to include a tax with your fee. Enter the percentage of tax you want to apply, and we'll do the rest for you.

The client will pay the full amount through GigSalad in order to secure the booking. We will process their payment and send the deposit to you via the payout method you chose. The balance payment will be held until you've completed the gig.

Note: Depending on your membership level, you may encounter limits on the deposit amount you can request. Fret not — we'd be happy to work with you and accommodate special circumstances. Just contact us!

Service details

While this section is technically optional, we recommend always including a brief description of the services you intend to provide for the client. Use this space to outline or clarify the specifics of what you will be offering. We recommend quickly thinking through how you envision the event going and providing a detailed recap of your services for the quote.

This section is especially important for companies/individuals that provide multiple services. Are you a balloon twister, magician, and face painter? Which of those things are you providing? Do you have 3-, 4-, and 5-piece band options? Which one will be performing at this event? This is where you manage expectations to ensure you and your client remain on the same page.

Cancellation policy & additional booking terms

Our default cancellation policy will be displayed unless you're building from a saved quote with a custom policy. You can click (edit policy) if you'd like a different policy for the quote you are building. If you are using a saved quote, changing the cancellation policy for one quote will not change the cancellation policy for that saved template.

If there are more booking terms that the client must meet, click "Add additional booking terms?" to include those with your quote.

When writing your additional booking terms, include any special circumstances the client should consider prior to booking. What happens if it rains? Do you require a covered performance space? Are there specific state or city requirements the client must consider? Remember, your quote will become your agreement if the client accepts it, so ensure everything is covered here.

If you change your mind about adding more terms or don't want to include any saved terms in a new quote, click Remove additional booking terms.

Quote expiration

Finish up by determining an expiration date for your quote.

Because these quotes are bookable, you may not want to keep the date open on your calendar indefinitely. Instead, you can set a deadline for the client to accept or decline your quote. We recommend 7 days, but for closer dates, you may need a shorter window.

If the event is much farther out and it's a bigger event, you may want to hold the date a bit longer and give the client some time to work out the details. In that case, you can select Specify date, and it'll open a calendar for you to choose a custom expiration date.

Once the expiration date passes, the quote will expire and the client will no longer be able to book it. If they reach out to you afterward and you are still available for their date, you can always send a new quote.

Attach files

Do you have an additional rider or song list you'd like to include with your quote? Or perhaps a waiver or some other legal document you need to provide? Want to send photos or audio samples to help sell your service? You can attach PDFs, photos, or MP3 files to your quote for the client to review.

To do this, click "Attach photo, MP3, or PDF file" beside the paperclip icon. This will open your computer files so you can find the one you need. You may send up to 10 files per quote. If, for some reason, you need to send more files, you can attach additional files in a follow-up message after sending the quote.

If you require a specific action to be taken with any of these attachments, such as a signature, be sure to add a note to your Services to be provided or Additional booking terms explaining the purpose of the attached document, as well as if and how they should return it.

Important: If you attach a separate contract for a client to accept and return to you, GigSalad is not responsible for mediating any disputes or honoring any terms outlined in that contract. If any terms in that contract contradict the cancellation policy or additional booking terms included with your GigSalad quote, we will honor only the terms outlined in the GigSalad booking agreement.

Save the quote

If you build a quote you want to reuse, you can save it directly from the quote form. Just check the box and give the quote a private title you can use to identify it later. Once you hit Send, it will automatically add that quote to your list of saved quotes.

Re-sending quotes

New quotes:

If you need to change the quoted price or any of the details in your agreement, you can send a new quote at any time, as long as it has not yet been booked.

To do this, open the lead and click Send a new quote. We'll automatically fill in details from the previous quote you sent to that client. Just make your changes and send it again. Sending a new quote will automatically render the previous quote outdated. The client can only book your most recent quote.

Outdated quotes:

You may notice sometimes that your sent quote is now showing as outdated. This means the client has changed some of their event details. Whenever details change, any open quotes will automatically be rendered outdated and no longer bookable. We do this because oftentimes, changing event details can change your availability or price.

You'll be notified by message when details change, so review the edits and determine whether you can still offer your services. If you can, just click Send a new quote, edit any necessary details from your previous quote, and send.

Expired quotes:

Once the expiration date you've set has passed, the client can no longer book you. At that time, you are no longer obligated to fulfill any proposed services for that event.

However, in some cases, the client may reach out to you again to ask whether you are still available. If you are, return to that lead, click Send a new quote, and your previous quote will already be in place, ready to be re-sent. If anything has changed for you or the client, be sure to update the quote accordingly before sending it.

Canceling quotes

You may cancel a quote you sent at any time, as long as it has not been booked. If you are no longer able or willing to provide the services you've quoted to a client, you should cancel the quote right away before it gets booked.

To cancel a quote:

1: Log in to your control panel and go to your Inbox.
2: Select the quote that needs to be canceled.
3: Scroll to the quote in your thread and click Cancel quote? at the bottom.

If you want to send a new quote for that lead, you may do so at any time, as long as the gig is still available.

Once the client accepts a quote and makes a payment, you are booked and can no longer cancel the quote or gig without repercussions. Learn more about canceling gigs.