If a quote was accepted, identify the later event said to change it. A version mismatch or disputed variation needs a precise response.
Corporate Recovery Partners
01 / 06
Two quote versions are being treated as one
An air-conditioning installer has an email approving office equipment. When invoiced, the customer produces an earlier quote that excluded an additional unit. The installer knows it received approval, but the parties now refer to different documents. Linking the acceptance to its attachment is more useful than simply repeating that the price was agreed.
Gather every version, its attachments and the response accepting it. Compare identifiers, dates and scope. A message saying proceed may only make sense alongside the conversation and document to which it replies.
Business.gov.au explains that acceptance of a quote creates a contract. Establish which version was accepted rather than selecting whichever copy best matches the final invoice.
Check for conditions concerning scope, timing or another person's approval. If the customer altered a term while agreeing, have its effect assessed. Do not crop a response to its most convenient sentence.
Record the sender's role and any relevant authority question. Treat authority and document version as separate issues so each can be investigated clearly.
List additions, omissions and substitutions after acceptance, with the corresponding approval evidence. Connect each price difference to a particular event. An agreed original quote does not prove consent to every extra.
Business.gov.au recommends documenting variations and checking relevant state rules for construction. Preserve supporting records where a change was discussed verbally rather than rewriting the original quote retrospectively.
Prepare a short comparison of accepted scope, delivered scope and challenged amount. Ask the customer to identify the term it rejects. Supply the records relevant to that point instead of burying it in a sales archive.
If the evidence does not resolve the issue, obtain contract and dispute advice. Improve version labels and approval records for the next quotation so an obsolete copy cannot quietly re-enter the process.
