Commercial Proposal

Phase: Pre-sales and initiation | Audience: Client-facing | Project: WEB-2026-01 Corporate Website Development

Understand it first

In simple words: The Commercial Proposal is the price quote. It tells the client how much the project costs, how they will pay, what is included, what is excluded and the terms of the deal.

Think of it like: The second part of the contractor's reply: '₹2.1 lakh total, 30% advance, rest on completion, valid for 30 days, painting not included.'

How it connects to other documents

1. Prices come from the internal Project Budget plus contingency and margin (see lesson 3).
2. The payment milestones drive the Invoice Tracker and Cash Flow.
3. The rate card is used to price every Change Request.

The sample document

Below is the actual document for project WEB-2026-01. Read the purpose first, then go through each numbered section.

Issued by: [Your Company] Technologies Pvt. Ltd.

Purpose: Design, development and launch of a corporate website

Total investment: ₹7,03,870: (including 18% GST)

1. Introduction

Thank you for inviting us to submit a proposal for your new corporate website. This document sets out the scope, fixed price, payment schedule and commercial terms for the project. It should be read together with our technical proposal, which describes the design approach and technology in detail.

We will deliver a fast, mobile-friendly 10-page website built on WordPress, so your marketing team can update pages and publish blog posts without developer help. The site will be live within 10 weeks of project start.

2. Scope of work and deliverables

Pages included: Home, About Us, Services (4 pages), Portfolio, Blog listing, Blog post template and Contact Us.

3. Commercial summary

A. Professional services (fixed price)

B. Third-party licences and hosting (first year, at cost)

These are purchased in your company's name, so you own the domain, hosting account and licences. Renewals from year two are payable directly to the providers.

Total

In words: Rupees Seven Lakh Three Thousand Eight Hundred Seventy only.

4. Payment schedule

Professional services are invoiced against four milestones. Third-party items are invoiced in full with the first milestone so they can be purchased at the start of the project.

5. Project timeline

The timeline starts on receipt of the advance payment and your brand assets. Delays in content or approvals from your side will move the launch date by the same number of days.

6. Optional services and rate card

Not included in the price above. Available on request at the following rates, valid for 12 months from the date of this proposal.

7. Assumptions and exclusions

Assumptions

1. You will provide the logo, brand guidelines, page content and images within the first two weeks.
2. You will nominate one point of contact who can approve designs and give feedback within 3 working days.
3. Two rounds of design revisions are included. Further rounds are charged as per the rate card.
4. Content for up to 10 pages is uploaded by us. Content writing is limited to editing and SEO tags.

Exclusions

1. E-commerce, online payments, user registration or login areas
2. Mobile apps, third-party software integrations (CRM, ERP) other than the contact form
3. Digital marketing, paid advertising or social media management
4. Maintenance after the 14-day support period, unless an annual maintenance contract is signed
5. Renewal of domain, hosting and licences after the first year

8. Terms and conditions

1. Validity. This proposal is valid for 30 days from the date of issue.
2. Taxes. GST is charged at the prevailing rate, currently 18%. Any change in tax rates will apply at the time of invoicing.
3. Payment terms. Invoices are payable within 15 days of issue by bank transfer. Work on the next phase begins after the previous milestone payment is received.
4. Change requests. Any work outside the scope in section 2 will be estimated and agreed in writing before it starts, and billed as per the rate card in section 6.
5. Intellectual property. Ownership of the website design, code and content transfers to you on receipt of full payment. Third-party licences remain subject to the providers' terms.
6. Warranty. We will fix any defects against the approved scope, free of charge, for 14 days after go-live.
7. Confidentiality. Both parties will keep each other's business information confidential.
8. Cancellation. If the project is cancelled, you pay for work completed up to that date and for third-party items already purchased.
9. Jurisdiction. This agreement is governed by the laws of India, subject to the courts of Bengaluru.

9. Acceptance

To accept this proposal, please sign below and return a copy along with your purchase order. On receipt of the advance payment, we will schedule the kickoff meeting within 3 working days.

CP/2026/WEB-001 · R0 · Confidential. Prepared for [Client Name] Pvt. Ltd. and not to be shared with third parties without written consent.

Key takeaways

1. Separate professional services (where we earn margin) from third-party items (passed through at cost).
2. Link payments to milestones the client signs off, so invoices are never disputed.
3. Exclusions and assumptions protect you as much as the price does.

Common mistakes to avoid

1. Forgetting GST or showing it unclearly.
2. Not listing exclusions, so the client assumes extras are free.
3. Asking for too little advance, creating a cash problem later.

Next lesson: 9. Statement of Work (SOW)