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You could be shooting yourself in the foot if you send quotes in Excel or Word.
Published September 2023. Last updated July 2026.
I've been helping two new clients set up automatic quote follow-ups on SalesMotor. One prepares quotes in Word, the other in Excel.
Both of their quote templates were well laid out. They included things like the logo, the business address, small print and so on.
But, there is a problem with emailing quotes in Word or Excel: There is no guarantee that the quote will look like it should.
The recipient's computer opens Word or Excel documents in whatever program they use. It might be Pages, Numbers, Google Docs, Google Sheets, Libre Office or some other software.
These programs are prone to mangling Word and Excel files.
This is especially true for something like a quote because the layout is complex. It has rows and columns, a logo or letterhead and possibly the formulae needed to produce the totals.
There is also another problem. Excel and Word attachments are often blocked or flagged as dangerous or even blocked by email service providers.
That means your carefully prepared quote might never be seen by your potential customer.
The answer is to send your quotes in PDF format.
PDFs generally look the same no matter what program you use to open them. They're also less likely to be flagged by internet service providers.
You can probably export / save a PDF from whatever you use to prepare your quotes. In Word and Excel you can do this from the Save As dialog.
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