Stale Quote
A stale quote is one that has passed its validity date and has not been marked won, lost, or re-quoted. Left open, it inflates your pipeline and makes your workload look bigger than it is.
What it means
A quote does not need an answer to stop being current — it only needs to reach its own expiry date. Once that date passes with no decision, the quote is stale whether or not the client ever replies.
The fix is closing it out, not chasing it forever. Mark it lost if you know the outcome, or mark it expired if you genuinely do not, and take it off your open <a href="/glossary/pipeline/">pipeline</a>. A client who comes back later gets a fresh quote at your current price, not the old number honored out of habit.
A quote sent eight weeks ago, valid for three, has had no reply. It is a stale quote — closing it out drops your pipeline total by its amount and stops it flattering your workload on paper.
Leaving an old, unanswered quote sitting in the pipeline indefinitely instead of closing it out, so the total looks healthier than the work actually coming in.
See also
Where this shows up
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- guide How to price a job so the number holds up The quote only works if the number underneath it does. Start with the price, then write it up.
- tool Free Quote & Estimate Generator Fill in your business and client details, add line items — mark anything optional — set a deposit, and watch a clean quote build itself. Turn it into an invoice with one click.
- tool Quote & invoice terms builder Tick the clauses that fit the job, fill in your numbers once, and get a plain-English terms block you can copy, print, or send straight into the quote generator.