How long is a proposal valid? Choosing the date

How long is a proposal valid? As long as the date you write on it says. There is no standard period, so you choose one. For a typical agency or freelance project, two to four weeks is a sensible range. Go shorter when your costs or your calendar move fast. Go longer when the client needs a board or procurement to approve. Set the date so that it falls just after the client's own decision date.

What the validity date does

A validity date, or proposal expiry date, is the last day the client can accept the proposal as written. It does three jobs. It protects your price when your own costs change. It protects your calendar, because a start date you promised in November may be gone by February. And it gives the client a deadline, which turns "we'll look at it" into a decision.

The date belongs on the cover and again on the acceptance page, next to the signature. Getting a proposal signed covers what else that page holds: the client's choices, the totals and the payment schedule. A date that only appears in the small print is easy to miss, for both sides.

It works the same way for a quote. A quote is a fixed price for defined work, and how a proposal differs from a quote and an estimate comes down mostly to how firm that price is. An estimate is a range, so a validity date matters less there. A quote or a proposal is a price you commit to, so it needs one.

Choosing the period: a decision table

There is no right number for every job. What matters is how quickly your price could stop being true, and how long the client honestly needs to decide. Use the table to pick a starting point, then adjust for what the client told you.

Two rules sit on top of the table. First, ask the client when they will decide, and set the date a few working days after that. Second, never set a date so short that it reads as pressure. Two days for a five-figure project tells the client you want the money, not the work.

A dated example, from sending to reissuing

Below is a sample proposal for a fictional client, with made-up amounts and dates. Replace them with your own.

Example

The proposal. A website and booking module for Fernhill Physio, sent on Monday 9 November 2026. On the call, the practice manager said the partners decide at their meeting on Wednesday 2 December. So the proposal is valid for four weeks, until Monday 7 December 2026: three working days after the meeting.

Line	Amount (excl. VAT)
Website design and build	€7,200
Booking software licence, first year, one-off	€1,200
Total	€8,400

The reminder. On Friday 4 December, three days before the date, the client gets a short note that the proposal is valid until Monday.

The date passes. The partners' meeting moves. The practice manager writes on Monday 14 December, ready to sign. The proposal lapsed a week ago. In the meantime the booking software raised its licence price by 10% from 1 December: 10% of €1,200 is €120.

The reissue. Version 2 goes out the same day, valid until Monday 21 December 2026, with the new licence price shown:

Line	Amount (excl. VAT)
Website design and build	€7,200
Booking software licence, first year, one-off	€1,320
Total	€8,520

Without a validity date, the client might expect to sign version 1 at €8,400, and you would be arguing about the €120 instead of booking the kick-off.

The example shows why the date should follow the client's calendar, not a habit. A flat two weeks from the day it was sent would have expired before the partners met, and you would have reissued it for no reason.

It also shows the risk the date protects you from. At my agency, a client once signed a version with our old, cheaper rates: several versions were going round, prices were updated by hand, and the outdated one was the one that got signed. A clear validity date, and a new version with a new date whenever the price changes, closes that gap.

What happens when there is no date

If a proposal has no validity date, the law fills the gap, and it does so differently in each country. Two examples from civil-law countries show the idea.

• The Netherlands. Under article 6:221 of the Dutch Civil Code, a written offer lapses if it is not accepted within a reasonable time, unless the offer itself says otherwise. Under article 6:219, an offer can be withdrawn, unless it contains a period for acceptance. So an offer with a period for acceptance cannot simply be withdrawn before that period ends. Article 6:223 lets you treat a late acceptance as on time, if you tell the client so straight away.
• Germany. Under sections 147 and 148 of the German Civil Code, an offer to someone who is not present can be accepted until the time a reply could normally be expected, and when you set a period, only within that period. Under section 150, a late acceptance counts as a new offer.

The common thread: a stated date replaces a vague "reasonable time" with one everybody can read. What a stated date means for your own offer, and whether you can withdraw it early, depends on the law that applies to it. This is general information, not legal or tax advice. For your situation, ask a lawyer or accountant.

A validity clause and two emails to copy

Template

Validity clause, on the acceptance page This proposal is valid until [date]. After that date we will gladly send an updated version, with prices and a start date checked again.

Variant with a price-review line, when third-party costs are in the price This proposal is valid until [date]. The prices for [licences / hardware / named supplier] follow that supplier's list price; if it changes before you sign, we will send a new version showing the change.

Variant with a reserved start slot This proposal is valid until [date]. If you sign by then, we hold [start week] for the kick-off. After that date we can confirm a start only once we have checked our calendar again.

Reminder email, a few days before the date Subject: [Project]: proposal valid until [day] Hi [name], a short note that our proposal for [project] is valid until [day, date]. If [decision meeting] has moved, let me know and I'll send a version with a new date. If you have a question first, I'm free [two times] for fifteen minutes. [Link]

Reissue email, after the date has passed Subject: [Project]: updated proposal, valid until [new date] Hi [name], our earlier proposal lapsed on [old date], so here is version [number], valid until [new date]. One thing has changed: [line and reason, or "nothing; the prices are the same"]. Everything else is as we discussed. [Link]

Mistakes to avoid

• No date at all. The client can come back months later and expect the old price. Write an exact date, not "valid for a month" with no start point.
• A date in the email but not in the proposal. The proposal is what gets signed. The date belongs on the acceptance page.
• Extending quietly. If the client asks for more time, send a new version with a new date, even when nothing else changes. Then there is only one version that can be signed.
• Reissuing without checking prices. A new date is the moment to check every line. That is the point of having one.
• Treating the date as the end of the conversation. A lapsed proposal is still a lead. The follow-up schedule for a sent proposal has a polite closing email for when you hear nothing by the date.

How Propozit helps

Give a Propozit proposal a valid-until date and the date is enforced in the deck itself. After the valid-until date, the client can still read the proposal but can no longer sign it, so an old price cannot be accepted by accident. Signing in the deck shows how the client signs before the date: drawn or typed, on the agreement slide.

Automatic reminders include one called Valid-until date coming up, on by default and sent three days before the date. You can set it to between 1 and 14 days before under Settings → Reminders. Reminders go out on weekdays between 09:00 and 17:00 in your organisation's timezone, in the proposal's language, and the client can stop them with one click. They stop when the client signs, declines or asks for a change, and when the proposal expires. Send reminders explains the timing and how to turn them off for one proposal.

Propozit is in early access and free to start.