What a Belgian quote must include, and the purchase order after a deposit

A homeowner in Namur asks for a bathroom quote on a house older than 10 years. You measure, you go home, you answer that night. The price is one line in a text: "€4,200 excl. VAT, I can start in 3 weeks." That is not a quote. And if the homeowner sends you 30% to hold the date, a second document is now required.

The FPS Economy, Belgium’s federal economy ministry, published guidelines for renovation and shell-and-core projects (version of September 28, 2026). They list the required details. Here they are in the order you need them: the quote, the purchase order, what is advised on top, and where each detail is set in SHAPP.

What details must a quote include in Belgium?

A contractor’s quote to a consumer in Belgium must state 5 things (article 17 of the Royal Decree of June 30, 1996): your name or company name, address and company number; the nature and detail of the work and supplies; a fixed price, or a price that can be worked out from clear criteria; the date and how long the quote is valid; and the estimated duration of the work. Once the customer pays a deposit, a purchase order with 8 details is also required (article VI.88 of the Code of Economic Law and article 19 of the Royal Decree).

In Belgium a quote is also called an offre de prix. Same document. The details below come from the FPS Economy pages on quotes and its guidelines on information duties for renovation work, both in French and read on November 12, 2026.

The 5 details of the quote

The guidelines say how detailed the description needs to be. With no architect and no specification, a short description per work item is enough, using the standard materials for that type of work when the customer gave no preference. The FPS adds advice: write down what the price does not include. If the vanity is not in the offer, say so on the quote, not in a text sent next to it.

When is a quote owed, and when can it be charged?

You must give a quote if the consumer asks for one and you are willing to do the work (article 16 of the Royal Decree). A paid quote is allowed on one condition: the customer is told first. Without that notice, the quote is free.

Once the consumer accepts the quote, the contract is formed, according to the guidelines. That is why the validity date matters as much as the price: December 12 sets how long this price holds.

The purchase order, as soon as a deposit is paid

Asking for a deposit is your choice. If you don’t ask for one, there is no purchase order to issue. As soon as a consumer pays one, the purchase order is mandatory (article VI.88 of the Code of Economic Law), except when selling real estate.

The 8 details of the purchase order (article 19 of the Royal Decree):

1. Name or company name, address and company number.
2. The date and the order number of the document.
3. A description that identifies the goods or service without doubt.
4. Unit price, quantity and total price.
5. The deposit amount paid.
6. The amount still due.
7. The delivery date or the date or period the service will be provided.
8. The seller’s signature.

The guidelines state that a quote can serve as the purchase order if it contains all of these. For the Namur bathroom, with 6% VAT and a 30% deposit, the figures for details 5 and 6 are:

A quote that stops at the total incl. VAT has no deposit and no balance, so it can’t serve as a purchase order. A quote that carries both lines, a number, a date, quantities, unit prices, the delivery period and your signature can.

What the FPS Economy advises on top

These points are not in the lists above. The guidelines recommend them, and they head off most end-of-job arguments.

• Payment terms in the offer: the deposit amount and any interim payments.
• Your bank account number, with a line saying payments are only valid on that account, against invoice fraud.
• What is not included, for example a price that assumes the ground is in good condition.
• A revision clause: if something new turns up during the work, the quote can be revised, the schedule extended, or extra work added with both parties' agreement.
• Your general terms, handed over before signing. A link to your website isn’t enough. The customer must clearly accept them, for example by signing next to a "read and approved" line, or by replying to an email that includes the quote and the terms.
• A durable medium: the quote as an emailed PDF, so you can prove what the customer received.

The VAT mention

On a renovation quote, VAT is read line by line. A bathroom in a house older than 10 years can qualify for 6%, while a vanity follows its own rate. Since July 1, 2022, the certificate the customer used to hand over for the reduced rate has been replaced by a mention on the invoice. The conditions for the reduced rate are set out by the FPS Finance.

Where these details are set in SHAPP

You describe the job to Shappy on WhatsApp, as a voice note or a written message. Shappy drafts the quote, you review it, and it goes out. Every detail on the list has a place on the document:

Earlier versions of the quote stay in the history, which helps when the customer asks for a revision. The PDF, the share link and the email from your own address are the durable media the FPS advises. The 3 invoices that follow (deposit, progress, final) are created from the quote, and Peppol e-invoicing is included, as covered in from quote to invoice.

Before you send, read the 5 rows of the first table once more. You can start from a renovation quote template, and quoting software for Belgian builders covers the rest of the checklist. If the quote goes unanswered, see following up an unsigned quote on WhatsApp.

For a specific case (a business customer, a real estate sale, a contract signed away from your premises), the FPS Economy guidelines cover each situation.

To see the Namur bathroom quote in its final format, open quotes on WhatsApp and dictate a job to Shappy.