How do you stop a price quotation going out with expired prices?

This answer covers business-to-business quotes for chemical products built from price lists, past quotes and supplier offers. It is not legal advice; contract rules differ by jurisdiction, and the CISG applies to sales of goods between parties whose places of business are in different Contracting States, or where private international law leads to a Contracting State's law, unless the parties exclude it (CISG, Articles 1 and 6, 1980); domestic sales follow national law.

What does each price quotation value need before you send it?

Each price quotation value needs three things before you send it: the document it came from, the date that document was valid, and a judgment that the date is still inside its validity. That applies to every line that a buyer can accept or hold you to: unit price, lead time, payment terms and delivery terms, plus any exchange rate or surcharge the price assumes.

Under the CISG, a reply that changes the price, payment, or the place and time of delivery materially alters an offer (CISG, Article 19(3), 1980). Price, payment, delivery place and delivery time are therefore terms of the deal rather than estimates, and a stale value in any of them is a commitment you may not be able to keep.

A unit price copied from last quarter's quote can be correct for that quote and wrong today, because the principal's price list behind it has a new edition or the freight offer behind the delivered price has lapsed. Treat the as-of date as part of the value. A number without one is unconfirmed, whatever it says.

How do you keep expired prices out of a price quotation, step by step?

You keep expired prices out of a price quotation by checking, before the quote leaves, that every value has a source and an as-of date inside its validity, in five steps:

1. Source each value. Name the document behind the unit price, lead time, payment terms and delivery terms: price list edition, past quote number, freight offer or written confirmation from the person who owns the value.

2. Record its as-of date. Write the date the source was valid, not the date you copied it. A 2026-07-01 price list copied on 2026-10-20 is as of 2026-07-01 (illustrative).

3. Set a calendar expiry. Write the expiry as a calendar date, no later than the earliest expiry among the sources you do not control, such as the principal's price validity or the freight offer.

4. Recheck old values. Any value whose source has expired, or will expire before the quote's own expiry date, goes back to its owner for a current figure.

5. Flag unconfirmed ones. A value that is missing, or that its owner has not confirmed in time, appears on the quote as unconfirmed, with the date it will be confirmed by, instead of a guessed number.

Run step 4 again when a quote is reissued, because a reissue resets the expiry but not the sources behind it.

Where do the prices and lead times in a price quotation come from?

The prices and lead times in a price quotation come from documents other than the quote itself: the principal's or manufacturer's price list, past quotes to the same customer, freight and insurance offers, exchange rates, and stock or production confirmations for lead time. In chemical distribution, a distributor quotes a principal's product, so most values arrive second-hand and carry the validity of the document they came from.

Each source ages on its own schedule. A principal's price list may hold for a quarter, a freight offer for a few weeks and a stock confirmation for a day (illustrative). Zigaflow advises setting a quote's period "from the shortest cost you do not control", and gives the example that if a supplier holds its price for 30 days, a 90-day quote leaves the seller carrying two months of price movement (Zigaflow, 2026).

Past quotes are the riskiest source because they look like an answer. A past quote is a record of what was offered on a date, built from sources that have since aged, so it can show which source to check but cannot replace the check. Lead time is the value most often taken from memory; treat a lead time without a dated confirmation from stock or production as unconfirmed.

How do you record a source and as-of date for each quotation value?

You record a source and as-of date for each quotation value by keeping one line per value in the quote file, with four fields: the value, the document it came from, the date that document was valid, and the date it expires or must be rechecked. The record stays with the quote; the customer sees the values and the quote's expiry date.

The table below shows the record for one quote line. Every value and date in it is illustrative.

In this record the unit price row has already failed: its recheck date of 2026-09-30 is before a quote sent on 2026-10-21, so the price goes back to the principal before the quote can leave (illustrative). The same record shows that the quote's own expiry can be no later than 2026-10-31, the freight offer's recheck date (illustrative). Zigaflow adds that where goods are bought in one currency and sold in another, the quote should state the exchange rate the price assumes and the date it was taken (Zigaflow, 2026).

How do you set the validity period of a price quotation?

You set the validity period of a price quotation by taking the earliest expiry among the costs you do not control, subtracting the time between the customer's acceptance and your own purchase order to the supplier, and writing the result as a calendar date (Zigaflow, 2026). Zigaflow recommends a calendar date over "valid for 30 days", because a duration leaves the start date open to argument (Zigaflow, 2026).

The law where you sell gives the reason. Under the CISG, a period for acceptance fixed in a letter runs from the date shown on the letter; one fixed by telephone, telex or other means of instantaneous communication runs from the moment the offer reaches the offeree (CISG, Article 20(1), 1980). Official holidays and non-business days inside the period count toward it, unless the last day falls on an official holiday or non-business day at the offeror's place of business, so that an acceptance cannot be delivered there, which extends the period to the next business day (CISG, Article 20(2), 1980). A calendar date removes that calculation.

A validity period is also a commitment. Under the CISG, an offer that states a fixed time for acceptance can be irrevocable for that time (CISG, Article 16(2)(a), 1980). In the United States, under UCC § 2-205, a merchant's signed written offer that assures it will be held open cannot be revoked for lack of consideration during the time stated, but that irrevocability never lasts more than three months (Uniform Commercial Code, § 2-205). Zigaflow notes that in English law a quotation is an offer that can be revoked before acceptance (Zigaflow, 2026). In each case, a validity date longer than your sources makes you hold prices you no longer have.

What should a quotation show when a price or lead time is unconfirmed?

A quotation should show an unconfirmed price or lead time as unconfirmed, in words, with the date by which it will be confirmed, rather than a number that looks final. For example: "Lead time: to be confirmed by 2026-10-24" (illustrative). A guessed number is worse than a blank, because the customer can accept it, and the CISG lists price and time of delivery among the terms that materially alter an offer (CISG, Article 19(3), 1980).

The value then goes to its owner. The person who owns a price is the one who can commit to it, such as the principal's sales contact for list price, the forwarder for freight and the warehouse or production planner for lead time. Ask for the figure with its validity date, so the answer can go straight into the record with a source and an as-of date.

Some values cannot wait. If the customer needs a firm number to place an order, send the quote with the unconfirmed line marked, or hold the quote until the owner answers; do not fill the gap from a past quote.

Lubinpla's quote drafting attaches to each price, lead time, payment term and delivery term the record it came from, such as the customer's price list, a past quote or a work log, with its as-of date, and leaves a missing or old value marked unconfirmed for its owner to settle; it does not calculate prices.

How do you check a price quotation before it goes out?

You check a price quotation before it goes out by testing every line against the record of sources and dates, row by row, and stopping the quote at the first failed row. The table below decides whether each price, lead time, payment and delivery term is current enough to send.

The unit price row fails most often, because a price list edition changes without anyone touching the quote template. If any row fails, fix that line and run the whole table again before the quote leaves.

Run the check on the send date, not the drafting date, because a quote drafted on one day and sent three days later can cross a source expiry in between (illustrative). Keep the completed table with the quote record, so a later question about what was offered, when and on what basis can be answered from the file.