How to test free proposal software for UK quoting

What to take away

Free proposal software can suit a business that sends a few quotes a month and works alone, especially if it is not VAT registered.
Check whether the free plan caps users, documents or templates, and whether VAT handling or your own branding is restricted to paid tiers.
Test mixed-rate VAT, your own logo and colours, and the support route before you commit.
Compare the paid tier's stated cost with the admin time it could save once written quotes become your main route to work.

What to check in a free tier

Free tiers vary, so check the plan details for limits on users, templates and monthly documents. See whether the template library covers the documents you send and whether the limits fit your workload.

What free tiers include

One user seat only
Monthly cap on quotes sent
Small template library, limited styling
Basic trackingviewed marker, accept button
No revision history for clients

This is most relevant to a sole trader sending two or three quotes a month. It matters when a second person needs access, or when a client asks for a revision history you cannot produce.

Why VAT is the first thing to test

If you are VAT registered, your quotes must show tax properly. Rates change, so the tool has to let you set them rather than bake them in. HMRC's guide to VAT rates on different goods and services lists which goods and services take which rate of VAT and which are exempt or outside the scope of VAT, so check the rate for each line you quote there.

VAT test before you rely on it

Free tier

Tax rates: One rate only
VAT number: Often missing
Mixed-rate quote: Fails
Rounding: Can be a penny out

Paid tier

Tax rates: Multiple rates
VAT number: Shown on document
Mixed-rate quote: Holds both lines
Rounding: Totals correct

The Value Added Tax Act 1994 is the main UK VAT statute. VAT Regulations 1995, regulation 14, specifies particulars required on VAT invoices. HMRC's VAT Notice 700 covers VAT invoices, while VAT Notice 700/21 covers VAT record-keeping. Check whether the plan lets you show your VAT number and itemise VAT correctly, and whether its calculations and exports are reliable.

Test with a mixed-rate quote before you rely on the tool. If it cannot hold a standard-rated line and a zero-rated line on the same document, it will not carry you past registration.

Branding and the client's first impression

Check whether a free plan puts the provider's name on client-facing documents or excludes your own branding. For a business that relies on referrals, consider how that will look to clients.

Check what you can change: letterhead, colours, terms and payment details. Check the export as well. A PDF holds its layout; an editable file can reach the client looking nothing like the version you approved. When weighing up a PDF and an editable file, compare how each handles layout, revisions and client changes.

Support, limits and hidden ceilings

Check what support a free plan includes, such as a help centre or email, and how quickly you can reach someone if a time-sensitive quote will not send.

Providers move features between tiers. A template editor that was free last year can sit behind a paywall this year, and older documents may open as read-only until you upgrade.

Where free tiers usually stop

VAT: One rate, no VAT number field
Users: One seat
Branding: Provider logo on documents
Export: PDF only
Support: Email, working hours
Data: No export of client records

Question to ask

VAT: Can I set the rate and show my number?
Users: Can a colleague send a quote without my login?
Branding: Can I remove it and add mine?
Export: Can the client edit or sign it?
Support: What happens at 5pm on a Friday?
Data: Can I take my data elsewhere?

A test you can run in one sitting

Start with a shortlist of two or three tools. Dedicated proposal tools such as PandaDoc, Proposify and Better Proposals, and accounting or invoicing tools that also produce quotes, such as Zoho Invoice, Xero and QuickBooks, are the usual candidates. Plans change, and some offer an ongoing free tier while others offer only a time-limited trial, so read the current plan page on each provider's own website before you sign up, and note which kind of free you are getting.

Build a quote with one standard-rated line and one zero-rated line, and check that each line shows its own rate and the totals add up.
Add your VAT registration number and business address to the document settings, and confirm both appear on the quote the client receives.
Upload your logo and colours, then look at the sent document for any provider logo or footer you cannot remove.
Export the quote as a PDF and open it on a phone; then try the editable or online version and note what a client can change.
Invite a second person, or note the point at which the plan asks you to upgrade to add one.
Send a question to support and record how and when the answer arrives.
Export your client list and past quotes, and check that the file opens in a spreadsheet.

Write the result of each check next to the plan name and the date. If you compare two free plans, run the same quote through both.

When free is enough, and when it is not

Free tiers suit a narrow set of businesses. Work through this list before you decide.

When free is enough

You send a handful of quotes a month and prepare every one yourself.
You are not VAT registered, or every quote uses the same rate.
Clients accept a PDF by email and do not ask for an online signature.
You are content with the provider's branding and its export options.

If any of those breaks, price the paid tier against the time you spend rebuilding documents by hand. Trades that quote on site have their own needs, and quoting software for tradespeople is judged on different features.

Common questions

Is free proposal software really free?

The plan terms should say whether it is an ongoing free tier or a time-limited trial. Check for caps on users or documents and whether client-facing documents carry provider branding.

Can I use a free plan once I am VAT registered?

Yes, if the tool handles tax properly. Check that you can set more than one rate, show your VAT number and export the records your accountant needs.

What breaks first on a free plan?

The first issue depends on your workload and the plan terms. Check document limits and branding, then confirm what support is available when a quote has to go out.

Do I need paid proposal software as a sole trader?

Not automatically. Stay on free while one person sends the quotes and clients accept a PDF, then move up when volume or VAT work makes the limits costly.