FREE PROPOSAL TEMPLATE Your services. Proposed clearly.
An editable service proposal covering services, deliverables, pricing options, timeline, pricing and next steps, with a filled-in example. No email required.
Marlowe & Reed Solicitors needs a managed IT support. Here’s how we understand the goal.
02
Our approach
Onboarding → Steady-state support → Quarterly review → Renewal.
03
Investment
$19,830.00 in total, split across 4 phases.
04
Next steps
Sign to accept, pay the deposit and we’ll book the kickoff.
How to write a service proposal
A good service proposal is about the client, not you. It shows you understand their situation, proposes a specific way forward and makes the price and next step easy to find. Ongoing services are usually priced as a fixed monthly fee per user, device or site, with a one-off onboarding fee and an hourly rate for work outside the agreed service.
Open with their situation, using the words they used on your call.
Make objectives measurable where you can, so success is shared.
Explain your approach by phase — for service providers, typically onboarding, steady-state support, quarterly review, renewal.
Break the price down so the client can trade scope rather than question your rate.
Say what’s not included, such as support outside business hours.
End with one clear next step and a validity date.
The template
Cover
Proposal: [Project name] for [Client]
Prepared by: [Your name, business]
Date: [Date]
Valid until: [Date]
1. Your situation
[In the client’s words: where they are now, what they want to achieve and why now.]
2. Objectives
[Objective, ideally measurable]
[Objective]
[Objective]
3. Our approach
Onboarding: [What happens and what the client sees]
Steady-state support: [What happens and what the client sees]
Quarterly review: [What happens and what the client sees]
Renewal: [What happens and what the client sees]
4. Deliverables
[Onboarding audit and asset register]
[Helpdesk support during business hours]
[Monthly patching and monitoring report]
[Daily backups with a quarterly restore test]
5. Timeline
Phase
Dates
Client input needed
Onboarding
[Dates]
[Input or approval]
Steady-state support
[Dates]
[Input or approval]
Quarterly review
[Dates]
[Input or approval]
Renewal
[Dates]
[Input or approval]
6. Investment
Item
Description
Fee
Onboarding
[Audit of 28 devices and accounts]
[Fee]
Monthly support
[Helpdesk, monitoring and patching]
[Fee]
Backup service
[Daily off-site backups, tested quarterly]
[Fee]
On-site visits
[Beyond the two included each quarter]
[Fee]
Replacement laptop
[Supplied at cost, approved in advance]
[Fee]
Total: [Amount, excluding tax]
Payment schedule: [e.g. 40% to start, 30% at milestone, 30% on completion]
7. Not included
[Support outside business hours]
[Projects such as office moves or migrations]
[Hardware and software licences]
8. What we need from you
[Administrator access to systems and accounts]
[A named contact who can approve changes and purchases]
[Notice of joiners and leavers]
9. Why us
[Two or three sentences and one relevant example or result. Keep it about the client’s problem.]
10. Next steps
[Sign below or reply to accept]
[Pay the deposit]
[Kickoff on date]
Accepted by: [Name, title]
Signature: [Signature]
Date: [Date]
How to fill it in
Write the client’s situation and goals in their own words, from your discovery call.
Turn goals into two or three objectives you can both recognise as success.
Set out your approach by phase and the deliverables at each step, such as “Onboarding audit and asset register”.
Add a timeline that shows where you need the client’s input or approval.
Price the work by item or phase, with a payment schedule.
List exclusions and what you need from the client, then add a clear way to accept.
Use it in Word, Google Docs or PDF
Microsoft Word
Download the Word (.docx) file and open it. If Word opens it in Protected View, select Enable Editing.
Use Find (Ctrl+F or Cmd+F) and search for “[” to jump between the placeholders you need to replace.
Save a clean copy as a Word template (File → Save As → Word Template) so every new document starts from it.
Google Docs
Upload the .docx file to Google Drive.
Right-click it and choose Open with → Google Docs, then File → Save as Google Docs to keep an editable copy.
Use File → Make a copy for each new client so your master stays clean.
PDF
Use Print or save as PDF in the template section above to print just the template, or fill it in Word or Google Docs first and export it (File → Save As → PDF in Word, File → Download → PDF document in Google Docs).
Example: Bluefold IT Services’s proposal for Marlowe & Reed Solicitors
Key sections from a proposal for a managed IT support. Both companies are fictional.
Your situation
Marlowe & Reed Solicitors wants a managed IT support. You told us the priority is getting it right first time, with clear approvals and no surprises on cost.
Our approach
Onboarding: Onboarding audit and asset register
Steady-state support: Helpdesk support during business hours
Quarterly review: Monthly patching and monitoring report
Renewal: Daily backups with a quarterly restore test
Investment
Item
Description
Qty / time
Rate
Amount
Onboarding
Audit of 28 devices and accounts
Fixed fee
$1,400.00
$1,400.00
Monthly support
Helpdesk, monitoring and patching
12 months
$1,250.00
$15,000.00
Backup service
Daily off-site backups, tested quarterly
12 months
$180.00
$2,160.00
On-site visits
Beyond the two included each quarter
4 hours
$95.00
$380.00
Replacement laptop
Supplied at cost, approved in advance
1 item
$890.00
$890.00
Total: $19,830.00 excluding tax
What we need from you
Administrator access to systems and accounts
A named contact who can approve changes and purchases
Notice of joiners and leavers
Proposal mistakes that lose work
Starting with your history. The client cares about their problem first; your credentials belong near the end.
A template that reads like one. Replace every generic sentence with something specific to this client.
Hiding the price. If they can’t find it, they can’t say yes.
Vague deliverables. Specific deliverables make the proposal easier to approve and the project easier to run.
No follow-up. Agree when you’ll check in before you send it.
Angelwood’s proposal software builds proposals and agreements from your own templates, shows when the client has opened them and collects e-signatures, with a countersignature to execute the agreement.
Open with the client’s situation and goal in their own words. For a managed IT support, that means the outcome they want, not the services you sell. It proves you listened before you start selling.
02
Make scope easy to approve.
List deliverables and exclusions plainly. For service providers, the usual disputes start with support outside business hours.
03
One clear next step.
End with how to accept, the deposit and the kickoff date. A proposal that ends with “let us know” waits in an inbox.
What the service includes and excludes, the response times you commit to, how the client contacts you, the setup steps, the monthly fee and what changes it, the minimum term and how either side can end it.
Should I offer pricing options in a service proposal?+
Often, yes. Two or three options (for example essentials, recommended and complete) let the client choose scope rather than haggle over price. Make the recommended option the obvious fit.
How long should a proposal be?+
As short as it can be while still defining the work. For most service projects, three to eight pages is enough. The client should be able to find the scope, price and next step in under a minute.
Should I put the price in a proposal?+
Yes. A proposal without a price can’t be accepted. Present it after the approach and value, broken into items or phases, and consider offering two or three options.
Can I edit this template in Word or Google Docs?+
Yes. Download the Word (.docx) file and open it in Microsoft Word, or upload it to Google Drive and choose Open with → Google Docs. There’s also a Markdown version for any text editor. No account or email address is needed.
How do I save it as a PDF?+
Fill it in, then export it: File → Save As → PDF in Word, or File → Download → PDF document in Google Docs. On this page you can also print just the template or save it as a PDF from your browser’s print dialog.