Quoting an e-commerce project means distinguishing between the set-up costs and the recurring costs of running the store. The client needs to understand how much it costs to build the online store — design, development, catalogue, payment gateway, logistics setup — and how much it will cost to run it monthly: hosting, maintenance, security updates, technical support and any per-transaction fees from the chosen platform.
The platform choice (Shopify, WooCommerce, PrestaShop, Magento) determines both the initial budget and the operating costs. A professional proposal should compare the viable options for the client's business, stating the advantages and limitations of each based on the number of products, target markets and the team's technical capacity. Detailing the necessary integrations — ERP, CRM, marketplaces, email marketing — avoids budget surprises during development.
DealForge lets e-commerce agencies and freelancers create proposals with project phases (design, development, catalogue upload, testing, launch), delivery milestones and a clear separation of initial vs. recurring costs. The client approves the proposal with electronic signature and both parties have a reference document with the exact project scope.