How does a quotation work?
Contract law is simpler here than people expect. A contract is formed by offer and acceptance, and that may take any form. Where a law does impose a written-form requirement, the law puts the electronic route on an equal footing, subject to conditions of reproducibility and of being able to establish the parties and the time.
Exactly those two conditions are the brief for your system. Reproducible means you can still show later what was there. Establishable means you can show who it was and when. A quotation you can still edit after acceptance fails on the first point.
The practical consequence: store the accepted version as a frozen document with a timestamp, and send the same version to the customer too. Two parties with the same document is stronger evidence than one party with a database.
Where is a quotation in the law?
These legal sources come from the specialist dossiers that were reviewed on 24 August 2026. Mind the difference that becomes large in a dispute: a statutory article next to a value is where that value is found, not a justification for how it applies to your situation.
- Article 6:217 of the Dutch Civil Code (BW)a contract is formed by offer and acceptance; no form required
- Article 6:227a of the Dutch Civil Code (BW)puts the electronic route on an equal footing with the written one where a written-form requirement applies, subject to conditions
The links go to the statutory text on wetten.overheid.nl, in the version that applied on 24 September 2026.
What does basestep do with a quotation?
Quotations with a frozen accepted version are planned and are not in yet. The wording basestep will keep to once they arrive is already fixed above: describe the mechanism and do not qualify the outcome.
All calculations, explanations and signals in basestep are calculation support and instruction, not tax or legal advice. Amounts are estimates based on your own input; the Dutch tax authority (Belastingdienst) sets the assessment.
Where does it go wrong with a quotation?
The two mistakes you run into most often in practice with this term, and what they cost you.
Legally valid as a sales argument
The word suggests a test that has not taken place. Describe what happened and what you store; that is stronger and it is true.
Continuing to edit the quotation
If the document still changes after acceptance, you can no longer show what your customer said yes to. Freezing it on acceptance is the whole trick.
Further reading
Three places this term is tied to, inside this glossary and beyond.