Offering team building to companies, from quote to invoice

A company emails to ask whether you can run a workshop for eighteen colleagues in December. Send a quote within a few days with one price for the group, what it includes, a valid-until date and a reference to your terms. After they agree, one invoice goes to the company and the names of the participants can follow later.

What goes into a quote for a team outing?

Everything the contact person needs to get approval inside the company. The Dutch Chamber of Commerce (KVK) names two things that always belong in it: exactly what you deliver and how long the quote is valid. For team building, add these:

• the date and start time, or a preferred date when the date is still open;
• the number of participants the price covers and what an extra person costs;
• what the price includes, such as the instructor, materials, coffee or lunch;
• the amount with VAT, per part when parts carry different rates;
• when and how the company pays;
• your cancellation terms, or a link to them.

Ask for a purchase order number or reference straight away. Larger companies often pay an invoice only once that number is on it.

Do you charge per person or per group?

For most team outings a price per group works best. The company knows the cost in advance and you cover your instructor and materials, even when two colleagues call in sick on the day. A surcharge per extra person handles a group that grows.

Pricing	Suits	Watch out
Per person	an open workshop where colleagues join one by one	a small group may not cover your instructor
Per group, with a surcharge per extra person	most team outings	state up to how many people the group price covers
Fixed price for a custom outing	an outing with lunch, transport or a second location	put parts with a different VAT rate on separate lines

Which VAT rate applies to a workshop or activity in the Netherlands is explained in VAT on workshops and lessons.

How long should a quote stay valid?

Pick a period that matches how quickly your dates fill up. For an outing in spring, the company can have two weeks. In the weeks before Christmas, one week is often enough, because more companies want the same Friday afternoon.

Also write whether the date is held for the company while the quote runs. When you keep it open for other guests, say so. The contact person then knows that a quick decision pays off.

Once the quote is accepted, there is an order, as the KVK puts it. So state in the quote how the company accepts, for example with an email from the contact person. Then confirm briefly, with the date, the start time and the number of participants.

Do you ask a company for a deposit?

You may. The KVK states that a deposit for services has no maximum. For the payment term with business customers, you follow what your own terms and conditions say.

For a company that returns every year, one invoice with a thirty-day payment term is the simplest. For a new company or a large amount, ask for part of it up front. After a late cancellation that part is already in your account. More on that choice in deposit or full payment.

What has to be on the invoice to the company?

In the Netherlands the tax authority (Belastingdienst) lists these details:

About	What it shows
You	full name and address, VAT identification number, KVK number when you are registered
The company	full name and address
The invoice	the date you issue it, an invoice number
The service	what you delivered and how much, the date of delivery or of the advance payment
The amount	amount excluding VAT, the VAT rate and the VAT amount

Add the company’s purchase order number and send the invoice to the address their accounts team gives you. That is often a different address from the colleague who organised the outing.

What if the names only come later?

With team building, the contact person often knows only the number of people when they accept. Ask for the names at least a week before the outing, together with what you need to know about each participant. Think of a dietary need at lunch or a wetsuit size. Which questions belong there is covered in which questions to ask participants in advance.

With the names in on time, you split the groups and your instructor knows who to expect.

How does a quote work in Superota?

You make a quote for a guest or for a company, in the guest’s language. Per activity you add a line with the date, or with a preferred date when the date is still open. Per line you fill in the number of participants and the amount including VAT. The catalogue price is there as a suggestion and you change it to the agreed price. A price per group with a surcharge per extra person is set on the activity itself.

You preview the PDF as a draft first. The company gets an email with the PDF, showing the VAT per line and per rate, the total and the valid-until date. After sending, the quote stays exactly as it went out. A sent quote holds no seats.

The company accepts by email or phone and you record that on the quote. Superota then makes one confirmed booking per line straight away, at the amounts of the quote, also when your catalogue price changed in the meantime. When a date is full by then, Superota makes none of the bookings and the office gets a notification. Once a seat comes free, you make the bookings from the quote. A quote past its valid-until date expires overnight by itself and you record a decline with a reason.

A company can also book online. The guest ticks that they are booking for a company and fills in the company name and invoice address, plus a VAT number and a purchase order number when they have them. Superota checks an EU VAT number in VIES. Per activity you switch on that companies pay by invoice. The booking then reaches the office as a request and the invoice goes to the company with your payment term. The guest adds the participants’ names later in their guest portal. Per company you see all bookings and invoices together.

When do you send the next quote?

A company that had a good outing often looks for something again a year later. Ten months on, send the same contact person a short email with what the group did last year and a new proposal. Your idea then reaches their inbox before they start searching.