Congratulations! You’ve just been told the proposal you submitted has been accepted. Now there’s only one problem — you need to know how to politely accept a business offer in writing over email.
A handshake used to be all you needed to accept a new business offer. But things today are more complicated. Most professionals do business online, which means you will probably need to respond to business offers through email.
Knowing how to do so can be tricky. When you respond to an offer, you’ll need to follow proper email etiquette while making sure you address important details about the opportunity, its terms and the next steps.
Luckily, you’re in good company. Business is done every day online, so there’s a general agreement on how to do things.
Here’s how to politely accept a business offer through email with 4 free templates to get you started.
8 Tips for Politely Accepting a Business Offer
If you have never responded to business offers through email before, the task may seem daunting, but it’s not as hard as it seems.
There are already some guidelines established in the business world about how to do things right and plenty of models you can follow so your response will be sure to impress.
1. Send It from the Right Address
Make sure to send an email accepting a business offer from the right kind of email address. Ideally, the sender address should be the formal email address you use for business and at which you just received your new business offer.
But there may be a good reason to send the acceptance from a different address, and the beginning of a business relationship is a good time to establish how best to reach you.
If you send your response from a different email address, explain in your response that this is your preferred email address going forward.
Avoid sending a formal business offer acceptance from an anonymous email (such as hello@yourcompany.com) or a personal email account you don’t use for business.
If you don’t already have one, here’s how to create a great professional email address you can use in business.
2. Check the Recipient Address
It may sound like overkill, but make sure to check the recipient address you are sending your acceptance email to.
Often, it’s as simple as hitting the reply button and replying directly to the person who sent your business offer. But sometimes, a business offer will contain new information about who you will be working with, and there might be one or more new names and new email addresses you should send the reply to.
Lastly, once you know the right recipient address, remove it from the “To” field while you compose your message. This is a useful email etiquette trick that helps you avoid the possibility of sending your business offer acceptance email before you are ready. See here for more email etiquette tips like this one.
3. Include Your Company Letterhead
A formal letter accepting a business offer sent through the regular mail almost certainly would include a business’s company letterhead. When you send an important email, it’s also a good idea to include a digital version of your letterhead.
A letterhead contains lots of useful information about your business, such as your business name, logo, address, website, main phone and contact info.
Plus, it looks official. By including your letterhead when you accept a business offer, it helps make your acceptance seem more formal and professional. Google has great info on how to create an email template in Gmail with a letterhead.
4. Use an Appropriate Salutation
“Dear sir or madam” and “To whom it may concern” are both good options with a formal email when you do not know anything about the person who will be reading it, but these aren’t the best salutations when you’re responding to a business offer.
People do business with real people, and so even though it’s important to be polite and formal with a business contact, you still want to be personable.
Be sure to address your new business contact by name in the salutation of your email. Usually, it’s okay in business to address a business contact using the first name that the person goes by, as in “Dear [First Name].” But if you’re not sure, you can use “Dear Mr. [Last Name],” “Dear Ms. [Last Name],” or “Dear Mrs. [Last Name].”
5. Write Some Positive Words
The first thing to do when you are composing a formal email responding to a business offer is to offer a few positive words about the new business opportunity.
For instance, you could say that:
- That you are delighted to receive the business offer.
- That you are impressed with the business offer’s proposal.
- That you think the opportunity will be great for both of your businesses.
- Or that you are looking forward to getting to work together.
Feel free to make this part of the email your own.
Note that your opening where you express your excitement and appreciation about the business offer doesn’t have to be long — one or two sentences is plenty.
6. State That You Accept the Offer
In the next part of your email, it’s important to state clearly that you formally accept the business offer. Examples here include:
- “I am delighted to accept your offer to [give a description of the business offer].”
- “We agree to your proposal to [give a description of the business offer].”
- “I am happy to inform you that [Business Name] accepts the terms of your proposal to [give a description of the business offer].”
Note that it’s important to say more than “I accept” in this part of the email. Your acceptance is a legally binding statement, so it’s important to restate the terms of the offer you are accepting so that it’s clear exactly what you are agreeing to.
On that note, if there are any details the offer leaves open to you to decide — such as the project’s official state date, the size of the initial order or the projected length of the partnership — be sure to clearly address these details in your reply.
7. Discuss the Next Steps
Accepting a business offer over email is often just the beginning and further discussion is needed with your new business partner either in person or virtually.
Usually, a business acceptance letter proposes scheduling a follow-up meeting to finalize the details and set things in motion. This is the next thing to include in your response.
You may want to propose a specific date and time for a meeting, within a few days to a week from the date you will be sending your acceptance. Alternatively, you can provide your contact information and ask your recipient to call you at their earliest convenience.
8. Close Your Email With a Thank You
In the last part of your email, it’s important to thank your recipient for sending the business offer.
This is the place to acknowledge your new business contact’s professionalism, creativity, attention to detail or other positive attributes you noticed in their offer.
End your email on a high note, by letting your recipient know you are excited about the future possibilities of business offers and looking forward to working together.
4 Free Templates to Use to Politely Accept a Business Offer
Accepting a business offer through email is easy when you use a template. The following templates offer you several ways to accept an offer. Use them as-is, or modify them to suit your particular business needs.
Simple Business Offer Acceptance Email Template
Dear [First Name],
I am delighted to accept your offer to [give a description of the business offer]. After reviewing your offer, it was clear that your services are a great match for our current business needs.
If possible, I would like to schedule a call with you next Tuesday at 9:00 a.m. to discuss the offer and finalize the details. In particular, I [would like to request/had a question concerning] [fill in the details of your request or question here]. Please contact me at [phone number] or [email address] to confirm this date and time will work for your schedule to discuss.
I am very glad you reached out when you did. I believe this arrangement will be of great benefit to both of our businesses and I look forward to finalizing the details and getting started.
Thank you!
[Your Name]
[Your Email Signature]
Polite Business Offer Acceptance Email Template
Dear Ms. [Last Name],
It was such a pleasure to meet with you last week to discuss [describe the business offer]. Our executive team was very impressed with your knowledge of the industry and your understanding of our current business needs. There was unanimous agreement that your proposed solution was the right one for us.
I am happy to inform you that [Your Company Name] accepts your proposal and would like to move forward with your offer to [describe the offer]. We agree with your recommendation for [describe the proposed product or service recommendation] beginning on [give a date for the offer to commence].
To finalize the details of our agreement, we request a follow-up meeting with you next Tuesday at 9:00 a.m. at our office at [give the address of your business office]. Please reply to this message to confirm you will be able to attend. Once again, I want to thank you for all your help. I know we are looking forward to the next steps. If you need anything from me before our meeting, please reach out to me directly at [phone number] or [email address].
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Your Email Signature]
Friendly Business Offer Acceptance Email Template
[First Name],
It was so great to chat with you last week about [describe the business offer]. [Your Company Name] has been looking for a solution to this problem for months and it was great to hear you speak about your experience solving similar problems.
I spoke to [Business Partner Name] and we both think you are the expert we have been looking for to provide a solution. We’re ready to formalize an agreement and take the next steps.
Let’s meet for lunch again next Wednesday at [location] at [time] to go over the details. Please send the paperwork to [email address] and call me at [phone number] with any questions. Once again, I’m thrilled we connected with you, and [Business Partner Name] and I are both excited for the next steps.
Thanks again,
[Your Name]
[Your Email Signature]
Detailed Business Offer Acceptance Email Template
Dear Mr. [Last Name],
We were delighted to receive [Their Company Name]’s proposal on [date received] to [briefly describe the proposal]. It is my pleasure to inform you that after careful consideration, [Your Company Name] has accepted your proposal to [briefly describe the proposed project]. You will be happy to know that the decision was unanimous.
We would like to begin work on the project [as soon as possible / within the next month / within the next quarter] and look forward to meeting with you to finalize the details. Please contact me [at your earliest convenience / later this week / next week] at [phone number] or [email address] to discuss.
On behalf of [Your Company Name], I want to thank you and everyone at [Their Company Name] for your detailed attention to our needs on this proposal. We are excited to begin work with you and your team and we look forward to your reply.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Your Email Signature]
Using these tips and templates as a guide, you can create polite and professional business offer acceptance emails that will impress business partners and provide a great start to your new business venture.
How to Save Even More Time on Email
Accepting a business offer through email takes a little more work than the traditional handshake, but email templates make it much faster and easier to take the next steps.
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