Updated 22 September 2026
The chat is not the brief
Most jobs in Egypt and the Gulf still start on WhatsApp: a voice note, a Drive folder, three screenshots, then “can you send a price tonight?” If you answer with a round number in the same thread, you have priced a feeling — not a job. The client will remember the number. They will not remember the three things they added after you said yes.
Qufy is built for that gap. You do not need an account to paste hours and name the deliverables. Sending a share link needs a Qufy account (invite-only during the beta). The link is the freeze frame: what you will do, for how much, in which currency. The chat can stay the chat.
“If it is not on a line item, it is extra work — even if they already said it on voice.”
Pull hours out of the noise
If the client already typed hours — “Mon 4h, Tue 3h, two extra calls” — paste that into the invoice hours field. Qufy totals it. If the thread is messy Arabic and English mixed with voice, write the hours yourself from what you heard, then send that list back as the quote. A single number with no days attached is how “two extra calls” become unpaid.
If you do not know the hours yet, do not invent them to look fast. Open the rate calculator: living costs, buffer, billable hours, then a floor. Use that floor as the unit price on each line. A quote with three named lines at a defended hourly rate is easier to revise than one lump “project fee” you cannot unpack when they cut the budget.
Name the work, not the vibe
A line that says “branding” will come back as “also the pitch deck, also the social templates, also the Arabic lockup.” Write the artefact: “Logo in two scripts, colour tokens, one-page brand sheet, two revision rounds.” Put anything you will not do on the next line as out of scope, or leave it for the contract pack.
- Currency on the quote, not in a later voice note.
- One currency for the document. Mixing “five thousand” in EGP and USD cheats both of you.
- The quote is the commercial list. The contract is the rules around that list.
Send a link, not a screenshot of the calculator
A screenshot in WhatsApp gets cropped, forwarded, and argued with. A share link opens a page the client can accept or comment on, and you see that they opened it. If they ask for a PDF, generate it from the same document — do not rebuild the numbers in Word.
After they accept the quote, do not start the same night unless the contract is signed or you have an explicit deposit clause you both agreed. The quote wins the number. The contract wins the scope. The invoice collects what you already agreed.
A short script when they push for “just a number”
You can stay polite and still refuse to price fog. Something like: “I can send a range tonight for two versions of the scope, or a firm quote in the morning once I write the deliverables. A single number without a list usually comes back as extra work.” Then send the link. People who only wanted a cheap yes will drop off. That is the filter working.
What to take away
- The chat is not the brief. The share link is the freeze frame.
- Name artefacts and rounds. “Branding” will come back as a pitch deck.
- Send a link, not a screenshot of the calculator.
Questions people ask
The client wants a price in the same chat tonight. What do I send?
A share link with named lines, currency, and a total — even if it is rough. A round number in the thread will be screenshotted without the assumptions. If you truly do not know hours yet, send a range tied to two scopes (small / full) rather than one fake-precise figure.
They sent a voice note in mixed Arabic and English. Can Qufy parse it?
If they already typed hours, paste them into the invoice hours field and let Qufy total. If it is messy voice, you still write the hours from what you heard, then send that list back as the quote. Do not skip the written list. Optional AI assist may help extract line items when configured — it is not required, and the tools work without an API key.
Should I start after they reply “ok” on WhatsApp?
Not unless the quote is accepted on the link (or you have a signed contract / agreed deposit). “Ok” in a group chat with three stakeholders is not a freeze of scope. The next guide on this Blog is the contract before the first file leaves your laptop.
