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Should my quote to a Dubai company be in English, Arabic or both?

Choose by who will read and approve it. If the procurement team works in English, pick English; if the decision sits with managers who read Arabic and a team that reads English, pick bilingual. Keep in mind the tool only translates its own labels: the item descriptions you type appear exactly as you typed them.

Published · 3 min read

What each option changes in the file

  • Arabic: a right-to-left page titled ‘عرض سعر’, with labels such as ‘مقدم العرض’, ‘العميل’, ‘صالح حتى’ and ‘الإجمالي’ in Arabic.
  • English: a left-to-right page titled ‘Quotation’, with the labels From, Customer, Valid until and Total.
  • Bilingual: a right-to-left page where every label appears in both languages, such as ‘الإجمالي / Total’ and ‘الخصم / Discount’.

In all three, numbers are written in Western digits and the currency code sits beside the amounts, so the figures never differ from one version to another.

The part people miss: your own text is not translated

Choose bilingual and write a line description only in Arabic, such as ‘تركيب رفوف معدنية للمستودع’, and the English-speaking team will see a ‘Description’ label but will not understand the description itself. The reverse is also true. So write what you need yourself: in a bilingual quote you can put both versions in the same field, such as ‘تركيب رفوف معدنية / Metal shelving installation’, since the description field takes up to 200 characters.

The same goes for your business name, address and notes: they appear exactly as entered.

Example: a supplier quoting a Dubai company

Worked example

4 shelving units × 1,850 = 7,400.00 AED.

Tax at the rate the supplier enters, 5% in this example, is 370.00.

Total 7,770.00 AED, the same figure in all three versions.

  1. In the Quotation generator choose the ‘Document language’ from the three options at the top of the form.
  2. Select AED in the currency list if the client pays in dirhams.
  3. Write the descriptions in the client's language, or in both if you chose bilingual.
  4. Create the file and check the preview. If you do not like the result, switch the language and create it again; the data stays in the form while the page is open.

A quick rule for choosing

  • International company or multinational procurement team: English.
  • Local organisation that works in Arabic: Arabic.
  • A client who needs one copy that both management and accounts can read: bilingual.
  • If unsure, ask the client. One question saves you reissuing the quote.

When the client accepts, use the same language on the invoice from the Basic invoice generator so the documents match for the client's accountant.

Common questions

Do English names display correctly on an Arabic page?

Yes. Latin phrases such as product names stay readable left to right inside the Arabic line.

Can I produce two versions, Arabic and English?

Yes. Create and download the file, then switch the language and create it again without retyping anything, as long as you have not closed the page.

Which font is used?

IBM Plex Sans Arabic, embedded in the file, covering both Arabic and Latin.