Quotes

<This page is under construction for CommitCRM 5.7 BETA>

Overview

Quotes in CommitCRM provide an easy way to define and create sales quotes and proposals for products and services, using your Items list.

Your Items list can be imported from QuickBooks or from other sources such as Excel spreadsheets, text files, and more.

Customers can view Quotes using the Commit Web Interface, and print out their own copy via the Web. You can also customize Quotes layout to make sure it provides exactly the information you want it to.

The Quotes are linked to CommitCRM Accounts, so each Quote is automatically attached to the correct customer, keeping the complete history in the Account’s view.

Quote Life-cycle

Each Quote has a Status indicating what is happening with this Quote. Possible Statuses are:

• Open
• Lost
• Accepted by Web (by Customer via Web Interface)
• Won

Only an Open Quote can be updated. All Status changes are recorded in the Quote’s Audit tab.

When a Quote is first created, it is in status Open. It can then be modified in one of the following ways:

• Lost:
  Technician can change the Quote status to Lost, meaning the Quote was not accepted by the customer and will not be executed.
• Accepted by Web:
  Quotes that are marked as Public can be accessed and accepted by the customer via the Customers Web Interface. The customer can accept the Quote, which then becomes Accepted by Web. Note that this Quote is not considered won until it is updated by a technician to status Won.
• Won:
  Technician can change the Quote to Won, either from status Open or from status Accepted by Web. The Quote can then be converted to Charges or QuickBooks Invoices - see Converting Quote to Charges/Invoice.

See more details about what each status means in Quote Status.

Quote Window

When opening the Quote window, the Quotes list is displayed. In this window you can search for a Quote using the search panel at the top part of the window and view the results in the list. See Searching For Quotes for more details.

Double-clicking a Quote opens the full Quote details window.

Quote Status

Each Quote can be in one of the following statuses:

• Open
• Lost
• Accepted by Web
• Won

Status Open

The Open status means the Quote is in progress and can still be modified. The Quote lines can be updated, affecting the Quote price and total amount, together with other Quote details. An Open Quote can become either Won or Lost. If updated by the customer, it can also become “Accepted by Web”, however, it still requires a technician to explicitly change the status to Won in order for the Quote to be won.

Status Lost

In this status, the Quote details cannot be modified, and most of the Quote tabs become read-only. Quote Properties, which are internal details about the Quote, can still be updated. When a Quote is Lost it cannot be converted to Charges/Invoice, however, it can be changed back to Open for further work if needed.

Status Accepted by Web

While a Quote is open, technicians can make it Public, so privileged customers can access the Quote, view the details and accept it. Once a Quote is accepted by the customer, it becomes “Accepted by Web” and most of the Quote tabs become read-only. Quote Properties, which are internal details about the Quote can still be updated.

At this status, technicians can change the Quote status to Won, and convert it to Charges/Invoice.

Should one need to update any of the Quote details at this point, technicians can change the Quote back to Open, clearing the “Accepted by Web” status. All of the status changes are logged int he Quote Audit tab for full tracking of it’s life-cycle.

Status Won

Once a Quote is approved by the customer (either via the Customer Portal or in any other way), technicians should change it’s status to Won.

When a Quote is Won most of the Quote tabs become read-only and cannot be modified. Quote Properties, which are internal details about the Quote can still be updated.

At this status, technicians can convert the Quote to Charges/Invoice, based on the Quote lines.

Lines Tab

The Quote Lines tab is where you add Items to your Quote. Each line represents a product or service, or can be a plain-text line which helps you structure your Quote better.

Adding new lines is done via the options at the top part of the tab, including: Item, Textual Lines, Blank Line or using quick-add options. See more details in Add Item-Based Lines.

The Quote total amount appears at the bottom-right corner of the tab. When using CommitCRM Taxes, the total amount shows also the Tax calculation. On the right part of the list appear control buttons which allow you to move lines up or down in the Quote, and also edit and copy a line (these options are also available when right-clicking a line).

General Tab

Under the General tab you will find:

• Linked Account

Each Quote must be linked to an Account. All quotes which are linked to a specific Account can be viewed from the Account’s Quotes tab.

Tip One-time customers: If the need arises to generate quotes for one-time customers or for potentials customers that step in and ask for a quote, one can create a dedicated Account called ‘One Time Customers’ and create the quote under this “dummy” account. In case the quote is Won it is possible to create a real Account for the new customer and select the new Account for the Quote. Note that best practice for this case would be to create a new Account for each such customer. Creating a new Account makes it easier to enter details such as address, email addresses, phone numbers etc. and also track this customer in the future. Such Accounts can be assigned a special Type (such as “Prospect”) which can be updated when they become “real” customers. This way you can easily filter the Account list in the future and delete irrelevant records.

   Bill To
   The contact and address details for billing. These details are taken from the linked Account by default and will be used when printing the Quote and when converting it to an Invoice.
   Ship To (optional)
   The contact and address details for shipping. These details are optional and are needed only in cases the package needs to be shipped to another address than the Bill To address. This field will be used when printing the Quote and when converting it to an Invoice.
   Contract (optional)
   Each Quote can be linked to a Contract. Use Contracts for Quotes when you want to use specific Custom Pricing or override the Account’s Custom Pricing. When using a Contract for the Quote, the Item’s price is taken based on the Custom Pricing defined for the Contract.
   If no Contract is selected for the Quote, the Item’s price is taken from the Item’s settings, or from the Account’s Custom Pricing (if defined).