Before You Start
Ensure templates and default settings are configured, read this article to learn how to configure the defaults.
Optional: Download Mastering the MSP Sales Proposal e-book for best practices
How to create a new quote in 2 minutes (or less!)
For a visual overview on sending a quick quote watch our instructional video below.
Assumes default settings and templates are configured in this post onboarding checklist
1. Create a Proposal
Start a New Proposal
Click the Quick Quote tile
Or press Q on your keyboard
Salesbuildr will automatically:
Create a new opportunity using default values
Apply your default proposal template (or you may select another template)
Select Customer & Contact
Type the Company name
Select the Company contact
The primary contact auto-fills if configured
Add Initial Products (Optional)
Select products directly from your catalog
Ideal for simple proposals with only a few items
2. Review or Edit
When you click create, Salesbuildr will display the proposal presentation view.
Edit Before Sending
Click Go to detailed quote page to customize the proposal
3. Add & Manage Line Items
Add Items to the Quote
Add products, services, software, or labor from your catalog
Search by product name or part number
Enable Only available stock if needed
Items are added to the correct section based on your template.
Line Item Behavior
Mandatory add-ons are added automatically
Suggested add-ons may be added manually
Supplier availability may be viewed per item
Line item notes sync with Autotask and may appear on invoices
Edit Line Items
You can modify:
Name and description
Cost, price, markup, and margin
Discounts and pricing rules
Adding a bundle to a quote
Use Bundles
Combine multiple catalog items into one line item
Choose whether to show or hide bundle contents
Read more about bundles here.
Adding churn and service terminations
Read this article to learn how you can add services that will terminate as part of the proposal in order to calculate churn.
Inserting widgets
Widgets are pre-defined page templates that may be inserted into proposals. Widgets contain one of more pages of content that may also include products or services from your sales portfolio. Use the insert widget option to open the list of available widgets and use the labels to quickly filter for relevant items. Then select a widget and click 'Insert'. The selected widget will be added into your proposal.
Edit quote widgets
If you need to make changes to the cover letter or any other component, click on the pencil icon on the top right of the component. Read the templates article to learn more on how to set up templates and what dynamic fields can be used.
Enabling customers to pick and choose items
You can enable single choice or multiple choice options to enable your customers to make a selection.
Changing the page order
You can change the order of your pages by using the sort widgets icon and then simply dragging them up or down.
Inserting page breaks
By inserting page breaks, you can control how the quote looks in presentation mode and how the quote appears when it is exported to PDF. You can add or remove page breaks on the left as well as insert page breaks in widgets.
How to set a contract duration and term
You can specify a contract duration and contract start date in the quote settings tab. (Advanced and higher subscriptions)
When you do, you can use the following fields to populate the data in your proposal:
Start date: {{date quote.contractStartDate}}
End date: {{date quote.contractEndDate}}
Duration: {{quote.contractDuration.amount}} {{quote.contractDuration.unit}}
This will produce a section as shown below:
Salesbuildr will update the corresponding field in the Autotask opportunity.
Adding your own signature
Sometimes a document requires the signature from two parties. You can use the "{{quote.signatures}}" in your document to make the signature that you have set in your "manage my profile" settings appear on that location in the document.
When the document is approved, it will be converted to a PDF with both signatures, yours and your customers.
Verifying or changing quote settings
You can verify the quote settings by selecting the settings tab. Salesbuildr will apply the default quote settings that have been configured in the admin section, and overwrite them by any quote settings that have been applied to the template. Any customer specific payment terms will be applied if they have been configured.
Previewing and sending quote
Click on presentation to see how your customer will view the quote. When you are happy with how the quote looks, click on send to open the send quote dialogue. The default email template and signature will be applied.
The send quote dialog will prompt you to change the expiry date from the default expiry date you have set under Admin - Configuration - Quotes.
(Note: The format of "Expires at" and "Expiry notification at" dates cannot be changed.)
You can add additional customer contacts to the CC so they will receive a copy
You can add internal contacts to the CC so they will receive a copy
You can review, add or remove shipping costs.
You can change the outgoing message that is based on the email template, or select a custom email template that you created earlier.
When you are ready, click confirm. The quote will now be sent to your customer, and you will be notified of view and approval events. If you want to send the link to the quote using your own email system, you can copy the link to the quote using the share button.
Handling Zero-Quantity Line Items
In cases where a quote contains line items with a quantity of 0, Salesbuildr automatically checks for them when you click Confirm to send. If zero-quantity items are found, you’ll see a prompt with three options:
Cancel: return to the editor without sending.
Send Without Deleting: include the zero-quantity items in the proposal/PDF.
Delete Zero-Quantity Items and Send: automatically remove all zero-quantity items (including related bundles and add-ons) before sending.
This feature is especially helpful when working with quote templates that contain pre-loaded products or services.
How the quote is sent to your customer
When you send the quote using Salesbuildr, your customer will receive an email message according to the email template that you have configured in the admin section, along with any email signature that you have configured.
How your customer can accept a quote without logging in
By default, your customer does not have to sign-in to Salesbuildr to accept a quote and the top navigating bar and sign-in button will not be visible. The default workflow for opening, viewing and accepting a quote will look like this:
Approving or declining on behalf or you customer
You can use the buttons on the quote editor to approve or decline on behalf or your customer.
How your customer can login using Microsoft of Google SSO
You can change your default settings to force your customer to sign-in using SSO by disabling "This quote can be approved without logging in." on the quote settings tab. You can learn more about this function in this article.
In this case, you customer will have the following workflow experience:
You can choose to change the default settings in the default quote settings. If needed, you can choose to configure a customer specific approval workflow based on the quote value.
What happens when a quote is accepted
After approval, Salesbuildr will update the related opportunity and quote (in Autotask, HALO, Connectwise, or Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, depending on the line of business application that your company uses) according to the rules you have defined in the default opportunity Settings.
Salesbuildr will also upload the approved quote in PDF format including the the customer comment, provided PO number and any PDF attachments that are part of the quote to the opportunity entity in your PSA.
(Note: We only support PDF file type as attachment at the moment. If you would like to provide a word or excel document, you may include a link (ex. shared from Microsoft OneDrive or Google drive) in the email that directs the customer to that file.)
You and your customer will receive an order confirmation according to your order confirmation email template that includes the approved quote in PDF format.
Continue below to learn more advanced options
Keeping track of events using the audit trail
You can track events as they happen on the audit trail tab on your quote.
Automated Expiry reminders
You can enable reminders for quotes that will be sent to you and your customer by navigation to Admin - Configuration - Quotes and setting the reminder period. Go to Admin - Email Templates - Quote Reminders to change the default email notification template.
Adding a discount for all one time items
You can add an overall % discount on one time items to a quote.
Changing the quote contact
If you need to change the contact person for a quote, you will need to change the contact person of the opportunity. You can quickly open and make changes to the opportunity from the quote editor using the pencil icon next to the general information section.
Retracting a quote
We all make mistakes sometimes, so we made it easy to correct them. When you need to change or retract a quote, simply click the retract button. When your customer clicks the link, the quote will be unavailable until you have made changes.
When ready, you can mark the quote as send, so the link will be active again.
Quote chat and notifications
You and your customers can communicate using the chat tab on quotes to handle any questions. When you post a new comment, your customer will receive a notification with the message in their email with a link to reply. When your customer adds a note, the quote owner will receive a notification with the message in their email with a link to reply.
Chat messages may be set to private (only visible for internal users) or public (also visible for customers)
