This quick guide assumes that you already have one or more templates configured, read this article to learn how to set them up.
Download our Mastering the MSP Sales Proposal e-book to learn the best practices on how to send a winning proposal.
How to turn on the new proposal editor
If you haven't already, click the manage my profile on your dashboard to turn on the simplified quote editor:
How to create a new quote in a couple of minutes
For a visual overview on sending a quick quote, given that all default settings and templates are configured as laid out in the post onboarding checklist , watch our instructional video below.
Continue reading to understand how quotes work and what options you have in creating and sending them.
Create a new proposal
Create a new proposal from your dashboard using the quick quote tile or by pressing Q on your keyboard. Salesbuildr will automatically create a new opportunity based on standard values that are defined in the opportunity defaults and pick the template that you defined as default.
Type the name of the customer and pick the contact person that wants to receive the quote. If you have configured a primary contact for that company, it will be filled in automatically.
If you are creating a simple proposal with a couple of items from your catalog, you can select them in the products field.
When you click create, Salesbuildr will jump into the proposal presentation view.
If you are happy with the proposal, you can send it to your customer for approval by scrolling down until you see the send button. From the send proposal dialog, review the settings and click send to email to quote to your customer.
If you want to edit or change your proposal before sending it to your customer, click on "Go to detailed quote page" on the top op your screen.
This will take you to the proposal editor where you can customise it.
Add items to your quote
Add products, services, software or labour from your catalog by typing the product name or the part number on the top left section of the screen. Use the "Only available stock" option to hide items that are unavailable.
The item you select will be added to your proposal in the section that you marked for inserting new products in the template that this proposal was based on. You can configure this using the icon shown below.
Products you add from your catalog using the add product option will be added into a product section in your proposal under the the name of the category that they are located in.
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Any mandatory product add-ons that have been configure for the product in the catalog will be added under your line item, suggested add-ons are available under the "+ add additional product add-ons" selector. You can choose to include them in your proposal.
Viewing available suppliers for line items
By clicking on the supplier dropdown, you can quickly view the availability for that item across your supplier landscape.
Adding line item descriptions
For each line item, you or your customer can add a note to give your team specific instructions on what needs to happen with the line item after shipment. Any notes added to this field will translate to the quote line item description field in Autotask.
You PSA invoice template can be configured in such a way that the quote line item description is used on the invoice. See the details on how the template works with the invoice on this image.
Changing a quote line item
When adding a line item from a quote, Salesbuildr will copy the cost, markup and margin from the catalog and check for any discount rules or customer pricing books. When editing the line item, you can change the name, description, cost, price and markup to match how you want to offer the line item.
Adding a bundle to a quote
Bundles can be used to combine multiple line items from your catalog into a single line items on a quote. You can choose to show your customer what's in the bundle, or to just show the single line item. 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.
How to change the cover page
Here is how you can apply a different cover page:
Inserting widgets
Widgets are pre-defined page templates that can be inserted into proposals. Widgets can contain one of more pages of content that can include items from your sales portfolio. Use the insert widget option to open the list of available widges and use the labels to quickly filter for relevant items. Then pick one or more widgets and click select to insert them 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.
Enable a table of contents
You can turn on the table of contents in the quote settings. This will enable a left section with links to headings in your proposal so your customer can quickly jump to relevant sections in your document.
Enabling customers to pick and choose items
You can enable single choice or multiple choice options to enable your customers to make a selection.
Consolidating line items from different product widgets
By default, items will be added to your quote in their own category widget, depending on what product category they are from. You can drag and drop line items from the right action panel to a different product section and then remove and rename widgets as needed.
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.
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 on 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.
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 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 Autotask.
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 can set to private (only visible for internal users) or public (also visible for customers)
