In this article you'll find a step-by-step guide for creating, sending and tracking quotes in Solo. If you're still unsure about anything or have questions, please feel free to send us a message using the in-app chat.
In this article:
1. Setting up your quotes
Before creating a quote, first configure your quote settings. This will customise your quotes to your business details. To set up your quotes:
Go to the Quotes page in the main menu.
Click on Quote settings link in the top right of the page.
Quote settings
A brief overview of Solo's quote settings:
Business details:
Your business details will be automatically displayed on each quote you create.
Name: The name of your business or your name if you don't have a business name.
Address: Your business address. This could be your home address if you operate your business from home.
Email: Your business email address. When emailing quotes from Solo, this email address will be used as the 'reply to' address and to notify you that the quote has been accepted or declined. You can select if you also want your email address to be displayed on your quotes.
Phone: Your business phone number.
Logo: Your business logo which will be displayed on your quotes. A logo is optional and the recommended image size is 600 x 400 pixels. Solo accepts JPG, JPEG, or PNG formats with a max file size of 2MB.
Note: When you change your business details they will update on all online quotes that you have already sent.
Quote details:
Quote title: The title to be displayed on quotes. Such as 'Quote', 'Estimate' or 'Proposal'. 'Quote' is set by default.
Quote prefix: The quote prefix will be displayed in front of the quote number on new quotes.
Next number: The next quote number that will be assigned to a new quote. You can set a start number and new quote numbers will be generated from that number onward. '0001' is set by default.
Days to expiry: The default number of days before a quote expires. E.g. '30' days from the date the quote is created. You can still manually set the expiry date when creating or editing a quote.
Terms: The quote terms will be shown by default when creating a new quote. You can also edit the terms when creating or editing a quote.
Note: When you change the quote title it will update on all online quotes that you have already sent.
2. Creating a quote
Now that you're all set up you can begin creating quotes:
Go to the Quotes page in the main menu.
Click the Create a quote button.
Enter the quote details.
Click the Save button.
The quote details are:
Client: Select an existing client to address the quote to. Or click the 'Create new client' option in the dropdown to add a new client.
Date: This date will appear on the quote as the 'Issued' date. By default today's date will be used but you can set any date you need.
Expiry: This date will appear on the quote as the 'Expiry' date. It will be automatically suggested based on the 'Days to expiry' option in your quote settings, however you can adjust this date as needed.
Quote number: A unique number to identify the quote. E.g. 'QU2506'. The next available quote number will be automatically displayed for you. You can change the quote prefix and default starting number in your quote settings.
Enable GST: If enabled, GST will be added to the quote. If disabled, then GST will not be calculated on the quote. GST is calculated based on the quote subtotal and not each line item – this is the correct way to quote. Even if you are including GST exclusive expenses in your quote, if you are GST registered, then GST still needs to be applied to the entire quote.
Currency: The currency that the quote amounts will be displayed in. New Zealand dollar (NZD) is the default currency.
Description: A short description of the product/service/item that you are quoting for.
Quantity: The quantity of the product/service/item. This could be the number of products or hours you expect to work.
Unit price: The price of a single product/item, or your hourly rate for the service.
Discount: You can add either a discount amount ($10) or a percentage (10%) to the item. The discount will be included in the subtotal of the item.
Subtotal: The subtotal is automatically calculated based on the quantity multiplied by the unit price and minus any discount.
Add row: This button will add another line item to your quote. You can add as many rows as you need. You can also delete rows by clicking on the trash icon at the right end of the row. To reorder a row click on the dots icon at the left end of the row and drag the row into the new position.
Terms: If you need to add any additional conditions to the quote, you can add them to the terms. The terms that you created in your quote settings will be displayed here by default, but you can still edit the terms per quote.
3. Sending a quote to your customer
There are three ways to share an quote with your customer:
Email the quote from Solo
To email an online quote directly from Solo:
Click the Save button to save the quote. The quote must have a client and number to be saved.
Click the Send button.
Customise the email message if needed.
Click the Send button.
The client will receive an email with a link to view the quote online.
Note: When a quote is sent it's status will automatically change to 'Sent'. You can change the quote status at any time by clicking it's status on the Quotes page.
Share an quote link
To get a link to the online quote that you can then share with your client:
Click the down arrow next to the Send button (the quote must be saved).
Select Get share link from the menu.
Click the Copy to save the link to your clipboard.
You can then email or message the link to your client so that they can view the quote online.
To changes the quote status to 'Sent', check 'Mark quote as sent' and click Done.
Download a quote PDF
To download a PDF of the quote that you can then share with your client:
Click the down arrow next to the Send button (the quote must be saved).
Select Download PDF from the menu.
The quote PDF will then be downloaded to your computer.
4. Marking a quote as accepted or declined
Either you or your customer can mark a quote as accepted or declined.
How your customer can accept or decline a quote
Your customer can accept or decline your quote by clicking either the 'Accept' or 'Decline' button at the top of the online quote.
When the Accept or Decline button is clicked:
The quote status in Solo will automatically change to Accepted or Declined.
You will receive an email informing you that the quote has been accepted or declined.
The Accept and Decline buttons will no longer be visible on the online quote.
A banner will be displayed on the online quote.
If the quote has expired, the Accept and Decline buttons will not be displayed on the online quote and an 'Expired' banner will be displayed.
How you can accept or decline a quote
To accept or decline the quote yourself:
Click the status on the Quotes page.
Select the Accepted or Declined from the dropdown list.
When you change the status to Accepted or Declined:
The Accept and Decline buttons will no longer be visible on the online quote.
An 'Accepted' or 'Declined' banner will be displayed on the online quote.
Can I edit a quote after sending it?
Yes, you can edit an quote in any status apart from 'Accepted' or 'Declined'. To edit an Accepted or Declined quote, you must first change it to another status.
To edit a quote:
Click the Quote ID in the quotes list.
Make your changes to the quote.
Click the Update button.
Note: If you've already sent the quote to your client, any edits will be instantly visible to your client on the existing online quote.
What are the different quote statuses?
There are four statuses to help you manage your quotes:
Draft: Quotes that have not yet been sent. New quotes are set to 'Draft' by default.
Sent: When a quote is sent from Solo it's status will automatically change to 'Sent'.
Accepted: When the client clicks 'Accept' on your online quote, it's status will automatically be changed to 'Accepted'.
Declined: When the client clicks 'Decline' on your online quote, it's status will automatically be changed to 'Declined'.
Creating an invoice from a quote
You can easily turn any quote into an invoice:
Click the vertical ... icon of the quote you would like to change into an invoice.
Select Copy to invoice in the dropdown menu.
A new invoice will be created based on the quote and will be displayed at the top of the invoices list. The new invoice will have a 'Daft' status and be automatically given the next available invoice number.
Duplicating a quote
Click the vertical ... icon of the quote you would like to duplicate.
Select Duplicate in the dropdown menu.
That's it, the quote will be duplicated and the new duplicate will be displayed at the top of the quotes list. The new quote will have a 'Daft' status and be automatically given the next available quote number.
How do I delete a quote?
Click the vertical ... icon of the quote you would like to delete.
Select Delete in the dropdown menu.
Click the Delete button to confirm.
That's it, the quote will now be permanently deleted from Solo.