Proposals take a client from choosing their packages and add-ons all the way to a signed contract, finalized invoices, and a scheduled project. This guide walks through each step.
Before you start
A little setup up front makes building proposals much faster.
Set up your packages. Packages are the full services you offer, each with a few deliverables included. Find them via the sidebar under Manage → Templates → Packages. Each package can include:
A main description of the service
The deliverables included, and the cost of each
Contract terms: clauses specific to this service, like the number of revision rounds or what the client needs to provide
A project task template: if a client books this package, its tasks are automatically scheduled based on your project start date. (Task templates are created under Manage → Templates → Project Templates.)
Set up your add-ons. Add-ons are smaller, one-off deliverables. Find them under Manage → Templates, on the Add-ons tab. Each add-on can include a title, a short description, contract clauses, and a price. By default, clients can choose a quantity (for example, four social media templates). To turn that off for a specific add-on, check Disable quantity.
Check your workspace settings. Your default sales tax rate, payment instructions, and payment methods all come from your workspace settings. Make sure you've set these up fully before sending a proposal.
Step 1: Set up your project and client
Check for an existing project. If your client inquired through a lead form, a project has already been created for them. You don't need to make a new one. It will appear in the list when you assign your proposal to a project. Otherwise, create a project for the client first. (Go to the Projects page and click New → Project)
Make sure your client has a contact profile. Even if the project already exists, your client may not have a contact profile yet. You can add one in the sidebar under Manage → Contacts, or right from the project settings (see below). Make sure their name, email, and billing address are saved.
Set your client as the primary contact
Go to Projects and open Edit settings for the project.
On the General tab, choose your client as the Primary contact. You can select anyone in your contact directory or add someone new.
If this person should also receive the invoices, go to the Billing tab and choose them as the Billing contact too.
Click Save.
Step 2: Create your proposal
Go to the Proposals page.
Click New, then choose Proposal to start from scratch
(If you've already created a proposal template that you'd like to use, go to the Templates tab on the Proposals page, find the template that you'd like to use and select Use Template.)
Give your proposal a name, assign it to your project, and click Create.
📌 Tip: You can turn any existing draft proposal into a template to speed up your process. Just open the draft proposal, click the "∙∙∙" in the upper right corner and select "Save as Template".
Step 3: Build your proposal form
Set the basics
Project start date: Set the date you expect the project to start.
Sections: Add new sections or rearrange the ones from your template.
Confirmation message (optional): Shown to your client after they finish making selections and signing.
Expiration date (optional): The proposal won't be accessible after this date.
Add your packages
Click the + anywhere in the list of form blocks in the lefthand sidebar to see a popup of all the different form block options that you can add to your proposal. Then under Choice, select the Package form block to insert it.
In the block settings panel on the right, choose the package that you want to display.
Review the package details. Any edits you make here only apply to this proposal and won't change your original package template, so you can tailor a package for a specific client.
Repeat these steps for each package you want to offer inside your proposal.
You can also customize each package block's design, like changing its background color, fonts, padding, and button colors (including selected vs. unselected).
Add your add-ons
Add an Add-ons block (if your template doesn't already have one), then choose which add-ons to display. You can also create a brand-new add-on right from the proposal editor.
📌 Tip: If you've added multiple packages to a proposal, you'll see a toggle appear in the left sidebar where you can specify how many packages the client is allowed to select. By default, clients can only select one main package. But if you'd like to give them the ability select multiple packages, you can toggle on that option.
Step 4: Set up the contract
On the Contract tab, make sure the contract is toggled on. (It's optional. Toggle it off if you don't want a contract generated for this proposal.)
If your proposal template doesn't already include a contract, choose one of your saved contract templates and edit it as needed. To add a dynamic field, type a curly bracket "{" and pick from the fields that appear.
Include these blocks so your contract reflects exactly what your client chooses:
Packages Overview Block: Pulls in everything for the packages and add-ons your client selects: names, descriptions, every deliverable, quantities, and the clauses attached to each package or add-on.
Payment Terms Block: Shows the total project cost and the client's payment plan. Due dates show as TBD until you finalize the invoices.
Signature Block: Add a new section and, under Input block, select Signature. Most designers add one for the client and one for themselves. You can add Initials blocks wherever you need them too.
Assign your signers
Click Click to assign on each signature block.
Choose from people already invited to your workspace, or add someone new with their name and email.
When you assign yourself, you'll see a note that you can countersign once the proposal and contract are shared.
Step 5: Set up invoices and payment terms
On the Invoice tab, make sure invoices are toggled on. (It's optional. Toggle it off if you'd rather set up invoices manually.)
Sales tax: Your workspace's default tax rate is filled in, but you can change it for this proposal. This is helpful if you charge different tax for clients in different countries.
Payment plan: Choose one:
Preset plan: You set the number of payments no matter what the client chooses. Pick the first payment date, and the remaining payments are spaced out monthly.
Client chooses: Your client picks how many payments they want. When you turn this on, a Payment Term block is automatically added to the end of your proposal form. For that block, you'll set the minimum and maximum number of monthly payments that the client is able to choose form (for example, 1 to 4) and the first payment date.
Good to know: Payments are spaced out monthly by default. You can change individual invoice due dates after the proposal is accepted and the invoices are created. Custom payment splits, like 50% then 25%, are on our roadmap to add in the future.
Step 6: Preview and send
Click Preview to open the proposal in a new tab. Preview mode isn't clickable, so you can check how everything looks, but you can't make selections.
When you're ready, click the share/send button at the top of the editor. Everyone added as a signer on the contract is already listed.
Click Make primary next to the person who will make the final decisions. If multiple people at the client's business need to see the proposal, they can all receive it, but only the primary responder makes the selections and approves it.
Send the proposal.
Choose when to countersign
If you're a signer on the contract, a pop-up appears after you send:
Continue to signature: Opens the contract in a new window so you can sign now. This works well if the proposal only has one option and you feel comfortable going ahead and signing.
No worries, I'll wait: Sign after you see what your client selects.
Your proposal now appears on the Proposals page with the status Sent. If you're a signer, you'll also get a confirmation email.
Step 7: What your client sees
Your client receives an email inviting them to review the proposal. When they open it, they will:
Select their packages and add-ons and answer any questions fields that you've included in your proposal form. Their project total calculates in the top right corner as they go.
Choose how many payments they'd like, if you've set up Client chooses, and see an estimate for each payment.
Click Continue to review the contract.
Sign and click Submit.
Step 8: Review the proposal
When your client submits their selections, the proposal status changes to Partially accepted, and you'll get an email and in-app notification that the proposal is ready for you to review (and countersign, if needed). Click the link in that notification to open the Proposal Review page.
At the top, a progress bar shows when the proposal was sent, when the client submitted their response, when the contract was signed, and when you approve the invoices.
Below that, alerts show anything you might still need to do before you can start the project, along with the project's proposed value.
The Proposal Review page has three tabs:
Form responses: A preview of the full proposal showing which packages and add-ons your client chose and all of their answers
Contract: The contract as signed so far
Payment terms: Where you confirm the payment plan (marked Action required)
To download any of these as a PDF, use the download button in the top right corner of the page.
Step 9: Countersign the contract
If you haven't signed yet:
Click Ready to sign in the alert box near the top of your Proposal Review page. This will open up the contract page from your proposal.
Add your signature to any assigned signature fields and click Submit.
You'll get a notification that the proposal is fully signed and accepted, and the progress bar on your Proposal Review page will update.
Step 10: Finalize your invoices
Invoices aren't created or sent until you confirm the payment terms. This gives you a chance to review your client's selections and make adjustments first, for example if they asked about adding something else to the project or want to move the start date.
On the Payment terms tab of your Proposal Review page:
Confirm or change the first invoice due date.
Confirm or change the number of payments. It defaults to either your preset plan or what your client chose, but you can adjust it if you've agreed on something different.
Edit the sales tax if needed.
Add payment instructions if needed and confirm the payment method. (These default to your Workspace settings.)
If you use external payment links, toggle that on. You'll need to add the link to each invoice individually after they are generated.
Check the box confirming you've reviewed everything, then click Confirm.
You'll see a message that your invoices are being created and you can now schedule the project.
Step 11: Start the project
Click the Start Project button that now appears in the top right corner of the page.
Confirm the project start date, or change it if plans have shifted.
Click Confirm.
Here's what happens next:
Tasks are scheduled. If the selected package has a project task template connected, its tasks are automatically scheduled based on your start date. (Add-ons don't create tasks yet, but it's coming soon.)
Your payment plan is set up. You'll find it in the project's invoicing tab. From there, you can open and edit individual invoice due dates if you wish.
Your documents are saved. A copy of the proposal review page is saved in the project's Files tab. You can review it or download everything any time.
📌 About autopay: If your client is already in Tezzera and has autopay enabled with a payment method on file, their payments will be charged automatically. New clients won't have a payment method on file yet.
FAQ
Why can't I start the project yet?
There's likely something that you still need to complete. (Like countersigning the contract or confirming the payment plan) Check the alerts at the top of the Proposal Review page to see what's still needed.
Do I have to countersign right after sending?
No. Choose No worries, I'll wait and countersign from the Proposal Review page after your client submits. A notification will remind you.
Why can't I click anything in the proposal preview mode?
That's intentional. Preview mode shows how your proposal looks, but selections only work in the live proposal your client receives.
Can I change individual payment due dates?
Yes. Payments are spaced out monthly by default, but you can edit any invoice's due date after the invoices are created. Just open them up from the project's invoicing tab to make edits. (Read more on editing installment plans)
Can I split payments by percentage, like 50/25/25?
Not yet. But we've heard this request, and it's on our roadmap.
Do add-ons create project tasks?
Not yet. Packages can connect to task templates that can then be auto-scheduled from the project start date. But add-ons could happen at any point in a project, so Tezzera can't know exactly when you'll want to work on them. You'll need to add those tasks in manually for now. But we're working on a good solution to hopefully made add-on tasks automated in the future!
Why do I need a primary responder?
Some clients have several decision makers, like co-founders. Everyone can view the proposal, but only the primary responder makes selections and approves it, so the process doesn't get messy.
Do changes to a package in the proposal editor change my package template?
No. Edits in the proposal editor only apply to that proposal.
Where can I find the proposal after the project starts?
In the project's Files tab, along with the contract.