Sending a Quotation

Objective

Sending a quotation to a customer is one of the main steps in the estimating/quotations procedure. Once the quotation has been prepared, maestro* lets the user send it to the customer according to the requirements of the user.

 

You can access this function by clicking the Send Quotation icon in the Quotations or Quotations -Advanced Mode options. This function applies to Construction quotations only.

 

When you send a quotation, maestro* lets you:

  • send the same offer of services to all customers, with the same price for all;
  • send the same offer of services to all customers, but with a different price for each customer;
  • send an offer of services using a form on which each customer is identified;
  • use a standard message that is defined in the Mailing Configuration option;
  • send various documents attached to the quotation (such as : terms and conditions, standard exclusions or specific exclusions).

 

Prerequisites

 

Summary

 

Steps

Items to be Confirmed Before Sending a Quotation

Below is the list of items to be confirmed before sending a quotation to a customer.

  1. The recipients of the quotation must have been entered in the Customers tab if the transmission is sent to more than one customer. If you are sending a quotation to only one customer, the user can enter the information directly into the Customer Information section in the Information tab of the quotation.

 

If the transmission is for multiple customers, the information from the Customers tab will be used. The Selected column (available in the Customers tab) must not be checked because it is used to determine which customer accepts the quotation.

 

If the user wants to send a quotation to multiple customers, the CustomerInformation section in the Information tab of the quotation must not be completed because it has priority over the Customers tab.

  1. A price must be assigned to each recipient in the Amount column in the Customers tab (optional), if the price differs from one customer to another for the same quotation. Otherwise, the price of the quotation will be that in the Total Amount field in the Closing tab.

 

If you select a customer from the Customers tab, you must change the Total Amount in the Closing tab and update the presentation mode, if applicable.
  1. Review the information in the Site Information, Detailed Description, Contacts and Dates sections in the Information tab and the Additional Fields tab, if additional fields are configured. This information can be printed on the form.

 

Access to Sending a Quotation

  1. From a quotation, click the Send Quotation icon.
  2. The Document Selection window opens.

 

By default, the system displays all of the customers identified in the Customers tab of the quotation. However, if a customer has been identified in the CustomerInformation section of the Customers tab, the latter has priority over customers specified in the Customers section.

At this stage, you can deselect a recipient by unchecking the Selected column so that a quotation is not sent to this customer.

  1. Check or uncheck the Each customer will have a form identified to his name option based on your requirements.

 

If the Each customer will have a form identified to his name option is not checked, the system will send the same form to all of the selected customers. If this field is checked, a customized version of the form will be created for the selected customers.

  1. Select the transmission form to be used in the Form field.

 

The Default form is selected by the system to reflect the following hierarchy:

  • If a form other than Default is specified in the Customer QuotationForm field in the Projects / Quotations structure in General Settings.
  • If no form is specified in the Projects / Quotations structure in GeneralSettings, the system uses the standard form provided by Maestro, which is the JCSOUMIS.STD – Quote.

 

You can access the Form Configurationscreen by clicking the icon to change the form to be used.

  1. Click Accept.

 

Sending the Quotation

The Send a Message screen is displayed with the contacts linked to the customers in the preceding step.

  1. Enter the subject for the message in the Subject field.

 

This step is not required if the subject has been defined by default in the Mailing Configuration option for the Quotation form.

This subject will be copied to the subject field when the e-mail message is sent to inform your customers of the reason for your message.

The icon to the right of this field can be clicked to manually enter a subject based on the language of your contacts by switching from one to another. The user can write a bilingual e-mail message, but the subject will be in English or French, according to the language of the Recipient.

  1. Complete the information for the Recipients.

The user can add recipients at any time by clicking the Contact or Distribution Lists icon. The contacts will vary according to the address book selected.

 

By default, the selected address book is Quotation.

 

Mode 2 - E-mail CC sends the e-mail message to the contact and the quotation to the customer if available in the Attachments tab. Otherwise, the contact in the CC field will receive only the e-mail message, without the attachment.

If the Each customer will have a form identified to his name option was checked in step 2, the quotation transmission form will be customized for each recipient and will be displayed in the Document column in the following window.

 

To view the document in the request, double-click on the name of the document in the File column in the Attachments tab. To select the language in which the quotation transmission form opens, press the CTRL key and double-click on the name of the form.

The Send column identifies the contacts who will receive the price request. You can change your mind by unchecking the check box so that the form is not sent to certain contacts or you can add contacts to the distribution list.

  1. Complete the Message tab.

 

This step is not required if a message has been defined by default in the Mailing Configuration option for the Quotation form.

This text will be that written in the e-mail message. You can also select another signature if you are sending e-mail messages for another person.

 

You can define a default electronic signature in the Miscellaneous tab of the user's Preferences. If the quotation is sent to someone else, for example, make sure you use the correct electronic signature.

  1. Complete the Attachments tab if necessary. This step is required if, for example, the user wants to send additional documents with the quotation, such as proof of qualification, a quotation bond or a resolution form to authorize the signature of documents.

 

The documents added in this tab will be sent to all customers.

If the Each customer will have a form identified to his name option is not checked when you click Accept, the quotation transmission form will be the same for all recipients and will be displayed in the Attachments tab in the following window.

 

To view the quotation transmission form, double-click on the name of the document in the File column in the Attachments tab. To select the language for the price request form, press the CTRL key and double-click on the name of the form.

You can add and attach additional documents. When documents are added to the Attachments tab, they are automatically sent all of the contacts selected in the Recipients tab. However, you can add documents for a specific customer without having the document sent to all the contacts. To do this, just use the Document column in the Recipients tab.

Check the Convert to PDF option if your documents are not saved in PDF format to have the system convert them. This option is useful if the documents you are sending are in a modifiable format.

The Context field sets the source of the documents to be attached if the user clicks the Link a file coming from Document Management icon.

  1. Send the quotation by clicking the Send icon.

According to the Contact Communication Method, the system performs the following operations:

  • Sends the documents to the printer if the transmission method is Paper.
  • Sends an e-mail message to all of the selected recipients if the transmission method is Email, Email (CC) or Email (BCC).
  • Sends a fax to all of the recipients if the transmission method is Fax. However, a fax must be connected to the computer and configured.

 

A copy of the quotation transmission is automatically saved in the Transmittal Log tab for the contact in Contact Management.

  1. A transmission confirmation message is displayed on the screen. Click OK to return to the quotation.

 

Processing the Response to the Quotation

Whether your quotation is accepted or not, the user must process the response received. If the quotation has been accepted, the user must make the transfers to the other modules. If the quotation has been rejected, the user must change the status of the quotation to Refused.

For the steps to be followed to process the customer's response, refer to the help system on Processing the response.

 

See also:

 

Last modification: September 20, 2024