Processing the Response

Objective

Processing the response to a quotation is the final step of a quotation. This document explains the procedure to be followed to process the response from your customer after sending a quotation.

If the quotation is accepted, simply transfer the information from the quotation to the various modules in maestro* to avoid processing the information twice. If your customer's response is negative, simply archive the quotation to use it as a reference later.

Prerequisites

Summary

Transferring a Quotation if Accepted by the Customer (First Transfer)
Rejection of a Quotation

Steps

Transferring a Quotation if Accepted by the Customer (First Transfer)

Maestro* lets you transfer information from the quotation to the various modules by performing the following actions:

Open a project;
Open a customer order for distribution quotations;
Transfer the budget to the project;
Transfer materials from the quotation to catalogue orders, requisitions or resources;
Transfer subcontractor contracts (if the subcontractor module is installed; otherwise transfer to an order;
Open a flat rate billing contract or invoicing contract to save invoicing information to the contract.

By default, the three quotation statuses available at the time of transfer are: Completed, Proposed and Accepted. However, you can configure the Quotation Status Codes Table to authorize a transfer to other quotation statuses or to restrict the transfer of certain phases based on the status. Transfers are not required for rejected quotations.

Prerequisite for Transferring a Quotation

Every element to be transferred (division, section, phase, activity, materials, resources, subcontractors, sub-quotation) must be linked to the Project Activities tab by specifying an activity code for each element.
Furthermore, these elements to be transferred (materials, resources, sub-contractors, sub-quotation) must have a group code assigned in the Group column in the Detail tab of the quotation.

If defined, these codes are usually from Catalogue Management. Otherwise, the user must complete this information manually.

The Transfer Information section in the Information tab of the quotation must also be completed.

1. Transfer to Project Management

At this stage, the user wants to create the project and therefore transfer the information from the quotation to Project Management. To do this, follow these steps:

The project must be created before or at the same time as the budget. The budget cannot be created if the project does not exist.

From the quotation, click the Apply icon.
Check the Create Project option to create the project in Project Management.

A project number will be assigned based on the value found in the system, according to the following hierarchy:

The user has entered a project number manually in the Information tab of the quotation.

A project mask has been defined in Define Quotation Types and automatic numbering has been activated.

If no project number has been found, the system uses the counter specified in Configuration - Project option, General section, if automatic numbering is activated. Otherwise, the user must enter a project number manually before performing the transfer.

If only the Create Project option is checked, no amounts are transferred. The project is created with the information entered in the Information tab of the Transfer Information section.

Check the Create Budget option to transfer selling and cost amounts from the quotation to Project Management.

If you have already transferred to the budget, you must check one of the following options based on your requirements:

Option

Description

Affect the budget modifications

Check this field if the quotation represents change notifications. Thus, in Project Management, these amounts will affect the Modification column in the Activity and Budget tab.If the Contract Invoicing or Progress Billing Invoicing option is also checked, the selling amount affects the amount of the invoicing contract in the Change Order tab.

Clear original budgets

Check this field only if a full replacement of budgets defined in Project Management during the last transfer of the quotation is required.

NOTE: If checked, the system replaces the amounts from the previous budget with amounts from the Activities tab in the quotation.

Clear the budget modifications

Check this field to replace the budget linked to the change notifications.The values entered in Project Management and invoicing contracts (Contract Invoicing or Progress Billing Invoicing) will be replaced by the values in the quotation.

NOTE: This transaction is irreversible.

Option	Description
Affect the budget modifications	Check this field if the quotation represents change notifications. Thus, in Project Management, these amounts will affect the Modification column in the Activity and Budget tab.If the Contract Invoicing or Progress Billing Invoicing option is also checked, the selling amount affects the amount of the invoicing contract in the Change Order tab.
Clear original budgets	Check this field only if a full replacement of budgets defined in Project Management during the last transfer of the quotation is required. NOTE: If checked, the system replaces the amounts from the previous budget with amounts from the Activities tab in the quotation.
Clear the budget modifications	Check this field to replace the budget linked to the change notifications.The values entered in Project Management and invoicing contracts (Contract Invoicing or Progress Billing Invoicing) will be replaced by the values in the quotation. NOTE: This transaction is irreversible.

In the drop-down menu of the Activities field, select the transfer action to be performed for the activities. The activities from the quotation will be transferred to the Activity and Budget tab of Project Management.
If necessary, check the option Affect the total selling amount into revenu’s activity to group the selling amounts for all activities to be transferred to Project Management (Activity and Budget tab, Budget column).

To make the option available, the revenue activity must be created in the Activities tab of the quotation in advance, but it must also be selected in the Transfer Information section of the Information tab.

If the option is not checked, the selling amount is displayed by activity transferred to Project Management.

Click Accept. The project is created in Project Management.

2. Transfer to Contract Management

At this stage, the user must choose an invoicing method. He must choose how the quotation will be invoiced to the customer.

Maestro* lets you invoice using Contract Invoicing or Progress Billing Invoicing.

To create the invoicing contract, the project must already be created or be created at the same time.

Creating a Customer

To ensure the Create Customer option is available when transferring a quotation, a code must be assigned to the customer in the Customer field of the Customer Information section of the Information tab for the quotation.

When you check this option, the system creates the customer in Customer Management if the customer does not already exist.

Creating Invoicing Contracts

Since the invoicing contract is closely related to the project, you must check the Create or Edit Project option before you select the invoicing contract to be created.

The contract to be created depends on the invoicing module used. The user must check either:

The Contract Invoicing option to invoice the quotation based on the total amount of the quotation and create the invoicing contract in the Contract Management option.

The revenue activity and group must be completed in the Information tab for the quotation.

The contract will also available in the Progress Billing Contracts module even if it was created with the Contract Invoicing option when transferring the quotation, but the Billing Schedule information will not be accessible.

The Progress Billing Invoicing option which lets you invoice the quotation based on the presentation mode defined. The invoicing contract will be created in the Progress Billing Contracts option.

If the user selects this option, but the Presentation Mode is not defined in the quotation, the system creates the contract in Progress Billing Contracts with the Total Amount from the quotation only.

To create the Schedule Billing tab in Progress Billing Contracts, the user must create it manually or return to the quotation to create a sales slip in Presentation Mode AND transfer the quotation again using the Progress Billing option.

3. Creating Subcontractor Contracts

Check the SubContracts option.

This option is only available if at least one subcontractor has been selected in the Details or Subcontractors tab in the quotation.

If checked and the Subcontractor’ Contract module is installed, the system creates the contract in the Subcontract Management option. But if the user does not have the Subcontractor’ Contract module, the contract will be created as a non-transferred order that will be available through the Purchase Order Management option.

These contracts can be printed using the Print Subcontract Orders option.

Click Accept.

To create subcontractor contracts only, simply uncheck all other options.

4. Creating Discounts and Resources, Requisitions, or Orders

To allow the user to create resources by project, requisitions, or orders for Material catalogue items when transferring a quotation, the following settings must be enabled:

These settings are available in the Configuration option of the Projects module, in the Quotations section.

At a minimum, Material must be enabled in Item Types to include when creating resources, requisitions and orders.
The Integrate with purchasing option must also be activated.

Note that the Integrationwith Purchasing option is applicable only with the Advanced Quotation option in version 3.04.

Creating Discounts

If necessary, check the Create Discount option.

This option is necessary or useful if a discount or price adjustment has been applied in the Catalogue tab of the quotation.

This option is used to create discounts from the quotation to options in Define Supplier Pricing and Supplier Discounts Table options.

According to the level for managing materials orders defined by the company, the user must choose one of options below:

Before making a choice for processing materials, the Detail Level to be used for creating resource, requisition or order transactions must be specified.

The following table describes how each option in the drop-down menu of the Detail Level field is used.

Available choices	Description
Quotation	Indicates that a transaction will be created for each representing the quotation. Default option that does not group the transactions. Each resource, requisition or order will be separate from the others.
Division Section Phase Activity	Indicates that a transaction will be created according to the level selected. This option groups the resources, requisitions or orders into a single transaction according to the level selected. For example, if you have five divisions, one transaction per supplier will be created for each division. NOTE: If there is no Activity, the system groups the transactions according to the next level of precision up to Division if there is no other level.
Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4	Indicates that a transaction will be created for each level. This option groups the resources, requisitions or orders into a single transaction according to the level. NOTE: For example, if the user uses divisions in the quotation, Level 1 refers to the Division, Level 2 refers to all levels that are secondary to the Division, Level 3 refers to all levels that are third below Division and Level 4 refers to the Activity. i.e. In the Details tab, the user has division that contains a section, a division that contains a phase AND an activity and a third division that does not contain any other levels. If the user transfers information using the Level 2 option, all catalogue items are grouped according to the 2nd level in which they are located. Consequently, items from division 1 will be grouped by section, items from division 2 will be grouped by phase and items from division 3 will be grouped by division. If the requested level does not exist, the system groups the items in the last level used. In others words, if there is no Level 4, the system groups by Level 3, otherwise, by Level 2, otherwise, by Level 1.

Available choices

Description

Quotation

Indicates that a transaction will be created for each representing the quotation. Default option that does not group the transactions. Each resource, requisition or order will be separate from the others.

Division
Section
Phase
Activity

Indicates that a transaction will be created according to the level selected. This option groups the resources, requisitions or orders into a single transaction according to the level selected.

For example, if you have five divisions, one transaction per supplier will be created for each division.

NOTE: If there is no Activity, the system groups the transactions according to the next level of precision up to Division if there is no other level.

Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Level 4

Indicates that a transaction will be created for each level. This option groups the resources, requisitions or orders into a single transaction according to the level.

NOTE: For example, if the user uses divisions in the quotation, Level 1 refers to the Division, Level 2 refers to all levels that are secondary to the Division, Level 3 refers to all levels that are third below Division and Level 4 refers to the Activity.

i.e. In the Details tab, the user has division that contains a section, a division that contains a phase AND an activity and a third division that does not contain any other levels. If the user transfers information using the Level 2 option, all catalogue items are grouped according to the 2nd level in which they are located. Consequently, items from division 1 will be grouped by section, items from division 2 will be grouped by phase and items from division 3 will be grouped by division.

If the requested level does not exist, the system groups the items in the last level used. In others words, if there is no Level 4, the system groups by Level 3, otherwise, by Level 2, otherwise, by Level 1.

Creating Project Resources (Optional)

If this option is checked, the system transfers the material from the quotation to Define Resources by Project.

When checked, the Group Items option groups materials that are used more once in the quotation in the list in the Details tab of the Define Resources by Project option. If the option is not checked, the materials are not grouped into one item, but listed one below the other.

The resources by project are then converted into requisitions and then orders by the buyer.

5. Creating Requisitions (Optional)

If this option is checked, the system transfers the material from the quotation to the Requisitions module.

When a quotation is transferred, the information is sent to the Requisitions module. If the option is checked, the system creates a Waiting non-transferred requisition.

The requisitions are then processed by the buyer and converted to orders using the Requisition -> Supplier order option if necessary.

This choice is only available if the Requisitions module is installed.

6. Creating Orders

If this option is checked, the system transfers the material to the Stock Order from Catalogue option. This transaction will available under non-transferred transactions, pending confirmation by the buyer.

An order will be created for each supplier identified in the quotation.

The Createa customer order option is only available for Distribution quotations.

7. Final Transfer

Final transfer of a quotation is provided for quotations:

whose contents no longer require changes
and/or for which project work is completed

The Check to confirm a final transfer option is only available for quotations with a Completed or Accepted status. This option ensures that the quotation cannot be modified or transferred later. A quotation for which the final transfer has been performed will be available for inquiry by clicking the Display only transferred entries icon.

If the user performed a final transfer on a quotation by mistake, it will be impossible to make changes to the quotation.

For correct the situation, the user must create a new quotation from the latter. To do this, open the quotation to be copied and select the Create a new quotation from this quotation option from the File menu. It will then be possible to modify and/or transfer this quotation using the same project.

Note that this solution is possible if the user's Security Management permits.

Rejection of a Quotation

If you did not get an order, we recommend changing the status of the quotation to Refused for the following reasons:

To archive the quotation.
To use this quotation to budget another similar project, or a portion of another project that is similar.
To know how many quotations have been rejected in one year.
To know how many quotations a company must issue to receive a contract from a customer.
To contribute to the history for material prices (i.e. : average price, special discounts).
For various market analyses the company may want to conduct.

To do this, simply:

Open the quotation.
Change the Status of the quotation to Refused.
Save and Quit the quotation.

You can display quotations with this status by clicking the Display the Rejected Quotations icon in the quotations screen.