Sales Quotation Management Software

Share this page on

CRM Quotation Software – What is a Sales Quotation?

A sales quotation is a document that a seller provides to a buyer to offer goods or services at a stated price, under specified conditions.

Are you struggling to make Sales Quotations for your customers. Looking for a ready-to-use, automatic quotations/proforma invoice (PI) template? Create a quote in less than a minute with SalesBabu Online Business Quotation Maker. Take Free Demo Today.

Other terminology for quotations are quotes, sales quotes or sales quotations and are used to let a potential buyer know how much goods or services will cost before they commit to the purchase.

Is a Quotation Legally Binding?

Quotations are usually not a legal binding unless they are part of an official contract. However, sales quotes is generally accepted that a customer has agreed and committed to a sale, and a specific price if they accept a sales quotes.

CREATE A QUOTATION NOW

The Right Time to Send a Quotation in Business

Sales Quotations or Proposals are generally sent at the request of a customer who is interested and wants to know more about certain services or goods before they commit a purchase.

Send your quotation as fast as you can. But not without checking your costs.

Customers always ask 3-4 vendors for quotes. The vendor who sends a clear, professional quote first stays on top of the customer’s mind.

So the rule is simple:

If a customer asks for a quote, acknowledge it within 1 hour. Say, “Thanks for your enquiry, we will send the detailed quote by 4 PM today.”
Send the detailed quote within 24 hours, ideally on the same day.

Do not delay for 2-3 days. If you need time to calculate costs, tell the customer. But do not keep him waiting without any update.

Why Making Quotations in Word and Excel is a Problem

Most small businesses start with Word or Excel. It works when you make 2-3 quotes in a week. When your business grows, it creates big problems.

You copy an old quote and forget to change the customer name. The customer sees another company’s name.
You make a mistake in GST calculation or total amount.
You do not know which quote is open, which is accepted, and which is lost.
Your salesperson leaves the company, and all his quotations are in his laptop. You lose the data.
You cannot track follow-ups. You forget to follow up, and you lose the deal.
Every salesperson uses a different format. Your company looks unprofessional.

Quotation management software removes all these issues. You work from one central database.

8 Simple Steps to Create a Winning Quotation for Your Business

You do not need to be an expert. Follow these 8 steps. This is how good companies make quotes that win.

1. Select a Template

Do not start from a blank page. Use a professional quotation template.

The creation of a winning quotation is a learning process. It will help to use a quality quotation format so that you will be able to create professional-looking, a thorough and detailed quotation which your clients will love.

2. Add Client Information

Make sure that you include who the quote is for, including all the information like:

Business name
Address
Phone number
Fax number
Email address
Contact name and the title

And the main thing does not forget to include your contact information. That said if you are using company letterhead, you might do not need to include it.

3. Enter Quote Number

Accounting software will automatically generate a quotation number for you, adding increments of one for each new quote.

Also add the date of issue. This is important because your quote is valid only for a limited time.

4. Include a Date of issue

This is the date when you send the quotation to the client. This is very much important because quotes are usually limited-time offers. You will want to add “Valid for 30 days”, or you can also increase or decrease the timeline.

5. Enter Products or Services

Add all the products or services that you are quoting as line items. Also, include a description of all the items with product numbers, total price per unit, unit price, and quantities. You can also divide the services and products according to the different stages of the project.

6. Add Terms and conditions

Here is where you account for all the possible variations in the project. For instance, you can note the project timeline for landscaping the backyard depending on having nice weather.

Small businesses will also explain how much the additional work costs. Explain under what conditions the additional work might be required, hence the quote is supposed to be at a fixed price.

7. Include Notes

This section is for if you want to add any other details. The note is the right place to detail timelines and expected completion dates. You can also summarise the scope of the project.

8. Add optional details

Here are some elements that you can consider adding to your quote:

Purchase order number from the client
Discount
Business number
Sales tax number Signature section

On the other hand, you should give yourself enough time to accurately work out your costs and calculate your profit margin. As mentioned earlier, quotes are not legally binding; you should do your best to send error-free sales quotations or avoid offering a price that you can’t actually commit to.

Drafting an Effective Sales Quotation

When it boils down to writing or drafting a sales quotation, there are multiple techniques at your disposal. You may choose for an online software, a quotation with the Word-based template, an Excel-based template, or even the classic handwritten business quotations.

Multiple considerations come into focus when deciding on the strategy for drafting a quotation. Primarily, key attention on the most efficient means of interaction with your customers. Timeliness is imperative, and many businesses opt for software solutions to promptly generate quotes and send them straight away to clients via email, text, or popular messaging platforms like Facebook or Whatsapp.

Equally imperative is the factor of professionalism in your opted strategy. While there is no strict requirement for a particular sales quotation format, template, or layout, necessary to prevent sending unprofessional and subpar quotations. The impression your quotation delivers plays an important role in molding perceptions about the standard of your work and business.

In summary, the main considerations for drafting a sales quotation involve the chosen method’s communication productively and the professional appearance it delivers. Choosing a method that goes with both factors ensures that your quotation not only reaches out to your customers swiftly but also delivers a positive and professional impression.

Key Components of a Sales Quotation Template

Once you’ve opted your method for generating a quotation, possessing a professionally designed template on hand is necessary for constantly delivering polished quotes. Identical to invoice templates, a sales quotation template should comply with the certain rules to deliver potential customers with a clear understanding of their commitment. Here are the main elements to include:

Company Details:
- Organization name
- Address
- Email address
- Contact number
- GST registration number or business registration number (if applicable)
Validity Date:
- Signifies how long the quotation stays valid, allowing customers to make informed decisions within a particular time frame.
Price Breakdown:
- Involves the total amount due for the order, along with individual expenses for services or products.
- Make sure to break down the final price, incorporating expense of materials, labor, and applicable GST charges.
Customer’s Details:
- Customer’s name
- Contact number
- Email address
- Shipping address
- Billing address, etc.
Terms & Conditions (T&C):
- Clearly outline the terms and conditions, delivering customers with awareness and clarity in relation to the quotation.

Sample of Sales Quotation Template

SEND YOUR FIRST BUSINESS QUOTE

How to format your Sales Quotes

To determine how a sales quotation should be formatted there are no legal regulations. However, it is advisable to follow a good idea – some basic formatting guidelines when sending quotes in business, and most businesses have quotation formats that are similar to their invoice formats.

Your quotation template should have the word ‘Quotation’ or ‘Quote’ or ‘Budgetary Quotation’ clearly visible at the top of the document so that your customers can easily distinguish the quotation from other documents. Generally, it is also common to have the quotation number, date, mode/terms of payment and customer contact address and contact details at the top of the quotation template, followed by the products details and total price. Your terms and conditions are usually at the bottom of your quotation.

Your quotations should be attractive, simple and easy to read, with a good layout and font. In case if you’d like to personalize or customize your sales quotation layout, you could add your company logo or choose colors that reflect your brand value.

Even though, you are sending sales quotations via email, be aware and ensure that how your quotes will look when they’re printed. A few customers prefer to keep physical records and they always take the printout apart from the email. Your quotation format should fit within the A4 paper sheet, and if necessary attach separate files. It’s always easy and comfortable to do this using an online quotation.

Quotation vs. Estimate vs. Proforma Invoice vs. Invoice – What is the Difference?

Many business owners get confused. Let us clear it in simple words.

Document	When You Send It	Is Price Fixed?	Is It Legally Binding?
Estimate	When customer asks for a rough idea and your costs are not final	No, it is an approximate price	No
Quotation / Sales Quote	When customer wants a firm price before buying	Yes, price is firm for validity period	Not directly, but if customer accepts, it becomes a commitment
Proforma Invoice (PI)	After customer says yes, but before final sale details are ready. Often needed for advance payment or import/export	Yes, with detailed breakup	Treated as a confirmed order for payment purpose
Invoice / Tax Invoice	After you deliver goods or services	Yes, final amount customer has to pay	Yes, it is a legal demand for payment

Simple rule to remember:
Estimate = Rough guess. Quotation = Firm offer. Proforma Invoice = Confirmation for advance payment. Invoice = Final bill.

In many trading businesses in India, customers ask for a PI to release advance. SalesBabu online quotation maker lets you convert a quotation to a proforma invoice and then to a sales order and invoice without re-entering data.

Major Benefits of Using Sales Quotation Management Software

1. You create quotes in less than a minute

You do not type product names again and again. You select from your product catalogue. The system picks the price, tax, and HSN automatically. Just change quantity and discount if needed.

2. You remove calculation mistakes

Manual GST calculation causes many errors. The software calculates tax, discount, total amount automatically. You get 100% data accuracy.

3. You look more professional than competitors

A clean, branded PDF with your logo, proper terms, and clear breakup wins trust. Customers feel you are an organised company.

4. You never lose track of quotes

You see all quotations in one list – Open, Sent, Accepted, Lost, Expired. You know who followed up last and what the customer said.

5. You follow up on time and win more deals

The system reminds you – “Follow up for QT-1023 today.” You create tasks and activities. Studies show that 80% of sales need 5 follow-ups, but most salespeople stop after 1. The software helps you follow up regularly.

6. You convert quotes to orders faster

When customer accepts the quote, you convert it to sales order in one click. No need to re-enter customer details, product details, prices. This saves hours every week.

7. Your entire team works from one place

All quotations are in a central cloud database. If one salesperson is on leave, another can handle his quotes. No data stays in personal laptops.

8. You get real business reports

How many quotes did you send last month? How many were accepted? What is your win ratio? Which product gets quoted most? Which salesperson closes most quotes? You get answers without making Excel reports.

How Sales Quotation Software Works in Real Life – A Practical Example

Let us take Sunil, who sells industrial packaging machines in Pune. He has 4 salespeople.

Before software: Customer calls Sunil for price of 2 machines. Sunil tells his junior to make a quote. Junior opens an old Excel file, changes price, but forgets to update delivery time. He sends it from his personal email. After 4 days, customer asks for update. Sunil does not know if quote was sent. He calls junior, junior is on leave. Deal is lost.

After SalesBabu quotation software: Customer enquiry comes, it is entered as opportunity in CRM. Sunil’s salesperson creates a quotation from opportunity in 2 minutes. Product details, price, GST, HSN come automatically. He adds delivery terms and sends PDF from the system email with company signature. The system creates a follow-up task for next day. Manager sees in dashboard that 12 quotations are open this week. He asks team to follow up. Out of 12, 5 become orders. Sunil converts accepted quotes to sales orders in one click.

This is how you save time and sell more.

How to Choose the Best Quotation Software for Small Business

Do not just look at price. Look at these 6 points:

1. Is it easy to use?
Your sales team should learn it in one day. If software is complex, they will not use it. Ask for a live demo with your own products.

2. Does it handle Indian needs?
GST, HSN, CGST/SGST/IGST, multiple units, INR currency – all must be there.

3. Does it connect with your sales process?
Good quotation software is not standalone. It should connect with lead, opportunity, sales order, invoice, and payment follow-up. SalesBabu CRM does this.

4. Can you access it anywhere?
It should be cloud-based. You should create quotes from office, home, or customer site using mobile.

5. Does it help you track and follow up?
Creating a quote is only 50% work. Tracking till closure is the other 50%. Check if it has activity, reminders, and reports.

6. Is support available?
You need quick support on phone or email when you get stuck. Check if company provides training and support in Indian time zone.

Common Mistakes You Must Avoid While Making Quotations

Sending quote without understanding customer need: Do not send price immediately. First ask what the customer really needs. Sometimes he needs a cheaper model, not the costly one.
Giving too much discount in first quote: Keep some room for negotiation. If you give best price in first quote, you have nothing left.
Not mentioning validity: Always mention quote is valid for 15 or 30 days. Otherwise customer comes after 3 months and asks for same price.
Hiding charges: Do not hide freight or installation charges. Mention everything clearly. Hidden charges break trust.
Spelling mistakes and wrong totals: Check once before sending. A mistake shows you are careless.
Not following up: The biggest mistake is making a quote and forgetting it. Most deals close on 3rd or 4th follow-up.

Why SalesBabu CRM Quotation Module Works Well for SMEs

SalesBabu built its quotation software after working with many manufacturers, traders, and service companies in India.

Here is what makes it different:

You create professional quotes in less than a minute with dropdowns.
You manage quotations with edit, view, recreate, email, delete, copy, print options.
You add taxes and discounts at line level and total level.
You support multiple currencies and multiple UOMs.
You convert quotation to PDF in different formats – with total amount, with total quantity, as per customer need.
You track all quote activities, emails, and follow-ups in one place.
You amend or override quotes and keep version history.
You create proforma invoice from the same quote.
You assign quotes to other salespeople and track stages.
You use mobile app to create quotes on the go, view info, and call customers.

In short, it helps you sell more and manage less.

Quotation vs. Proforma Invoice (PI)

Before the final details of a sale are confirmed a proforma invoice that is treated to be a non-official document (invoice) is sent to a customer . Proforma Invoices are generally used at the same point in the sales process as a sales quotation. However, quotations and proforma invoices present slightly different purposes.

A quotation would normally be sent if there is a customer inquiry, or if they require to know more about a service or product. Finally, a proforma invoice is sent to a customer if they have finalized to purchase, but cannot be sent a final copy of the invoice because the final details of the sale are not certain.

Quotation vs. Estimate

Similar to quotations, an estimates shared with the customers who enquire about a product or service. However, a sales quotation needs clear paraments (man power, time, raw materials, etc.) and relatively stable costs. This means that some businesses cannot give quotations because it simply isn’t possible to give a fixed price.

Instead of releasing a sales quotes, these businesses would prefer to issue an estimate, which is a non-binding approximation of what a work is likely to cost.

Quotations in SalesBabu CRM Quotation Module

Send personalized and professional sales quotations with Online Quotation Software in SalesBabu CRM Quotation Module. With our online business quotation templates, creating and sending sales quotes is quick and easy. From drop-down option pull your customer’s details, add your products and prices, then click the send button. Additionally, you can send quotes anywhere, anytime with the Android app.

Final Thoughts

A quotation is more than a price list. It is a sales tool.

When you send quotes fast, with clear details and professional look, you win customer confidence. When you track every quote and follow up on time, you win more orders.

Stop wasting time on Word and Excel. Use a simple online quotation maker that does calculations, formatting, and follow-up reminders for you.

If you want to see how SalesBabu quotation management software can work for your business, take a free demo. Upload your products and customers, create your first quote in 2 minutes, and see the difference yourself.

Ready to create professional quotations that close deals? Try SalesBabu Online Quotation Maker today.

Tags :