Overview
Note: Help content (except videos) has been updated to reflect the UI/UX changes in CORE.
Quotes specify the quantity and price for the products and services offered by your company to the prospects and clients. Quotes can be a bid or a proposal calculating the total cost of the opportunity or sale. They are external documents shared with the prospects and clients, and can be used for building powerful proposals.
Quotes are typically part of the proposals and created for opportunities. You can set up a few quote templates that outline the most common attributes or settings to speed up the process of creating and sending out quotes to your clients. You can also save existing quotes as templates. When the quotes are ready, you can insert them into the relevant proposals and make them more attractive using the Proposal Builder. These quotes can further be converted to budgets after an opportunity is won. In such cases, further tracking can be done by project managers to see that quoted or estimated amount is met. The quote can then easily be converted to an active invoice when the client has agreed to the cost. Click to watch this video on managing quotes in CORE CRM.
Sales representatives or business development agents need to provide itemized quotes to their prospects that clearly outline what professional services and offerings are provided at what costs. They also need the ability to apply promotions to those service or expense items. CORE CRM offers the Quotes screen that allows you to create and manage quotes for your prospects. Sales commission is calculated for the sales person based on the service and expense line items that are part of the primary quote associated with the opportunities won. CORE automatically looks for the service and expense line items on the quotes when sales are finalized (opportunities marked as won). If there is a match between the commission profile items and quote items, it calculates the commission earned by the assigned sales team.
Proposals can also be used in this process if they inherit the quote amount from the quote inserted into its proposal builder. This quote amount is reflected in the proposal amount, which can be changed. However, the Commission Earned report checks if the quote was inserted into the proposal or not. If it finds a quote, it always does the commission calculations on that quote amount. So, the commission is always calculated on the quote amount for the sales person who is assigned to the opportunities (assuming the sales person has been assigned to the commission profiles), whether opportunity was closed at the quote amount or proposal amount.
Basic Tasks
Advanced Tasks
Field Descriptions
| Field Name | Field Description |
| Quotes > General > | |
| Quote ID | It is the primary, unique identifier of a quote that is used for reference. A quote is generated for internal use and, therefore, should not repeat. It is pre-filled and auto-incremented if set up in Settings > CRM. |
| Created By | This is the person who creates the quote. This field is read-only and auto populates by whoever is logged-in. |
| Quote Date | This is the Created On date for the quote generated by default, but can be changed to any other date. This date can be used in filters and as a reference for a time frame. |
| Opportunity | Name of the opportunity related to the quote. |
| Miscellaneous Amount | It can be the contingency expenses for the quote. This amount is included in the total quote amount. |
| Fee Schedule | The rates brought into the quote follow the rate hierarchy in CORE. So if a fee schedule is assigned here, CORE uses the special rates from it for the quote. |
| Prospect | Name of the prospect for whom you want to create a quote. |
| Project Template | This is a project template for the project to be created if the opportunity is won. |
| Primary | CORE marks every new quote as primary for a specific opportunity. If there is only one quote for an opportunity, it is set as the primary quote by default. |
| Quote Amounts: Services | Service amount for a quote. It represents the total of activity items specified in the quote. |
| Expenses | Expense amount for the quote. It represents the total of expense items specified in the quote. |
| Discount | Any discounted amount set for the quote. |
| Total Quote | Total amount (services + expenses) estimated in the quote. It includes the miscellaneous amount. |
| Quotes > Details > Services > | |
| Service | Activity item representing the service line of the quote. You can also choose a group of activities here. |
| Hours | Hours proposed for the selected service item. |
| Cost Rate | Percentage value representing the cost to your company for per hour of work done by employees on a service. The rates brought into the quote follow the rate hierarchy in CORE. The cost rate is not available in the Proposal Builder when inserting a quote in the proposal. |
| Bill Rate | Per hour bill rate proposed for the service item. The rates brought into the quote follow the rate hierarchy in CORE. |
| Tax 1/2/3 | You can assign up to three taxes per service item. CORE sums them up to calculate the bill amount for the service item. |
| Total | This is the total amount charged for the services before the discount is applied. |
| Promotion | This is a promotion that you can select and associate with the service line item of the quote. |
| Discount | Amount of discount offered on the service line item of the quote based on the promotion applied. |
| Amount |
Total bill amount quoted for the service item. It is calculated as: (Hours x Bill Rate) x (1 + Tax 1 + Tax 2 + Tax 3) |
| Quotes > Details > Expenses > | |
| Expense | Expense item representing the expense line of the quote. You can also choose a group of expenses here. |
| Units | Quantity or units proposed for the selected expense item. |
| Cost Rate | Per hour cost rate proposed for the expense item. The rates brought into the quote follow the rate hierarchy in CORE. |
| Tax 1/2/3 | You can assign up to three taxes per expense item. CORE sums them up to calculate the bill amount for the expense item. |
| Total | This is the total amount charged for the expenses before the discount is applied. |
| Promotion | This is a promotion that you can select and associate with the expense line item of the quote. |
| Discount | Amount of discount offered on the expense line item of the quote based on the promotion applied. |
| Amount |
Total bill amount quoted for the expense item. It is calculated as: (Units x Cost Rate) x (1 + Tax 1 + Tax 2 + Tax 3) |
|
Quotes > Follow-Ups > Add & Modify Follow-Ups > |
|
| Description |
Name or description of the follow-up. |
| Follow-Up Date |
Date of the follow-up deadline. This is the date by which the follow-up needs to be done. |
| Follow-Up Type |
Type or category of to-dos in CORE CRM, say email follow-up or phone call follow-up with a prospect about the quote. |
| Assigned To |
You can assign a follow-up to a sales person. |
| Priority |
Indicates the priority of the follow-up, whether high, low or medium. |
| Status |
Indicates whether a follow-up is active, on hold, inactive, completed, etc. It gives the status of the follow-up. |
Create Quotes from Scratch
In CORE, you can create quotes from scratch or from templates. When creating quotes from scratch and using project templates, those projects and phases become part of the quotes. This is useful for professional services companies because projects and phases are pivotal to them. CORE allows you to copy existing service and expense line items from the budgets or estimates into the quote details.
To create a quote from scratch, watch this video or follow these steps:
- Open the Quotes screen from the side menu > CRM > Sales.
- Click Create Quote at the top-right and select From Scratch.
- On the Create New Quote dialog, select the relevant Prospect from the drop-down. Check Field Descriptions above for details.
- Next, select an Opportunity from the drop-down for which the quote is needed.
- Optionally, choose a relevant Project Template if you want your quote to show offerings by project phases. Click Create Quote.
- On the Create Quote screen, enter the required information. Check Field Descriptions above for details.
- Quote ID
- Created By
- Enter a Miscellaneous Amount, if needed. You can also mark the quote as Primary. Check Field Descriptions above for details.
- Click Save & Done. It takes you to the detail view where you can add more information about it.
- In the detail view, go to the Details > Services tab to add service line items for the quote.
- Click Add and enter the required information in the top row of the grid. Check Field Descriptions above for details.
- Service: Activity item
- Hours
- Cost Rate
- Bill Rate
- Tax 1/2/3: per service item
- Promotion
- Click Done to save the information. Add more services, as needed. You can click Detail on the row to view its details.
- Now go to the Expenses tab and enter the expense information in a similar way. Check Field Descriptions above for details.
- Expense
- Units
- Cost Rate
- Tax 1/2/3: per expense item
- Promotion
- Click Done. Add more expenses as needed. The total service and expense amount gets added to the total quote amount.
- Back on the General tab, click Save & Done.
Note: You can use More > Copy from Budget or Copy from Estimate instead to copy existing service and expense line items from a budget or an estimate into the quote details.
Create Quotes from Templates
In CORE, you can create quotes from scratch or from templates. You can set up a few quote templates that outline the most common attributes or settings to speed up the process of creating and sending out quotes to your clients or prospects. Just like with projects, CORE allows you to convert quotes to templates and then be able to create new quotes based on those templates, as needed.
To create a quote from a template, watch this video or follow these steps:
- Open the Quotes screen from the side menu > CRM > Sales.
- Click Create Quote at the top-right and select From Template.
- On the Create from Template dialog, select a relevant quote template from the list.
- Click Continue.
-
On the Create Quote screen, enter or edit details about your new quote. Check Field Descriptions above for details.
- Quote ID
- Description
- Created By
- Prospect
- Opportunity
- Miscellaneous Amount
-
You can mark the quote as Primary. Check Field Descriptions above for details.
-
Click Save & Done. A new quote is created based on the template.
You are taken to the detail view where you can edit or add more information about the quote.
Edit Quotes
You can edit quotes in the detail view.
To edit a quote:
- Open the Quotes screen from the side menu > CRM > Sales.
- In the list view, select a quote on the grid and click
to select View Details.
- In the detail view, go to the General tab and make the relevant edits.
- Click Save & Done.
- To edit the service or expense line items, go to the Details > Services (or Expenses) tab.
- You can add more items by clicking Add and entering the information in the top row of the grid. Check Field Descriptions above for details.
- Service: Activity item
- Hours
- Cost Rate
- Bill Rate
- Tax 1/2/3: per service item
- Amount
- Click Done. After saving, you can click Detail to view or edit details of each line item of the quote.
- On the Edit Quote Line > General tab, view or edit details. Check Field Descriptions above for details. Click Save & Done.
Note: You can use More > Copy from Budget or Copy from Estimate to copy existing service and expense line items from a budget or estimate into the quote details.
View Reports
To view a report:
- Open the Quotes screen from the side menu > CRM > Sales.
- In the list view, click More > View Reports.
- Select a report from the Report List dialog. It opens in the viewer.
- Preview the report and then choose to export or print it.
Add Custom Fields
Using custom fields, you can track extra characteristics and attributes of your quotes. You can add an unlimited number of custom fields.
To add a custom field:
- Open the Quotes screen from the side menu > CRM > Sales.
- In the list view, select a quote on the grid and click
- Go to the Details > Services (or Expenses) tab and click Detail on its grid.
- On the Edit Quote Line > Custom Fields tab, click Add Custom Field and select the type of field you want, say Text Box.
- On the Add Text Box dialog, enter the information depending on the type of field, say:
- Name
- Type
- # of Characters
- Check Show in List View if you want this field to appear under the Show/Hide Columns list and show up on the grid.
- Click Save.
Note: You can display a maximum of three custom fields on the list view per screen.
Add Documents
To add a document to a quote:
- Open the Quotes screen from the side menu > CRM > Sales.
- In the list view, select a quote on the grid and click
- In the detail view, go to the Documents tab and click Add.
- On the Add Documents dialog, select the relevant tab, depending on the type of attachment.
- Computer: To attach files stored on your computer, enter its Description and drag your file or click to browse to that location.
- Hyperlink: To attach an external link, enter its Description and then insert the hyperlink.
- Dropbox: To link files stored in your Dropbox account, enter its Description and then browse for it.
- Google Drive: To link files stored in your Google Drive account, enter its Description and then browse for it.
- OneDrive: To link files stored in your Microsoft OneDrive account, enter its Description and then browse for it.
- Box: To link files stored in your Box account, enter its Description and then browse for it.
- Resource Library: To link company resources, select the resource from the library.
-
Click Add.
CORE pre-fills some of the information about the attached documents in the grid. You can send the documents to your clients, employees, or other contacts for getting their digital or electronic signatures (eSignature via DocuSign) using the eSign option from the row-action menu. CORE automatically adds the signed documents to the Documents folder of the entity (record) as separate attachments. It displays the status of the document, whether it has been delivered via DocuSign, viewed by recipients, declined or completed by recipients, etc. This column does not show up if you are not connected via the DocuSign integration. Check CORE Help Center for more details on Documents.
Add To-Dos
You can create and view to-dos for your quotes on this screen. CORE allows you to add to-dos from the detail view as well as list view (row-action menu). The Type is pre-filled based on the screen where you are adding the to-do. The ID is pre-filled based on the record to which you are adding the to-do. These to-dos can be tasks or action items for the quotes. CORE allows you to create time entries from your to-dos.
To add a new to-do task for a quote, follow the steps below:
- Open the Quotes screen from the side menu > CRM > Sales.
- In the list view, select a quote on the grid and click
- In the detail view, go to the To-Dos tab and click Add.
- Enter the required information in the top row of the grid:
- Description
- Start/End Date
- Assigned To
- Priority: level ranging from low to high
- Click Done. After saving it, you can click Detail to view its details.
- You can click Actions > Create Time Entry to create time entries for the selected to-dos. CORE also prompts you to create time entries when you update the to-do status to Complete or mark % Complete to 100%.
Check CORE Help Center for more details on To-Dos.
Add Notes
You can add, review and edit notes for your quotes from the detail view. CORE auto generates a note for any automated touch-points like when quotes are created, updated, or emailed, when follow-ups and to-dos are completed, etc. CORE also allows you to quickly add and modify notes from the list view. It also displays a badge for the number of notes attached to the quote. You can quickly preview notes by hovering over the Notes link.
To add a new note for a quote:
- Open the Quotes screen from the side menu > CRM > Sales
- In the list view, select a quote on the grid and click Notes on that row for quick access.
- On the Add & Modify Notes dialog, enter or edit your notes.
- Click Done. After saving, you can check out its details by clicking Detail on the row.
- Alternatively, click
- In the detail view, go to the Notes tab and click Add.
- Enter the required information in the top row of the grid:
- Category: These are CRM-specific note categories.
- Description
- Status
- Click Done. After saving it, you can click Detail on the row to view its details.
Check CORE Help Center for more details on Notes.
Saves Quotes as Templates
You can create quotes from a template and convert existing quotes to templates so as to use them again in future.
To save a quote as a template, watch this video or follow these steps:
- Open the Quotes screen from the side menu > CRM > Sales.
- In the list view, select a quote on the grid that you want to convert into a template and click
- For details, check Quote Templates. Click More > Quote Templates to add details to the new template. (You can also access this screen from Settings > CRM.)
Clone Quotes
If you want to create many similar quotes, it saves time to create a new quote from an existing one. In other words, you can duplicate a quote to create new ones and then edit that for any changes.
To clone a quote, watch this video or follow these steps:
- Open the Quotes screen from the side menu > CRM > Sales.
- Select the quote on the grid that you want to clone and click
-
On the Quote Clone dialog, enter the required information:
- Clone From
- Clone To
- Click Clone.
The newly cloned quote is displayed on the grid. You can go into its detail to edit it, if needed.
Add Follow-Ups
CORE allows you to follow up on the quotes sent to your prospects.
To add a follow-up to a quote, watch this video or follow these steps:
- Open the Quotes screen from the side menu > CRM > Sales.
- In the list view, select a quote on the grid that you want to follow up on and click Follow-Ups.
- On the Add & Modify Follow-Ups dialog, enter the required information. Check Field Descriptions above for details.
- Description
- Follow-Up Date
- Follow-Up Type
- Assigned To
- Priority
- Status
- Click Done. The follow-up is attached to this quote now.
- After saving it, you can click Detail to view its details. You can track all of them on the main Follow-Ups screen and receive notifications on them.
Show/Hide Columns in Grid
You can configure the fields or columns that appear on the grid in the list view. You can hide or show columns, and sort the order of columns according to your requirements.
To do so, watch this video or follow these steps:
- Open the Quotes screen from the side menu > CRM > Sales.
- In the list view, click More > Show/Hide Columns on the action bar.
- Select or un-select the column names in the drop-down list, say Stats.
- Next, click the column name you want to sort the data by, say Total.
- Click once for ascending order (A-Z) and twice for descending order (Z-A).
Note: You can resize the column widths on the grid and then reset them, if needed (More > Reset Column Widths).
Export Quotes
In CORE, you can export quotes to the Comma Separated Values file format. CORE exports data from all available columns and not just the columns visible in the grid.
To export the quote records to a .CSV file, watch this video or follow these steps:
- Open the Quotes screen from the side menu > CRM > Sales.
- In the list view, click More > Export as CSV.
- A .csv export file is created and saved on your system at the default download location, say your desktop. Click to open the spreadsheet.
Apply Filters
Besides filtering data using the standard fields on a screen, you can also use the custom fields for that, if you have set them up.
To view selective data on the grid, watch this video or follow these steps:
- Open the Quotes screen from the side menu > CRM > Sales.
- In the list view, click
on the right.
- On the Filters panel, select a filter from the drop-down and specify individual records or range.
- Click Add Filters to specify more filters.
- When you have finished, click Apply Filter. You can see selective data now.
- In the list view, you can remove the individual filters by clicking
on each. To disable applied filters temporarily or remove all filters, click
next to the Filters icon and select Disable Filters or Clear All, respectively.
Mark Screen as Favorite
You can mark or flag the most-often used and important screens in CORE as your favorites up to a maximum of ten. These favorite screens then display separately on the side menu under the Favorites list. You can manage all your favorite screens in CORE from User Settings.
To mark this screen as your favorite, watch this video or follow these steps:
- Open the Quotes screen from the side menu > CRM > Sales.
- In the list view, click
on the top-right.
- You can access this screen from the side menu under Favorites.