Quotation Management: The Key to Unlocking Profitability

What is Quotation Management?

Before that let’s briefly see about sales quotes. What is a quote? Well, a sales quote in general is a document that tells a potential customer how much your product or service costs. It is also known as a business quote. It is not a legal contract but a formal notice providing an estimated price. 

Business quotes are integral for business as they establish a base price for goods and services. This helps customers to plan financially and also helps businesses to gather resources for upcoming orders. Sales quotes can be used for:

• Planning ahead
• Establish new customer relations
• Boost sales funnel efficiency
• Prune sales cycle
• Reduce pricing issues
• Identify price fluctuations quickly
• Increase trust between your business and customers

Quote management can be defined as the process of tracing and managing customer quotes that provide the best value to the customers. Depending on your sales process it can include everything from creating and sending sales quotes to follow-ups to negotiating pricing and terms. 

Here are the typical steps involved in the quotation management:

• Businesses create pre-defined templates that include information such as standard pricing, terms and conditions, and product descriptions. This saves time and ensures consistency.
• Sales reps use these templates to personalize quotes for customers including specific product service details, quantities, ties, and pricing.
• The quotations should include relevant discounts and promotions.
• Once finalized, send the quotes to the customers. 
• Sales reps may need to check the outstanding quotes and follow up with the potential customers who haven’t responded to the quotes.
• Most of the quotations require internal approvals before sending it to the customer. The system should also enable revisions based on customer feedback.
• Keep track of the quote pipeline to ensure the sales team prioritizes deals and identifies inefficiencies that require immediate attention.

A quote management system can efficiently automate many of these tasks, streamline the whole process, and improve efficiency. 

Challenges faced by Businesses in Quotation Management

Is this the scene at your workplace?

• Your quote creation process relies heavily on paper forms making it slow and cumbersome.
• Multiple departments are involved in creating quotes often leading to inefficiency and confusion.
• Employees constantly search for necessary forms, reports, and documents, wasting precious productive time.
• You struggle with data duplication across multiple spreadsheets causing inconsistencies.
• When you mainly use spreadsheets they are no longer sufficient to handle the complexity of the quotes.
• Your current SharePoint solution is frustrating and difficult to use.
• Having an outdated database application that no longer meets the evolving needs.
• Replacing an expensive enterprise system is not an option so think about alternate ways to optimize data usage. 

Need for Quotation Management 

Quotes are essential otherwise there can be no negotiations but there are several other reasons why quote management is absolutely necessary. The pain  of manual quote management is:

• As your business grows you will be handling large numbers of quotes daily. In such scenarios, quote management software can save productive time spent on quote management and free up employees to focus on other useful activities instead.
• You need to always focus on getting the best possible prices from different vendors. Suppliers will have different pricing structures and discounts so by comparing quotes from multiple vendors, you can ensure that you get the best products at the best prices possible. 
• When you need to handle large amounts of quotes, errors are prone to occur especially if it’s done manually. These errors can especially delay negotiations and even risk losing potential customers. Or if the quote is too low the team admits to the real price being higher which displeases customers and you lose them all together. However, a robust quote management tool will eliminate all those errors and handle quotes smoothly. 
• Not all negotiations end up in closing the deal at the first meeting. It will take four to five follow-up meetings before sealing the deal. A quote management software automatically reminds you about the timely follow-up when required so you don’t need to worry about missing appointments. 
• For a big business, quoting can consume a lot of resources including employee time. This results in a negative ROI for the quote process as it slows down the sales negotiation process. If your business is facing issues with negative ROI then it’s time to switch to automation in quote management. 
• It is important to keep track of the inventory and quote management software to ensure that negotiations are done perfectly and that the sales team doesn’t run short on the promised items. For instance, if a 500 particular item is due to be delivered tomorrow and the company is short on that item, then the software can notify the sales team about the shortage before making the deal. 
• In order to improve compliance it is essential to have a robust quotation management system in place that is compliant with the organizational procurement regulations. In addition, you need to maintain proper documentation of all quotations to avoid fines and penalties during audits. 

Quotation Management Software

Quotation software is closely related to CPQ (configure, price, quote) software. Both these tools aim to streamline and automate the quotation process but they are slightly different from one another. This is a comprehensive sales tool that captures the new goods and services that the customer wants to buy or the changes made by the customer to the existing goods and services. Its ability to allow customers to design custom products and the sales team to automate quotations has a significant positive impact on the sales cycle and the customer experience. 

While CPQ software comes with predetermined rules it works with quote management to optimize the efficiency of the workflow. Companies use CPQ software when they deal with complex product offerings and certain quotations need higher level customizations. 

Quotation management software on the other hand is designed specifically to help the sales team manage the entire quote process efficiently. This is generally used by companies having business and selling simpler products and those product quotes need less customization.

Challenges with quotation management software

Limited functionality:

Not all software offers the same functionality that every business needs. Limitations in features cause inefficiencies and force users to find workarounds.

Custom solutions:

while offering a perfect fit, they come with a hefty upfront cost, development risks, and limited user communities for support. Sometimes they incur additional costs, and hidden charges and take more time to implement. 

Integration difficulties:

Most of the time businesses face difficulty in integrating the quotation management software with their existing CRM or ERP systems leading to data silos, hindering automation, and disrupting workflows. 

Unintuitive interface:

Complex navigation, cluttered layouts, and lack of user-friendly features can lead to slow adoption, user frustration, and reduced productivity. 

Performance lag and reliability:

slow loading times, frequent crashes, or data loss can hinder operations, impact user trust, and negatively impact performance. 

Hidden cost:

be aware of ongoing maintenance fees or surprise licensing costs that can strain your budget beyond the initial investment.

Tips for choosing the right quotation management system. 

Identify your needs

Before you start shopping, take some time to research and think about what you expect from quotation management software. Do you need a simple and easy tool or more advanced features such as customization and collaboration? This helps determine what goods and services are needed and their quantity. 

User interface

The quote management software that you choose should have a user-friendly interface that is intuitive and easy to use. Having a complicated tool will only slow down the process. Look for sales quotes that come with a clean and straightforward featured tool that is easy to navigate.

Customizable quotation templates

The software should have predefined customizable quotation templates as they help streamline the quoting process more efficiently. They are the key to optimizing the process as they can handle complex quotes and personalize them based on your preferences. The templates should also be flexible to let you add, remove, and edit company branding, and other critical elements in your templates.  

Integration

This is a crucial feature that you should analyze carefully. The quotation management system should seamlessly integrate with the existing software that allows easy data exchange and alter data from CRM, accounting, marketing, and other applications in an efficient manner. 

The system should enable real-time pricing, and update product availability thus helping organizations make informed decisions. Investing in quality quote management software will help save time, and money and streamline day-to-day processes. 

Reporting and analytics

Quote management software comes with detailed analytics and reporting capabilities where it helps track quotes that have been delivered, viewed, accepted, or rejected. There are features that let you generate reports on the quote activity, the status of a specific deal, conversion rates, and more. This is a valuable asset for tracking quotation status and measuring performance over time. 

Cloud

Always go for a cloud-based tool. Desktop applications can be a great choice for businesses with their own backups but cloud-based tools offer greater flexibility, scalability, and remote access with a reliable internet connection. Additionally, hassle-free when it comes to updating and these software options offer an effective balance between convenience and affordability. 

Pricing

The pricing of a quote management system ranges from free to several hundred dollars per month. Plan ahead to allocate a budget and see if the chosen tool fits within the criteria. Remember, that the most expensive tool doesn’t mean it is the best. Sometimes, the most affordable options prove to be the best for your business.  

Reviews

Before making a decision read reviews. It helps you decide better and know what other users think about the specific quote management system. This will help you get a good idea of what to expect from the tool in terms of features, ease of use, and customer service. 

Demo

Many software provide free demos and trials for a specific period so you need to take advantage of those. It will allow you to try out the software to see if it fits your needs. Ensure you try out the software before purchasing and implementing it. 

Components of a Quotation Template

As mentioned before, the quotation management system should offer predefined customizable templates. It’s highly essential to have a complete and professional quotation template that you can fill in quickly whenever you need to send a quote.

Unlike invoice templates, quotation templates don’t have legal restrictions and can be created with simple rules based on the quotation requirement. But, you need to have the following essential components in your template:

• Company information: this section predominantly displays your business branding, including logo, name, contact details, address, phone number, email, and any other relevant business registration numbers needed.
• Customer information: clearly identify the recipient’s information such as their name, company name (if applicable), address, phone number, and email address.
• Quote details: quote number which is the assigned unique identifier for easy reference and tracking. Specify the date of the quote when it is created and issued. Add an expiration date to define the quote’s validity. 
• Details of the products and services mentioned clearly list their specifications, quantities, unit pricing, and total costs.
• Finally add a summary that includes subtotals, taxes, and grand total.
• You can add payment terms and conditions and delivery schedules for governing the legal disclaimers and auditing purposes.           

List of Best Quote Management Software

Cflow –

Cflow is a no-code cloud-based software that is designed to automate your business workflows. Cflow is a powerful tool to automate and streamline various aspects of your quote management process, especially in areas like request handling, approvals, and communication. 

With Cflow, you can design workflows to manage incoming quote requests. You can customize them to capture customer information, route requests to appropriate departments, and notify relevant managers. It can potentially integrate with other CPQ, ERP, and CRM systems. 

You can trigger automated quote generation based on predefined rules. Cflow excels at automating approval processes. You can create workflows using pre-defined templates and route them for internal approval from managers before sending them to the customer. Cflow is suited for all types of businesses regardless of their industry type and size. 

HubSpot Sales Hub –

HubSpot Sales Hub is a suite of software tools that helps businesses streamline their sales process, boost efficiency, and empower sales teams to close more deals. It caters to businesses of all sizes from startups to large enterprises. Its key features include centralized contract management, visualizing sales pipeline, tracking the progress of deals, forecasting future sales performance, email tracking and automation, and personalized quote and proposal creation. HubSpot Sales Hub offers a free tier with basic features to try it out which makes it an attractive option for businesses of all sizes. 

DealHub.io –

Cloud-based no-code revenue management platform, DealHub.io helps optimize sales processes and is best suited for mid-market and enterprise businesses. It offers a comprehensive solution for managing your organization’s sales pipeline, generating proposals, closing deals, and managing contracts. 

Salesforce Revenue Cloud

– Salesforce Revenue Cloud is a part of its ecosystem which is designed to help businesses manage their entire revenue lifecycle from quoting to order management to final billing and revenue analysis. It is important to note that Revenue Cloud is not a standalone solution and requires customization when integrating with your existing ERP solution. It works best with other Salesforce products such as Sales Cloud and Service Cloud. It offers unified revenue management by automating revenue lifecycles such as generating quotes, order processing, and invoice processing. 

PandaDoc –

PandaDoc is a cloud-based document management application that functions as an all-in-one platform for creating, editing, tracking, and electronically signing different business documents. It comes with a library of predefined templates for creating proposals, quotes, contacts, and other sales documents. It enhances team collaboration, allows legally binding electronic signatures, and comes with document tracing and analytics features that provide valuable insights on customer engagement with your documents. 

Jobber –

Jobber is a cloud-based field service software that aims to streamline operations for small and medium-sized enterprises. It is a hub that offers features for managing various aspects of your field service businesses – from scheduling jobs and dispatching technicians to creating invoices and tracking finances. It efficiently allows you to create and manage schedules and job details and monitor their progress in real time. It helps provide a positive customer experience, streamlines invoices, accepts online payments and monitors financial performance. It also provides mobile accessibility. 

Infor CPQ –

best suited for industrial and manufacturing sectors, Infor CPQ offers robust functionalities like the creation of product rendering and 3D models of products for easy visual configuration. It offers features that help with guided selling to ensure customers select compatible options and guides the sales team with predefined business rules. It also automates complex pricing rules and calculations and offers integration with CRM and ERP systems, facilitating unified workflow across your organization. 

Scoro –

Scoro is an all-in-one business management solution that offers combined functionalities to streamline your workflows and enhance efficiency. It offers comprehensive workflow management by integrating project management, resource planning, time tracking, and team collaboration. It offers enhanced financial management features for budgeting, invoicing, and financial reporting that provide real-time insights on tracking your project finances and making informed decisions. 

Epicor CPQ –

Epicor CPQ offers unique solutions for streamlining complex quotes and custom products. It offers functionality like 2D and 3D visual configuration allowing customers, sales, and distributor teams to see the product on screen which will potentially enhance conversions. It automates configurations and pricing rules that help minimize errors. It also helps in creating bills of materials (BOMs) and product instructions automatically and integrates seamlessly with existing ERP systems in your organization. 

Conga CPQ –

Conga CPQ is specifically designed to optimize the process of configuring, pricing, and quoting complex products and services. This is an essential sales tool that helps businesses with accurate and personalized quotes for their customers by automating the quote-to-cash (QTC) process. 

Conclusion

The global quote management software market reached a value of US$1.4 billion in 2021 which is expected to achieve a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.9% by racing US$7.6 billion by 2032. This indicates the importance of having an effective quote management system in place. By implementing a streamlined quote management system you equip your business not only to win more projects but to secure profit margins too. Remember, prioritizing quote management with the right tool makes a big difference in unlocking the true potential of your business for long-term profitability, which is why it is wise to choose Cflow. Here at Cflow, we don’t code – we configure. Quote smart, win big! 

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