Creating quotes
Applies to : Office Accounting Express, Professional
Quotes are often the first step in the sales flow by providing the customer with an estimate or an offer prior to making a purchase decision.

Sample Quote
Quotes are not posted as financial transactions - instead they represent (potential) sales in the future documenting the price at which you propose or agree to sell various products or services should the customer accept your terms.

The quote form is divided into several parts:
  • The toolbar contains the most common tasks you can perform with a quote. These can also be found in the respective menus (File, Edit, View Actions and Help).
  • The top of the quote contains the date, the customer information as well as the terms for the quote.
  • The products and services section contains the details of the quote – what you are offering the customer and at which price. A quote must contain at least one line. Each line can contain a specific product or service with a quantity, an amount that will be posted directly to a nominal account, a comment or a VAT line.
  • The bottom of the quote allows you to add an internal memo or document links, a reference to the customer, VAT and price level information as well as totals.
There are several noticeable things about a quote:
  • Like other customer documents, the customer information is automatically copied to the quote when the customer is selected, but the information may be changed on the quote itself. This When you save the quote, you will be asked if you also want to update the customer form.
  • When the quote is saved, it will appear in the customer financial history and the quote list.
  • A quote must contain a customer and one or more lines with products or services.
  • You change the line type by clicking on the icon in the beginning of the line. This will show a dropdown that allows you to select Product or Service, Comment, VAT or Account.
  • The unit price on each line can be changed if desired. This will not change the underlying product or service.
  • Discounts are given per line and can be given either as a percentage (default) or as an amount in sterling (by typing £ before the amount).
  • A quote can be accepted by converting it to either a sales order or an invoice (using the Convert to button). This will create a new sales order or invoice identical to the quote (the quote itself is not deleted). An accepted quote cannot be edited.
  • A quote can be rejected if the customer declines the quote (using the Reject button). A rejected quote can only be edited by pressing the Edit button.
  • Quotes do not have delivery information such as delivery address and delivery terms.
  • Quotes will expire if an expiration date is set. You can see expired quotes on the quote list (or on the company dashboard reminders in Accounting Professional and Professional Plus).
  • In Accounting Professional and Professional Plus quotes show up in the Forecast Cash Flow tool as part of the sales forecast
  • Quotes can be printed on blank paper, on pre-printed paper provided by third parties or printed using customisable Word templates.
  • A quote that has not been accepted may be deleted.
  • A quote can also be sent directly to the customer via email. This feature also uses the customisable Word template.