From product catalogue to signed order, in the same editor as your proposals
Quote software (also called quoting software) turns a product list and a price into a document the client can accept and sign. Instead of retyping line items in a spreadsheet, you pick them from a catalogue, apply VAT per line, mark some items as optional and send a link that shows you when the quote is opened. When a client needs more than a price, the quote grows into a full proposal in the same editor, with an introduction, approach and terms around the numbers. Proposal Expert is quotation software for trades, agencies, consultancies and B2B sales teams. The free plan needs no credit card.
Quote software handles optional line items by showing them in the quote with a checkbox, so the client ticks the items they want, watches the total recalculate in front of them and signs for the amount they accepted rather than for the maximum, without you having to issue a second quote for the upsell. Every quote in Proposal Expert is built from line items. You keep a product catalogue with a name, description, unit, unit price and tax rate per product, and pick items from it in the editor instead of typing them again. Quantities and totals recalculate as you go. Items can be marked as optional, and it pays to keep that list short. In the jam study by Iyengar and Lepper (2000), cutting a display from 24 options to 6 raised purchases roughly tenfold, so three or four well-chosen optional lines beat a menu of twelve. A worked example: a website quote with design and build as fixed lines, and photography, copywriting and maintenance as optional lines. The client ticks photography and maintenance, the total moves from the base price to the accepted price, and that amount is what gets signed and what goes to your CRM.
Quote software presents packages side by side, applies discounts per line or on the total and handles VAT per line with standard, reduced, zero rated and reverse charge rates, so the client sees one clear price and the numbers stay correct for business customers in other EU countries. A pricing table in a quote can do more than list rows. Offering basic, recommended and extended packages next to each other means the client compares your options with each other rather than your price with a competitor, and research on the compromise effect shows that people tend to pick the middle option (Simonson, 1989), a pattern Simonson and Tversky (1992) confirmed. Discounts apply per line or on the total, as a percentage or a fixed amount, and show the original price next to the reduced one, which matters because a meta-analysis of 53 studies confirms that the first number a reader sees anchors what they are willing to pay (Li et al., 2021). Tax is handled per line: standard VAT, reduced rates, zero rated or reverse charge for business customers in another EU country, and you choose whether prices are entered inclusive or exclusive of tax. Recurring lines, such as a monthly maintenance fee, are shown separately from one-off amounts so the client sees the project price and the ongoing cost. That clarity is not cosmetic: 83 per cent of B2B customers rate transparency above brand reputation (McKinsey & Company, 2022). When a discount exceeds the limit you set, an approval rule holds the quote until a manager signs off.
Quote software turns a quote into a signed order by sending it as a tracked link, letting the client accept with an electronic signature in the browser, locking the document after signing and storing the timestamp, IP address, document version and the ticked options as evidence. Proposal Expert records when the link is opened, how long the client spends on the pricing section and whether it was forwarded, so you know when to call. The signature is a Simple Electronic Signature (SES) under eIDAS, Regulation (EU) 910/2014, so under Article 25 it may not be refused legal effect in any EU member state solely because it is electronic (European Parliament and Council, 2014). Each signature is verified by a one-time code sent to the signer by email and stored in an audit trail you can export. Once signed, the quote is locked. If the client wants a change, you issue a new version and the history stays intact. A validity date gives the client a reason to decide, which matters because at least 40 per cent of B2B pipeline deals end in no decision at all (Corporate Visions, 2022). Automatic reminders go out before the quote expires, in the language of the recipient.
Quote software writes back to the CRM by connecting to HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive or Monday over OAuth, so a quote starts from a deal with the contact and company pulled in, the status updates as the quote is sent, opened and signed, and the accepted amount can replace the deal value. Quotes belong to deals, and the pipeline should match the paperwork. Writeback of the accepted amount is optional. When it is on, the deal value in your CRM becomes the total the client actually accepted, including the optional items they ticked, so forecasts rest on signed numbers rather than on the amount you hoped for. Slack or Microsoft Teams can post a message when a quote is signed. The API and data export on the Business plan give you the line items in a structured form. Data is hosted in the EU, encrypted in transit with TLS 1.2 or higher and at rest, and we only collect what the quote needs.