Are you finding it difficult to make a quotation that has fewer errors, takes less time, and is tailor-made for different clients? If you are, it’s about time you start using quotation software.
A quotation is not just a document that you send to your potential client. It contains all the important details about your business deal like company logo, company name, pricing, features, deliverables, signature, and all other important things that would make or break your deal. And the last thing you want in your quotation is inconsistencies or shortcomings.
That is why you must have a digital way to create quotations. In this blog, you will see how web quotation software can change your quoting process.
What is Quoting Software?
Let’s first understand the basics.
A quote or quotation is a document that breaks down all the individual charges required to complete a job. This document is shared by the service provider to their potential customer or client before initiating any deal.
Quoting process is the whole process of creating this document. The details you add here are very important because once signed by both parties, you cannot change the terms and prices. That is why it is very important to make sure it’s completely accurate.
Quoting software, as the name suggests, is a tool that generates quotations very quickly with little to no errors.
It eliminates the manual paperwork, automates your quoting process, and streamlines your business process.
How can web quotation software change your quoting process?
A quotation software doesn’t just create a document. You can integrate with other tools to access contacts and inventory, create custom quotes using templates, check status updates of the quotes, turn them into invoices, perform online payments, and much more.
Let’s see more of its benefits and importance in detail.
Accuracy
When you use normal spreadsheets to create quotations for your eCommerce business, the chances of errors are very high. This is because your salespeople manually enter the values for proposals.
With web quotation software, you can establish certain business rules on orders and pricing. This will prevent incompatible orders, ensure correct product configurations, and accurate data during the quoting process. This will give you error-free and lower-risk quotations.
Automation
Quoting software comes with automation capabilities. You can store information on tasks and activities related to the quoting process, inventory, pricing, etc, that can be auto-filled. Apart from storing rules and information, it is easier to update existing quotations according to tax and legal requirements.
Another advantage is that quotation software has templates that save your time in manually formatting and entering repeated data. With the quoting process streamlined, you can create and send sales quotes quickly to your clients. This will speed up your sales processes.
Access to information
Quoting systems allow instant access to information on your business’s inventory, pricing, and other such details. And if you use a cloud-based tool, it doesn’t matter whether you work in the office or remotely. You get access to all details from anywhere at any time. And we have seen how useful this is, especially in the time of the pandemic.
Apart from accessing information, you can easily introduce new configurations, products, and prices. All these changes are done in real-time and your sales time will always have the relevant updated information. Also, you will have access to the history of changes which can be reverted if required. You will have a unified database whenever required.
Integration
Whenever you create a quotation, you often need information like client contacts, inventory, CRM (Customer Relationship Management), accounting, and other details. These are usually stored in separate software and tools. A quotation software will integrate with such external tools and applications.
Without integration, you will have to navigate between multiple applications on your system. You end up spending more time on these mundane tasks and it will also increase errors.
Visual appeal
This might seem unimportant but a professional-looking sales document has higher chances of getting a good first impression from your prospects. Without software, you might use a word processor or a spreadsheet for quotes. These tools do have some amount of formatting options, but they do have their limitations.
A quotation system has formatting and templates options that will save a lot of your time. Apart from these features, it’s easier for you to incorporate brand and company logos, iconography, and set color themes. This will also help to build your brand.
E-signature capability
Another important feature is the e-signature capability. It is a life-saver. Today, most of the businesses are done online and you don’t necessarily meet your clients in person. In such cases, you and your clients are required to electronically sign the documents. This will do away with printing the documents and mailing them back and forth to get the signatures of both parties.
Faster sales cycles
With quotation software, you quickly create quotes. This will speed up your quote-to-order process and your sales cycles. You don’t have to spend too much time sending emails and making calls. Also, you can keep track of each proposal and the status of each quote. This will help you to speed up other processes.
Using quoting software won’t cause any delays due to outdated information, manual errors, wrong pricing, approval backlogs, or any other inconsistencies. The lesser the delays the faster is your sales process.
Increased deal sizes
Another benefit of using software is the opportunity to increase your deal sizes. It allows you to up-sell and cross-sell during different stages of configuration. Also, you can bundle two or more products together for a discounted price. This will increase your average deal size.
It is easier for you to set pricing rules, lockdown costs, and margins. It will prevent you or anyone from applying unnecessary discounts. If your client wants to increase the quantity of a certain product, the pricing will be automatically updated.
Improved sales productivity
Your sales team needs to put more effort into other sales processes like lead generation and their conversion. Spending too much time on paperwork and other mundane tasks will lower their energy and productivity. Thanks to digitizing your entire quoting process, they will have a lot of time to concentrate on these business activities.
Apart from gaining more time, your salespersons always have access to accurate information. This will help a lot during negotiations where they have to check out various pricing combinations. The generation of quick quotes will speed up the deals. This will not only improve sales productivity but the overall growth of your business too.
Conclusion
Now you know how web quotation software can change your quoting process. It’s time for you to start exploring different software and its features. Look for cloud-based software that has all the features that you need.
So, do you have any other reasons to use quotation software? Let us know. We would love to hear from you!
